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A Guide to Civil Process for the Citizens of Anoka County

Mechanics' Lien Sales

This site is intended as a guide to Civil Process for the citizens of Anoka County. The information contained herein is meant to answer the most common questions received by office staff. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN IS INTENDED ONLY TO BE A GENERAL OUTLINE OF THE PROCEDURES THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE FOLLOWS. IT IS INFORMATIONAL ONLY AND YOU SHOULD NEVER RELY ON THIS INFORMATION AS LEGAL ADVICE TO YOU. IF YOU ARE UNSURE OF HOW TO PROCEED, YOU SHOULD PROTECT YOURSELF BY CONSULTING A LAWYER ABOUT WHAT YOU SHOULD DO IN YOUR INDIVIDUAL SITUATION. LAWS IN THIS AREA ARE COMPLICATED AND A LAWYER CAN SUGGEST THE APPROPRIATE COURSE OF LEGAL ACTION TO TAKE IN YOUR CASE. THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE CANNOT GIVE YOU LEGAL ADVICE NOR CAN IT RECOMMEND ANY SPECIFIC LAWYER OR LAW FIRM.

On this page:

• Responsibility of the Lienholder
• General Guidelines
• Anoka County Sheriff’s Office - Sale Requirements

Responsibility of the Lienholder

For more information, see Minnesota Statute 514, sections 514.18 - 51.22.

General Guidelines

Following are important requirements that must be met in order to have a successful sale.

• Individual or business bringing forth the action - In order for you to act as lienholder over property, you must have met the statutory requirements set forth in the subdivisions of Minnesota State Statutes 514.18 or 514.19
• 90 days must have elapsed after the bill becomes due to the lienholder.
• Notice to secured creditors. If the property is a motor vehicle and there are secured creditors on the certificate of title, the lienholder must provide written notice to the secured creditors by registered mail at least 45 days prior to the sale date.
  • The notice must state the name, address, and telephone number of the lienholder, the amount of money owed, and the rate of storage charges if they are accruing.
  • Costs for registered mail and other reasonable costs related to complying with this notice provision constitute “lawful” charges.
  • Failure to comply with the notice provision in this section renders the lien created by this chapter ineffective against any secured party listed on the certificate of title of the motor vehicle involved. (The notice to secured creditors may or may not be the same as the notice of sale. Each notice requires specific statutory language be included so draft the notice accordingly.)
• The sale herein provided for shall be made at public auction between nine o’clock in the morning and five o’clock in the afternoon in the county where the property or some part thereof is situated. Lienholders should contact the Sheriff’s Office where the property is situated for days and dates that work best. The Anoka County Sheriff's Office requests that sale dates be set on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, sufficiently in advance of the date of the sale in order to complete all the required notifications. Sales cannot be scheduled on Sundays and holidays. The sale should begin on the hour and not on the half-hour since the sale must take place within the stated hour.
• The notice of sale must state the date, time and location of the sale; the amount that will be due on the date of the sale exclusive of the expenses of advertising and sale; and the grounds of the lien (for what reason), giving a general description of the property to be sold. The notice shall be served upon the owner of the property if the owner can be found within the county in which the property is stored, and if not then it shall be mailed to the owner at least 45 days before the time fixed for such sale if the place of residence or post office address of such owner is known by, or with due diligence can be learned by, the person claiming such lien, and shall be published once in each week for three successive weeks in a newspaper printed and published in the county where the property, or some part of thereof, is situated, the last publication of such notice to be at least one week prior to the date of sale; or, if there is no newspaper printed and published in the county, then the notice of sale shall be posted in three of the most public places in the county at least three weeks before the time of sale.
  
  In case neither the place of residence nor the post office address of such owner is known to the person claiming such lien and cannot with reasonable diligence be learned, the publication or posting of notice, as herein provided, shall be sufficient to authorize such sale.
  
  The notice of sale to be served should read the same as the notice that is published in the newspaper. The same statutory information is required.
• General Description - If the property is a motor vehicle, the notice of sale should include the make, model, year and vehicle identification number (VIN). Verification should be made by getting a copy of a vehicle printout from the State of Minnesota Department of Vehicle Services (DVS) and confirm it with the VIN on the vehicle. This is not a statutory requirement, however you need to check and see if there are secured creditors and using the VIN is the easiest way to do that. The DVS will release information on the vehicle to businesses bringing forth the sale upon request and receipt of the accompanying fee but will not release information to private individuals who are lienholders who bring forth the sale.
• Vehicle Printouts - A vehicle printout from the DVS costs $4.50 and can be picked up at their main floor counter or requested by mail at the address listed below. Businesses should use their letterhead when requesting vehicle printouts.

Driver and Vehicle Services
445 Minnesota St Suite 168
St Paul MN 55101
(651) 296-6911
e-mail address; motor.vehicles@state.mn.us

Anoka County Sheriff’s Office - Sale Requirements

Letter of Instruction. You must submit a letter of instruction to the Sheriff’s Office Civil Unit. The letter should be specific as to what you want the Sheriff's Office to do. The letter should include the date of sale. Please indicate if you want the Sheriff’s Office to accomplish service of the notice of sale on the owner(s) of the property. A fee is charged for each service. (See Civil Process Fees.) Provide the name and address of the individual(s) you wish to have served and additional copies of the notice of sale for each service. Include your name, business name, and address and phone number on the letter of instruction and attach the following:

• A copy of the notice of sale
• Proof of mailing notice to secured creditors at least 45 days prior to sale date if the property has secured creditors.
• An affidavit of mailing is acceptable if the owner is in/not in the county that the vehicle is being sold; a notice must have been mailed to the last known address. Examples of an affidavit of mailing are: a signed certified letter receipt, a returned envelope from the post office, a statement from the person that mailed the notice or an affidavit from the possessor that the owners address cannot be found.
• Copies of notice of sale as published in the newspaper with dates listed or affidavit from the publisher stating that the notice was published and on what dates. The publication of notice of sale is once a week for three successive weeks. The last date of publication cannot be less than seven days from the date of the sale.