Lawrence County, Pennsylvania

Tax Deed84,233 residents

County research last verified 2026-07. Office holders, platforms, and deposit rules change — re-confirm anything time-sensitive.

Sale typestate default

Tax Deed

Redemption periodstate default

None in most counties for upset/judicial sales; limited redemption (90 days) survives in specific home-rule counties (e.g., Philadelphia, in narrow cases)

Investor returnstate default

N/A — outright deed transfer in the large majority of counties

Governing statutestate default

Pennsylvania Real Estate Tax Sale Law, 72 P.S. §5860.101 et seq.

Notes

Pennsylvania Real Estate Tax Sale Law county. Lawrence County Tax Claim Bureau runs two sales annually: April Judicial (free-and-clear) and September Upset. 2026 Upset Sale: online auction Thursday September 24, 2026 beginning 10:00 a.m.; pre-register online September 7–11, 2026. Upset list published New Castle News and Ellwood City Ledger August 21, 2026 and Lawrence Law Journal August 24, 2026; lists $10 at Tax Claim office (430 Court Street, New Castle). 2026 Judicial (free-and-clear) scheduled April 23, 2026 online. City of New Castle and several school districts file delinquencies via Portnoff Law Associates separately — confirm which list you are bidding.

Auction logistics

Format

Online (Upset and Judicial)

Frequency

Upset annually late September (2026: Sept 24); Judicial annually April (2026: April 23)

Platform

Lawrence County Tax Claim Bureau — Online Upset / Judicial sales ↗

Deposit rules

Pre-register online during published window (Upset 2026: Sept 7–11). Funding and deposit rules per online auction vendor packet for that sale. Delinquent tax payments to Bureau: cash, cashier's check/money order, or card (+2.45%) — no personal/business checks. Contact taxclaim@lawrencecountypa.gov or (724) 656-2125.

Title risk

Liens that survive the sale

Upset sale: many private liens can survive — full title search mandatory. Judicial free-and-clear after proper notice typically cuts off most junior private liens; federal liens can survive. Portnoff-collected municipal/school delinquencies may follow separate processes.

Quiet title

Common after Upset for insurable title in New Castle/Ellwood City markets; Judicial improves marketability but insurers still underwrite carefully.

Deal maths for Pennsylvania

Assessment ratio: 0.4065× of market value
Typical quiet title: $1,500–$5,000 · 4 mo
Recording and transfer: $250

Pennsylvania has no statewide assessment ratio. Counties assess against their own base years, some decades old, and the State Tax Equalization Board publishes a Common Level Ratio per county each year. Always use the county ratio.

Offices and records

Tax collector

Lawrence County Tax Claim Bureau (Brian Burick, Director) ↗

724-656-2125

Clerk of court

Lawrence County Prothonotary / Recorder ↗

Property appraiser

Lawrence County Assessment / Tax Services parcel resources ↗

GIS / parcel map

Lawrence County GIS / assessment parcel resources ↗

Areas trending up

Directional read from dated market analysis — not a guarantee, and not a substitute for your own comps.

New Castle / downtown and hospital edge

County-seat medical and government employment supporting selective workforce SF

Ellwood City / southern Lawrence fringe

Relative value with Beaver County / Pittsburgh-adjacent job access

Neshannock / north suburban fringe

School-driven owner-occupier demand with stronger liquidity than soft core blocks