The Fairfax County Sheriff's Office periodically holds public auctions of seized vehicles at the location at which the vehicle is stored. The Code of Virginia allows for the seizure and liquidation of personal property necessary to pay delinquent taxes, interest and the costs associated with this process.
Properties to be auctioned, if any, are listed by the Sheriff's Office and/or the Department of Tax Administration. Please check both pages below.
You cannot drive the vehicle. The only way to view the vehicle is to drive by the address given on the auction page. The vehicle may be parked on private property, in which case you will have to view it from the street. You cannot get inside the car or look under the hood. The vehicle is sold AS IS. There are no warranties or refunds.
The opening bid is determined on a case by case basis by the Sheriff's deputy executing the sale of the vehicle. The opening bid is based on the value of the vehicle, amount of delinquent taxes to be recovered and the costs associated with the process.
Since you won't have insurance or license tags for the car, you will not be allowed to drive it. Instead, you will have to tow the vehicle from the property. In some cases, you will have to contact a locksmith (or the dealership if the car is less than seven years old) because a key may not be available.
You must take possession immediately after the auction.
The Sheriff's Office accepts cash or a cashier's check. However, we strongly recommend that you bring cash because the cashier's check would have to be for the exact amount, which you will not know until the auction is over. If your cashier's check is under the amount, you may add cash to it to equal your successful bid. If the cashier's check is over the amount, we will not give you change back. Make the cashier's check payable to Fairfax County Sheriff's Office.
The frequency of sales is determined by the number of vehicles seized by the County. Sales typically vary from as many as 2-3 per week to as few as 2-3 per month.
The sale is always at the location where the seized vehicle is stored, typically at a home or business. Sales are scheduled for Monday-Friday and always are held at 11 a.m.
Legally, the Sheriff's Office must post notice at least 10 days before the sale. If you are interested in bidding on a seized vehicle, we strongly recommend that you check the Department of Tax Administration's website the morning of the sale to make sure that the vehicle is still scheduled for auction. If the owner pays the delinquent taxes, the auction will be cancelled.
Code of Virginia § 8.01-498 restricts all Fairfax County employees from bidding at a Sheriff's Sale.