Moving a manufactured home in Pennsylvania

Who licenses installers in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is one of the states where HUD's Office of Manufactured Housing Programs runs the installation program.

HUD sets the construction standards for new manufactured homes, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) enforces them in the state as HUD's State Administrative Agency.

DCED handles consumer complaints about new manufactured homes and sets the habitability and installation standards for homes that are moved.

Sources: HUD runs installer licensing; Pennsylvania is a HUD-administered installation state

Installer license

HUD's installer license is required in the states where HUD runs the installation program, which include Pennsylvania.

A HUD installer license is valid in every state where HUD runs the installation program, but an installer may still need state or local business licenses.

After setting up a new home, the HUD licensed installer must give a completed HUD Form 309 to the buyer, the retailer and the local code official, who needs it to issue the certificate of occupancy.

When a used home is moved and set up again, a licensed installer completes Pennsylvania's Certificate of Compliance form and sends it to the buyer and the local code official before the certificate of occupancy is issued.

Sources: HUD license only in HUD-run states; Form HUD 309 after a new installation

Permits to move the home

PennDOT's single trip permit for a mobile home or modular housing unit costs $53 for a home under 14 feet wide and $103 for one over 14 feet wide, under the fee schedule effective July 1, 2025.

A home over 13 feet and up to 14 feet in body width needs one pilot car. A mobile home wider than 14 feet in body width must travel with two pilot cars on every highway, one in front and one behind.

The widest mobile home PennDOT can permit is 16 feet; homes over 14 feet in body width move under the Vehicle Code's special mobile home rules in section 4973.

Sources: Mobile home permit fee; Two pilot cars over 14 feet

Title and taxes before the 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.

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.

PennDOT's certificate of title fee is $72.00.

Sources: Removal permit from the tax collector; Tax status certification for a sale; Title fee $72

Installation standards

A used home that is moved can be installed by its original installation manual, by the Pennsylvania Installation Guide for Relocated Manufactured Homes, or by the PHRC field guide to foundation systems.

Before a used home is set up at a new site, the building permit applicant completes the state's habitability checklist and gives it to the municipal code official.

A new home's installation must be checked against the installation manual by a HUD qualified inspector.

Source: Three ways to install a relocated home

Checking a license

HUD's Licensed Installers list, updated September 15, 2026, names the individuals licensed to install manufactured homes, grouped by state, with license numbers and expiration dates.

Source: HUD Licensed Installers list

Complaints and recovery

Installation complaints in Pennsylvania go to HUD's Office of Manufactured Housing Programs at (800) 927-2891 or (202) 708-6423.

Complaints about a mobile home park owner go to the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection at 1-800-441-2555.

Sources: Installation complaints go to HUD; Park complaints go to the Attorney General