Ohio Foreclosure Surplus: How to Claim Excess Funds From a Sheriff's Sale

Two kinds of foreclosure surplus in Ohio

Ohio produces surplus from two kinds of court-ordered sales, and both end up with the clerk of courts.

Mortgage foreclosure. A lender sues, gets a judgment, and the property is sold at a sheriff's sale. Many Ohio counties now hold these sales online. If the winning bid is more than the judgment, interest and costs, the balance is excess funds, governed by Ohio Revised Code 2329.44.

Tax foreclosure. The county treasurer (or a land bank) forecloses for unpaid property taxes, and the property is sold at a sheriff's sale under Chapter 5721 or Chapter 323. Excess from these sales is governed by R.C. 5721.20, which borrows the notice rules from 2329.44 but adds a three-year limit.

The two look alike on a clerk's list, but the deadlines differ, so find out which kind of case you have first. The case caption tells you: a tax foreclosure names the county treasurer as plaintiff.

Who gets paid first

Before anything reaches the former owner, the court's order of distribution pays the costs of the sale, then the judgment that forced the sale, and then other lienholders who were parties to the case, in order of priority. A second mortgage, a home equity line or a judgment lien can take part or all of what is left.

What remains after that is the residue owed to the owner, which Ohio law calls the judgment debtor. If the owner has died, the estate's legal representative claims it.

Read the confirmation entry and the order of distribution in the case file. Those two documents show exactly who was paid and what balance the clerk is holding. Most Ohio clerks have online dockets where you can find them by case number.

How the clerk's notice works

The 2025 version of R.C. 2329.44 spells out how the clerk must try to reach the owner.

• Balances of $500 or more. A notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the address in the case caption or any newer address the owner gave, within 90 days of the sale. If it comes back undelivered, a second notice by ordinary mail. If that also comes back, the clerk advertises in a local newspaper and can also post the notice on its website.
• Balances under $500. A notice by ordinary mail, or the same public notice if the address is unknown.
• Unclaimed after the last notice. For mortgage foreclosures, money still unclaimed 90 days after the last notice goes through the county's unclaimed money process. For tax foreclosures, it goes to the county treasury after 90 days, and the three-year clock starts.

The notice says how much is held and what the owner must do to get it. Keep it. It has the case number and the clerk's contact details.

How to claim Ohio excess funds, step by step

1. Find the case. Check your county clerk of courts' excess funds list, or our Ohio surplus funds list, which shows the county, the amount and the source for each record. Note the case number.

2. Read the docket. Look for the confirmation of sale and the order of distribution. They show whether liens were paid and what balance remains.

3. Ask for the claim procedure. Each clerk has its own process. Some use a claim form or affidavit; others ask for a motion for release of funds filed in the case. The notice letter, or the clerk's website, explains which.

4. Prove who you are. Expect government ID and proof that you were the owner named in the case. If the owner has died, bring probate papers naming the legal representative.

5. Pay the notice costs, if asked. The clerk may deduct or ask for the actual cost of the certified mail and any publication before releasing the money.

6. Act inside the window. For a tax foreclosure, the three-year treasury period is a hard limit. After it, the money is forfeited to the county's delinquent tax fund or its land bank.

The three-year rule for tax foreclosures

R.C. 5721.20 is strict. Excess from a tax foreclosure sale that the owner does not claim within 90 days of the final notice is paid into the county treasury in the owner's name. The treasurer pays it to the owner on demand within three years of receiving it. After three years, the money is forfeited to the county's delinquent tax and assessment collection fund, or to the county land reutilization corporation fund where the county has a land bank.

One more Ohio wrinkle: when a tax-foreclosed property is transferred to a city, county or land bank under the alternative redemption procedure in R.C. 323.78, there is no sale, so there is usually no surplus at all.

What Ohio surplus looks like right now

TaxLienSimple tracks 553 Ohio mortgage foreclosure surplus records in 6 counties, with a median of $8,708, and 2,267 tax foreclosure records in 11 counties, totaling about $22.7 million.

The two kinds look very different. Tax foreclosure records are usually small, with a median of $1,007, because the debt was only back taxes on low-value property. Mortgage foreclosure surplus runs larger, because the sale price has to clear a full mortgage first and the remaining equity tends to be bigger.

County notes: Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton and Montgomery

Cuyahoga (Cleveland). The clerk of courts publishes excess funds from both tax and mortgage foreclosures. We track 1,192 Cuyahoga tax foreclosure records, median $475, with 1,085 still inside the three-year window.

Franklin (Columbus). The clerk publishes an excess sales proceeds list. We track 283 Franklin tax foreclosure records totaling $8.1 million, median $6,423.

Hamilton (Cincinnati). 83 tax foreclosure records, median $5,721, plus mortgage foreclosure surplus from the clerk's list.

Montgomery (Dayton). 206 tax foreclosure records, median $8,776, plus mortgage foreclosure surplus.

We also track Lucas, Medina, Butler, Lake, Richland and a few smaller counties. Each record on our Ohio list links to the clerk's own report.

Mistakes that cost Ohio claimants money

Mixing up the two kinds of case. A tax foreclosure has a three-year treasury limit; a mortgage foreclosure follows the unclaimed money rules. Check the plaintiff in the caption.

Assuming the whole bid is yours. The order of distribution pays the judgment and other lienholders first. Read it before you count on a number.

Waiting for a letter. The clerk's notice can go to an old address. You can claim on demand whether or not it reached you.

Signing before you know the amount. The amount and the case number are public on the clerk's list and docket.

Ignoring an estate. If the owner has died, the clerk pays the legal representative. Start the probate step early, because it takes longer than the claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Ohio foreclosure surplus.