Move Checklist

How to title a mobile home in Pennsylvania

PennDOT titles mobile and manufactured homes as vehicles, for a $72 title fee, within 20 days of a sale. Before a home leaves its taxing district, the local tax collector must issue a $2 removal permit once all taxes on it are paid.

Sources read October 7, 2026. Each section links the pages it came from.

Who issues the title

Manufactured and mobile home titles in Pennsylvania are handled by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT). A lost title is replaced with a duplicate from PennDOT; the state housing agency, DCED, keeps no title records.

Pennsylvania's Vehicle Code defines a mobile home as a trailer built for living quarters that is too large for normal highway travel and only incidentally driven on a highway.

An owner of a vehicle in Pennsylvania that has no Pennsylvania title must apply to PennDOT for one, and failing to get a required title is a summary offense.

A mobile home is titled but does not need vehicle registration or a plate.

Sources: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Manufactured Housing; Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 1, section 102 (Definitions); Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 11 (Certificate of Title and Security Interests), including sections 1101, 1103.1, 1111.1, 1138 and 1140; Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 13 (Registration of Vehicles), section 1302

Deadline, forms and fees

Apply for the title within 20 days of the sale or transfer, or within 20 days of bringing the home into Pennsylvania, whichever is later.

PennDOT's certificate of title fee is $72.00.

Recording a lien costs $36.00 per lien, on top of the $72.00 title fee.

If the home was not anchored with utility hookups, was not lived in as a Pennsylvania residence, or is not titled in Pennsylvania, the seller fills out Form MV-16T instead of getting a tax status certification, and the buyer submits it with the title application.

A brand new home titled on the Manufacturer's Certificate of Origin needs neither a tax status certification nor Form MV-16T.

Sources: Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 11 (Certificate of Title and Security Interests), including sections 1101, 1103.1, 1111.1, 1138 and 1140; PennDOT Form MV-70S, Bureau of Motor Vehicles Schedule of Fees (4-26); PennDOT fact sheet, Titling a Mobile Home or Manufactured Home (February 2025)

Taxes before a sale

When a home that is anchored with utility hookups, titled in Pennsylvania and lived in is sold, the seller must get a tax status certification from the county Tax Claim Bureau and give it to the buyer and PennDOT with the transfer.

The certification shows the home's parcel number, any current or delinquent taxes owed, when the next tax will accrue, and how to reach the tax collector and the tax claim bureau.

If taxes are owed, the seller must pay the delinquent real estate taxes in full and get an updated certification before PennDOT completes the transfer.

A mobile home bought at a real estate tax sale comes with any lien already recorded against it; the buyer takes on that lien.

Sources: PennDOT fact sheet, Titling a Mobile Home or Manufactured Home (February 2025); PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services Bulletin 14-17, Act 98 Mobile Home/Manufactured Home Lien Assumption

Taxes before a move

Before a mobile or manufactured home leaves its taxing district, the owner must get a removal permit from the local tax collector. The permit costs $2 and is issued only after all taxes on the home are paid.

Moving a home out of its taxing district without a removal permit can bring a $100 fine plus costs, up to 30 days in jail, or both.

Mobile home park owners send the county assessment office a monthly record of the homes that arrived and left the park.

In Jefferson County, the removal permit form tells the person issuing it to confirm all taxes are paid and to check with the tax claim bureau for delinquent taxes before issuing the permit.

Mercer County's ownership change form warns buyers that real estate taxes due stay with the mobile home and the new owner, not the previous owner.

Sources: Pennsylvania General Assembly, 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 88 (Consolidated County Assessment), sections 8811 and 8821; Jefferson County Assessment and Tax Claim Bureau, Mobile Home Removal Permit; Mercer County Tax Assessment Office, Manufactured/Mobile Home Change of Ownership Report

Homes on land

A mobile or manufactured home that is permanently attached to land, or hooked up to water, gas, electric or sewer service, is taxed as real estate by local governments.

The county assesses and taxes the home in its owner's name, and the land under it is assessed separately.

When a mobile home is affixed to land, the owner can ask PennDOT to cancel its title. The home then becomes part of the real property, and any liens on it move to the land.

To title a home again after its title was cancelled, the owner files a title application with a certificate from an attorney or title company showing no mortgages, judgments or other liens of record against the home.

Sources: Pennsylvania General Assembly, 53 Pa.C.S. Chapter 88 (Consolidated County Assessment), sections 8811 and 8821; Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 11 (Certificate of Title and Security Interests), including sections 1101, 1103.1, 1111.1, 1138 and 1140

Liens

A lien recorded on a mobile home title stays perfected for 30 years and can be renewed.

Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly, 75 Pa.C.S. Chapter 11 (Certificate of Title and Security Interests), including sections 1101, 1103.1, 1111.1, 1138 and 1140

Data plate

If the data plate or HUD labels are missing, DCED points owners to the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS) for label verification or a data plate certificate, for a fee.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Manufactured Housing

Before you file

This page does not list the fee a county tax claim bureau charges for a tax status certification, or any sales or use tax on a used home. Ask the county tax claim bureau and PennDOT before the sale.

Sources and dates

Common questions

Who issues mobile home titles in Pennsylvania?

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) handles manufactured and mobile home titles, and a lost title is replaced with a duplicate from PennDOT. DCED, the state housing agency, keeps no title records.

Do I need a tax certificate to move a mobile home in Pennsylvania?

Yes. Pennsylvania law (53 Pa.C.S. 8821) makes it unlawful to move a mobile or manufactured home out of its taxing district without a removal permit from the local tax collector, which is issued for a $2 fee once all taxes on the home are paid.

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