Dakota County Sheriff’s Office- Mechanics Lien Sale

Mechanics Lien Sales

This is information regarding the Minnesota State Statute for Personality in Possession (MSA 514.18) and an example of a Notice of Sale. Links to the Minnesota State Statute have been provided at the bottom. Please read the statute carefully. It is YOUR responsibility to comply with all aspects of the statute. The sheriff will only act as an auctioneer upon your request. NOTE: At the time of the sale, you must provide the sheriff with the original affidavit of service and/or mailing, an affidavit of publication, and, if applicable, verification of lien holder notification.

You are encouraged to consult your attorney to see if the statute is appropriate for your situation. The sheriff’s office is not allowed to give legal advice.

If you decide to proceed under this statute, please contact the Sheriff’s Civil Division at 651-438-4780 to arrange for a sale date. You must contact this office for approval of a sale date prior to publication. There are sheriff’s fees of $50.00 for conducting the sale plus mileage. The advance fee charges can be obtained when you call the office to schedule the sale, and these fees need to be paid when you send us the sale information.

You must send us notification in writing when you have the sale scheduled. We need to know the date, time, and location of the sale, a description of the property being sold and who owns the property. Call our office a couple of days ahead to make sure we received your sale information and have a deputy scheduled to be there.

Minnesota Statutes 2005:

514.18 Retaining

514.19 Right of detainer

514.20 Sale

514.21 Sale, when and where made; notice

514.22 Conduct of sale 

All mechanics lien sales are listed in newspapers in Dakota County that meet the definition of a qualified newspaper as set forth by Minnesota Statute 331A.02.  The most frequently used newspapers are:

• Dakota County Tribune
• Hastings Star Gazette
• Farmington Independent
• Rosemount Town Pages

To assist with advertising your sale, click here to download and print a Notice of Sale Form.