Yellowstone County tax lien assignments, Montana

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This is the most fully published assignment program in the Montana set: the page gives the whole annual calendar, the lottery mechanics, the subsequent tax window, and the final year deed and auction steps. The same page also carries current tax deed auction notices, including a public auction held October 19, 2026 in the Treasurer's office conference room in the John V. Ostlund Building. The county advises downloading the delinquent list again on the notice date so notices only go to parcels still delinquent. Yellowstone County does not offer legal help or advice to purchasers of tax liens.

Selling office: Yellowstone County Treasurer (Hank Peters), Treasurer's office, John V. Ostlund Building, 2825 3rd Avenue North, Billings, MT; phone 406-256-2807; email treasurer@yellowstonecountymt.gov

Next sale: Assignment lottery for the newest liens: Monday, August 30, 2027, starting at 10:00 a.m.. For the 2027 cycle the county publishes two adjusted dates: the Notice of Pending Assignment must be postmarked Monday, August 16, 2027, and the lottery runs Monday, August 30, 2027 instead of August 29. Submissions are due to the office by noon on August 28, and the delinquent list sits at the bottom of the treasurer's tax sale page.

Plan around the August rhythm: liens attach on the first working day of August, notices are postmarked in mid August, and the lottery closes the month. Holders of existing assignments get one window each year, June 1 to July 30, to pay the current year delinquent taxes into their assignments.

Dates and deadlines

Next sale	Assignment lottery for the newest liens: Monday, August 30, 2027, starting at 10:00 a.m.
Tax halves due	November 30 and May 31
Lien attached by the county	First working day in August
Notice of Pending Assignment postmarked	August 15; Monday, August 16 in 2027
Submission deadline	Noon, August 28: notice copies, certified mailing receipts, Assignment Submission form, and payment if not attending the lottery
Lottery and first purchase day	August 29 at 10:00 a.m.; Monday, August 30 in 2027
Subsequent taxes on assigned parcels	June 1 to July 30 (June 2 to July 30 in 2027)
Redemption deadline	First working day in August, 3 years after attachment
Notice that a tax deed may be issued	May 1 to May 30 of the final redemption year
Format	The treasurer posts the list of delinquent parcels at the bottom of its tax sale web page, in Excel and web form, after the county attaches liens on the first working day in August. A buyer mails the Notice of Pending Assignment by certified mail, postmarked August 15, then submits copies of the notices and certified mailing receipts, an Assignment Submission form listing tax codes in order of preference, and payment by noon on August 28. Most assignments are awarded in a computerized lottery on the first purchase day, and any liens left after the lottery can be bought first come, first served with a fresh notice sent 14 to 60 days before purchase.: The treasurer's office in Billings, in person at the lottery or by email and mail for submissions. Assignment certificates are mailed certified after purchase.
Selling office	Yellowstone County Treasurer (Hank Peters), Treasurer's office, John V. Ostlund Building, 2825 3rd Avenue North, Billings, MT; phone 406-256-2807; email treasurer@yellowstonecountymt.gov

Sources: Tax lien and assignment process, Yellowstone County Treasurer. Confirm with the selling office before relying on any date on this page: sales move, terms change, and parcels are pulled up to sale day.

Research Yellowstone County parcels before you bid

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How Montana tax lien assignments work

Taxes are due in halves, on November 30 and May 31. A delinquent installment draws a 2 percent penalty at once and interest at 5/6 of 1 percent per month until paid (MCA 15-16-102).
The county warns, then attaches. The notice of pending attachment is published by the last Monday in June and mailed to the assessed person at least two weeks before attachment; the treasurer attaches the lien no later than the first working day in August, and the county itself is the possessor of the lien (MCA 15-17-122 and 15-17-125).
A buyer takes the lien by assignment. The buyer mails the Notice of Pending Assignment by certified mail to the person the property was assessed to, not earlier than August 15, at least two weeks before payment and not more than 60 days before purchase, gives the treasurer proof of the mailing, and pays the full delinquency of taxes, penalties, interest, and costs. There is no bidding and no premium (MCA 15-17-323).
Competing buyers are sorted by county policy, not by price. Treasurers publish their own rules for competing requests, from preference lists and lotteries to a card draw, and an assignee may later reassign the lien to another buyer for any consideration (MCA 15-17-323).
Redemption runs three years from attachment. The owner, an occupant, the holder of an unrecorded interest, or another interested party may redeem by the first working day in August three years after attachment; a subdivided residential or commercial lot with delinquent special assessments and no habitable structure redeems in two years (MCA 15-18-111).
The final year notice is mandatory. Between May 1 and May 30 of the year the redemption period expires, the assignee must notify the occupant and every interested party that a tax deed may be issued, and file proof within 30 days; an assignee who fails to give the notice has the lien and the assignment certificate cancelled (MCA 15-18-212).
The deed issues, or the home is auctioned. For most property the treasurer grants the assignee a tax deed on payment of the deed fee and notice costs. Where the property is a dwelling occupied by its record owner, the treasurer instead holds a public auction whose opening bid adds half the assessed value of the land and dwelling, and that half value component and any overbid are paid to the former owner as surplus (MCA 15-18-211 and 15-18-219 to 15-18-221).

How buying works in Yellowstone County

Mail the statutory Notice of Pending Assignment by certified mail to the owner of record at the address of record, postmarked August 15 (August 16 in 2027) for the lottery. By noon on August 28, deliver copies of the notices and the certified mailing receipts, one Assignment Submission form per potential lienholder with tax codes in tax code order of preference, and payment if not attending the lottery. Submissions go to the treasurer's office or by email to treasurer@yellowstonecountymt.gov.

There is no bidding on a lien An assignment is not won by offering more. The price is fixed by statute at the full delinquency, and where more than one buyer wants the same lien, the published policy of that county treasurer for competing requests decides who is served first.
What is due at assignment The full delinquency: taxes, penalties, interest, and costs from the date of delinquency, plus any assignment fee the county charges. Each county page carries the fee and payment forms that county publishes, or says plainly that the county does not publish them.
Reassignment An assignee may assign the lien on to another buyer for any consideration, by filing the statutory statement of reassignment with the treasurer (MCA 15-17-323).

Terms: what a bid actually costs

Deposit, Yellowstone County	Montana assignments have no bidder deposit. What is due is the full delinquency plus a fee of $50.00 for each assignment. Buyers who do not attend the lottery send payment with their submission; buyers in attendance pay when the awarded list is printed.
Payment, Yellowstone County	Cash, check, money order, or cashier's check is accepted for assignment purchases. On the later tax deed auction path for owner occupied homes, a winning bidder who is not the lienholder posts a deposit of 5 percent of the bid or $200, whichever is greater, at the time of sale and pays in full by cash or cashier's check within 24 hours.
Redemption period	Three years from the date the county attaches the lien, ending on the first working day in August of the third year, with a two year period for a subdivided residential or commercial lot carrying delinquent special assessments and no habitable dwelling or commercial structure (MCA 15-18-111).
Interest the assignee earns	On redemption the treasurer pays the assignee back the amount paid for the assignment and any subsequent taxes the assignee paid into the lien, plus interest at 5/6 of 1 percent per month from the date of payment until redemption, the same rate the delinquency itself carries (MCA 15-16-102 and 15-18-114).
Penalty on delinquency	A delinquent installment draws a 2 percent penalty at once, then interest at 5/6 of 1 percent per month until paid. The penalty is part of what an assignment buyer pays at purchase and part of what redemption repays (MCA 15-16-102).
The final year notice, and the cancellation risk	Between May 1 and May 30 of the year the redemption period expires, the assignee must send the statutory notice that a tax deed may be issued, in the statutory form, and file proof of notice with the clerk and recorder within 30 days. An assignee who fails to give the notice has the lien and the assignment certificate cancelled (MCA 15-18-212).
The owner occupied auction	Where the property is a dwelling occupied by its legal titleholder of record, the tax deed goes through a public auction instead of a direct grant. The opening bid is the full redemption amount plus half the most recent assessed value of the land and the dwelling; the high bidder posts a deposit of 5 percent of the bid or $200, whichever is greater, and pays in full within 24 hours, and the half value component and any overbid go to the former owner as surplus (MCA 15-18-219 to 15-18-221).
Subsequent taxes	An assignee may pay later delinquent taxes on the same property into the assignment, and those payments are repaid with the same interest on redemption (MCA 15-18-112 and 15-18-114). Counties run a set window for these payments each summer, and each county page states the window that county publishes.
Assignment fee	$50.00 per assignment
Tax deed fee	$25, plus a Clerk and Recorder fee of $20 for the first page and $10 per additional page
Auction application deadline, county policy	August 5, or the next business day if the 5th falls on a weekend or holiday
Sheriff delivery fee on auction applications	$75

Liens nobody takes

Liens that the lottery does not award stay with the county and can be purchased after the lottery on a first come, first served basis, with a Notice of Pending Assignment sent 14 to 60 days before the purchase. Parcels that stay with the county through the deed stage are sold under posted tax deed auction notices, such as the October 19, 2026 auction the treasurer published on the same page.

Before you bid

The notice is the first deadline of the deal An assignment bought without the certified Notice of Pending Assignment, mailed inside its window (not before August 15, at least two weeks before payment, and within 60 days of purchase), is not a valid assignment. Counties examine the proof of mailing closely, and receipts missing the address or the postmark are rejected.
Calendar the third year notice on day one The May notice in the year the redemption period expires is the step that kills assignments: miss it and the lien and the certificate are cancelled. The treasurer mails a reminder in January of that year, but the duty and the risk belong to the assignee.
Know which deed path the property is on A vacant parcel or a rental ends in a direct tax deed to the assignee; a home occupied by its owner ends in an auction where the assignee can be outbid and repaid instead. Price the assignment with both endings in view before paying the delinquency.

Every Montana county in this set

One page per county, each verified against the county's own publications and the current text of MCA title 15 chapters 17 and 18. Montana assigns its county held liens county by county through each county treasurer; this set is the 10 largest counties.

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