Iowa Code § 446.9 (2026)
Notice of sale — service — publication — costs
1. A notice of the date, time, and place of the annual tax sale shall be served upon the person in whose name the parcel subject to sale is taxed. The county treasurer shall serve the notice by sending it by regular first class mail to the person’s last known address not later than May 1 of each fiscal year. However, in those instances when May 1 is a Saturday or Sunday, the notice shall be served not later than the first business day of May. The notice shall contain a description of the parcel to be sold which is clear, concise, and sufficient to distinguish the parcel to be sold from all other parcels. It shall also contain the amount of delinquent taxes for which the parcel is liable each year, the amount of the interest and fees, and the amount of the service fee as provided in section 446.10, subsection 2, all to be incorporated as a single sum. The notice shall contain a statement that, after the sale, if the parcel is not redeemed within the period provided in chapter 447, the right to redeem expires and a deed may be issued.
2. Publication of the date, time, and place of the annual tax sale shall be made once by the treasurer in at least one official newspaper in the county as selected by the board of supervisors and designated by the treasurer at least one week, but not more than three weeks, before the day of sale. The publication shall contain a description of the parcel to be sold that is clear, concise, and sufficient to distinguish the parcel to be sold from all other parcels. All items offered for sale pursuant to section 446.18 may be indicated by an “s” or by an asterisk. The publication shall also contain the name of the person in whose name the parcel to be sold is taxed and the amount delinquent for which the parcel is liable each year, the amount of the interest and fees, and the amount of the service fee as provided in section 446.10, subsection 2, all to be incorporated as a single sum. The publication shall contain a statement that, after the sale, if the parcel is not redeemed within the period provided in chapter 447, the right to redeem expires and a deed may be issued.
3. a. In addition to the notice required by subsection 1 and the publication required by subsection 2, the treasurer shall send, at least one week but not more than three weeks before the day of sale, a notice of sale in the form prescribed by subsection 1, by regular first class mail to any mortgagee having a lien upon the parcel, a vendor of the parcel under a recorded contract of sale, a lessor of the parcel who has a recorded lease or memorandum of a recorded lease, and to any other person who has an interest of record in the parcel, if the mortgagee, vendor, lessor, or other person having an interest of record has done both of the following:
(1) Requested on a form prescribed by the treasurer that notice of sale be sent to the person.
(2) Filed the request form with the treasurer at least one month prior to the date of sale, together with a fee of twenty-five dollars per parcel.\n\nTue Dec 09 22:11:18 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 446 (28, 0) 3 TAX SALES, §446.12\n\n b. The request for notice is valid for a period of five years from the date of filing with the treasurer. The request for notice may be renewed for additional periods of five years by the procedure specified in this subsection.
4. Notice required by subsections 1 and 3 shall be deemed completed when the notice is enclosed in a sealed envelope with the proper postage on the envelope, is addressed to the person entitled to receive it at the person’s last known mailing address, and is deposited in a mail receptacle provided by the United States postal service. Failure to receive a mailed notice is not a defense to the payment of the total amount due.
5. If, for good cause, a parcel is not included in the publication specified in subsection 2, notice shall be given by publication or by posting a description of the parcel and the date, time, and place of the tax sale in the treasurer’s office for two weeks before the regular or any adjourned tax sale and, at the time of the publication or posting, by mailing the notice required in subsection 1. [C51, §498; R60, §764; C73, §872 – 874, 3833; C97, §1419; S13, §1419; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §7246; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §446.9] 84 Acts, ch 1221, §6; 86 Acts, ch 1139, §4; 89 Acts, ch 214, §5; 91 Acts, ch 191, §61; 92 Acts, ch 1016, §24; 97 Acts, ch 121, §18; 98 Acts, ch 1107, §28; 99 Acts, ch 4, §2, 4; 2002 Acts, ch 1043, §7, 8; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §64; 2006 Acts, ch 1070, §22; 2011 Acts, ch 25, §143 Referred to in §435.24, 445.2, 445.3, 446.19B, 446.20 \n