deedplatState guides / Wisconsin / Dane County
Dane County property data
Where Dane County's property records live, how its tax and foreclosure sales work, and what Deedplat puts on one map, including Madison.
- 28Cities and towns
Where the records are
The county offices an investor deals with in Dane County, and what each one puts online.
Deeds and mortgages
Dane County Register of Deeds. The real estate index from January 1975 and most document images can be searched online through Tapestry EON (pay per search) or Laredo Anywhere (subscription for daily users), and most records can be viewed free in the office.
Owners and values
City of Madison Assessor's Office (each city, village and town has its own assessor). Madison assessments, owner names, tax receipts and sales by area can be looked up free by address, last name or parcel number; for the rest of the county, owner and assessment data is free on AccessDane.
Tax sales
Dane County Treasurer's Office. Available and sold tax deed parcels are listed free online with minimum bids, bid due dates, committee reports, appraisals and bid forms.
Foreclosure sales
Dane County Sheriff's Office, Foreclosure Sales. Current sheriff sale notices are posted free on the Sheriff's website, along with posting locations and third party bidder information.
Parcel maps
Dane County Land Information Office (DCiMap and AccessDane). DCiMap is a free interactive parcel map, AccessDane offers free parcel search by owner, address or parcel number, and GIS data can be downloaded from the county's open data portal.
How property is sold here
Dane County follows Wisconsin's rules, with its own calendar and offices. Read the Wisconsin guide for how the state works.
Tax sales
Wisconsin does not sell tax liens or tax certificates; after the tax deed process the county takes ownership of delinquent property and then sells it. The Dane County Treasurer sells these tax deeded parcels by sealed bid, usually in spring and fall sessions (the most recent bid due date was October 6, 2026), and bids must be at or above the appraised value with a 10% earnest deposit. The parcel list is posted on the Treasurer's Tax Deed Auction page about 6 weeks before each auction, and bids are opened in the Treasurer's Office at the City-County Building in Madison.
Foreclosure sales
Dane County Sheriff foreclosure sales are held every Tuesday at 10:00 AM in Room 354 of the City-County Building, 210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Madison, as open auctions where the plaintiff usually makes the opening bid. Notices run for at least three weeks in the Wisconsin State Journal and Capital Times and are posted on the Sheriff's website; third party winners must pay 10% in cash or certified funds at the sale.
Assessed values
Assessments in Dane County are set by each city, village and town, not the county; the City of Madison Assessor values property as of January 1 each year and mailed 2026 notices on May 1.
Transfer tax
Wisconsin charges a real estate transfer fee of $3 per $1,000 of value (0.3%), paid to the Register of Deeds with an electronic transfer return (eRETR) before a deed can be recorded.
Worth knowing
Assessments are done by each municipality, so Madison property is valued by the City of Madison Assessor while suburbs and towns use their own assessors; AccessDane pulls the county-wide data together.
Worth knowing
The Treasurer only accepts tax deed bids at or above the appraised value, and bidders (including every owner of a bidding LLC) cannot have unpaid Dane County real estate taxes.
Worth knowing
Fall tax deed parcels may still have occupants, since former owners can repurchase until the auction; spring auction parcels are vacant.
Every town in Dane County
The cities, towns and townships inside the county line.
- Belleville village
- Black Earth village
- Blue Mounds village
- Brooklyn village
- Cambridge village
- Cottage Grove village
- Cross Plains village
- Dane village
- DeForest village
- Deerfield village
- Edgerton city
- Fitchburg city
- Madison city
- Maple Bluff village
- Marshall village
- Mazomanie village
- McFarland village
- Middleton city
- Monona city
- Mount Horeb village
- Oregon village
- Rockdale village
- Shorewood Hills village
- Stoughton city
- Sun Prairie city
- Verona city
- Waunakee village
- Windsor village
Questions
Where are deeds recorded in Dane County?
Deeds are recorded by the Dane County Register of Deeds in the City-County Building in Madison. The recording fee is $30 per document, and an electronic Wisconsin Real Estate Transfer Return must be filed with each deed.
When is the Dane County tax sale?
Dane County does not sell tax liens. The Treasurer sells property the county took by tax deed through sealed bid auctions, usually in spring and fall, with the parcel list posted on the Tax Deed Auction page about 6 weeks ahead.
How do I find who owns a property in Dane County?
Search AccessDane by owner, address or parcel number for free. For property in the City of Madison you can also use the City Assessor's Property Lookup.
Are Dane County property records online?
Yes. Owner and tax data is free on AccessDane and the Madison Assessor's site, parcel maps are free on DCiMap, and recorded documents from 1975 on can be searched for a fee through Tapestry EON or Laredo.
Sources for this guide
Office hours, fees and sale dates change. We checked these sources in October 2026; confirm with the county before you act.
- rod.danecounty.gov/
- rod.danecounty.gov/real-estate/online-record-search
- rod.danecounty.gov/real-estate/online-record-search/tapestry
- rod.danecounty.gov/real-estate/record-fees
- rod.danecounty.gov/real-estate/transfer-returns
- rod.danecounty.gov/parcel-info
- treasurer.danecounty.gov/
- treasurer.danecounty.gov/foreclosure
- treasurer.danecounty.gov/taxdeedauction
- treasurer.danecounty.gov/Property-Owner-Info/foreclosure/Tax-Deed-Details
- danesheriff.com/Services/Foreclosure-Sales
- cityofmadison.com/assessor
Every parcel in Dane County, on one map
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