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Surplus funds in Tennessee.

When a property in Tennessee sells at a tax sale or a foreclosure sale for more than what was owed, the extra can belong to the former owner. Here is who holds it, the law behind it, and every county office linked so you can check for yourself, free.

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Foreclosure sales here

Non-judicial, trustee or power-of-sale.

Our fee here

We don't offer paid help in Tennessee. You can claim surplus here yourself, free; see below.

Tax sale surplus

Excess proceeds from delinquent tax sales are claimed by motion to the court after the order confirming the sale, served on all interested persons at least 30 days before the hearing (Tenn. Code Ann. §67-5-2702). Any interested person can file. A former owner is paid only if they were a defendant in the tax suit or inherited from one. Leftover funds become subject to Tennessee's unclaimed property law, but a motion can be filed until they are actually sent to the state.

Foreclosure surplus

Foreclosure type
Non judicial
Who holds the surplus

The trustee (or substitute trustee) under the deed of trust who ran the sale. If claims conflict, the trustee may deposit the surplus with the chancery or circuit court through an interpleader action (Tenn. R. Civ. P. 22).

A trustee's sale under a power of sale in a deed of trust is advertised under Tenn. Code 35-5-101 (rewritten in 2025 to require two newspaper notices plus at least 20 continuous days of online posting). The sale money pays sale costs and the secured debt first; any surplus goes to junior lienholders and then to the former owner (grantor), usually under the terms of the deed of trust. A former owner claims it from the trustee. If there are competing claims, the trustee may deposit the funds with the court, where claimants must prove their right to them. No statute was found that sets a claim deadline or says where unclaimed surplus goes; funds left unclaimed may eventually be reported to the State Treasurer as unclaimed property.

Fees and assignments. No specific statute found capping or banning fees or assignments for recovering Tennessee foreclosure surplus. A 2008 bill to regulate foreclosure consultants (HB 3133) did not pass. If surplus reaches the State Treasurer as unclaimed property, Tenn. Code 66-29-176 caps a locator's fee at 10% of the value of the recoverable property or $50, whichever is greater, requires a signed agreement stating the property's value before and after the fee, and voids agreements made within two years after the property was delivered to the Treasurer (agreements with an attorney to pursue a specific claim are excluded). Tenn. Code 66-29-176(a) also reaches property that has not yet been reported to the Treasurer: an agreement to recover it must be in writing, signed, and state the property's value before and after the fee. Excess tax-sale proceeds left unclaimed become subject to the unclaimed property act (Tenn. Code 67-5-2702). The Treasury also says locators must hold a Tennessee private investigator license.

Published surplus lists

These official Tennessee pages publish lists or lookups of unclaimed surplus or excess proceeds. If your name or parcel appears, the office that runs the list can tell you how to claim, free.

Lists change often and may be out of date. Checked October 2026.

Claiming it yourself

We don't offer paid help in Tennessee. You can claim surplus here yourself, free.

See the free self-filing steps →

Every Tennessee county office(96)

Surplus is public record. Call the office that held the sale with the parcel or case number; in most places it will confirm whether a surplus exists, how much, and the deadline. Self-filing is free. Each entry links the county's tax office and court clerk where the directory lists them, plus the full set of county offices.

Each dot is a county below. Pick one from the list to see it up close.© OpenStreetMap contributors

Check this yourself

This page is plain-language orientation, not legal advice. Statutes were checked against official sources in October 2026, and county links come from the NETR public-records directory, an independent resource. Laws and county procedures change, so confirm with the office before you rely on any of it. You can always file a claim yourself with no recovery fee (a court or notary may charge a small fee).