Mobile & Manufactured Home Bonded Titles

A manufactured home is not always titled by the motor vehicle agency, and that single fact decides whether a surety bond is even on the table. The states in this guide fall into three groups:

• A separate state agency, not the DMV (housing or licensing). In Texas the home is excluded from the Certificate of Title Act and handled by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, which issues a Statement of Ownership rather than a title ("mobile homes are excluded from the provisions of the Certificate of Title Act," TxDMV Motor Vehicle Title Manual). In California the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) titles current manufactured homes, not the DMV. In Michigan the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) issues the certificate of title under the Mobile Home Commission Act.
• The motor vehicle / revenue agency. North Carolina (NCDMV), Georgia (Department of Revenue, County Tag Office), Florida (FLHSMV), Missouri (Department of Revenue), Arizona (MVD), and Alabama (Department of Revenue, through a designated agent) title the home through the same agency that titles vehicles.
• The county, as real property. In Colorado, "Manufactured homes certificates are filed and recorded by the County Clerk and Recorder" — the certificates of permanent location, removal and destruction — while a bonded title runs on DMV Form DR 2922. In Washington the home can be titled as personal property by the Department of Licensing or "recorded as real property within the county it is located."

For Tennessee and Arkansas, confirm with the Department of Revenue and the DFA Office of Motor Vehicle which office titles a manufactured home.

Which agency titles the home matters, but it does not settle the bond question by itself: Michigan's LARA and Colorado's DR 2922 both document a bond, while Texas excludes mobile homes from the Certificate of Title Act and handles them through TDHCA. For California, Washington, and Missouri, confirm with HCD, DOL, and the Department of Revenue respectively, since the official pages describe a non-bond process without ruling the bond out in writing.

In several states in this guide, a home that is permanently attached to land and treated as real estate moves to a real-property record. Washington can "record as real property within the county it is located." Colorado uses an Affidavit of Real Property "when no title is available for a Manufactured Home that is permanently affixed" (for homes affixed before July 1, 2008). Tennessee records an "Affidavit Of Affixation For Manufactured Or Mobile Home" (Form RV-F1322101) through the county. In North Carolina, Form MVR-46G is the "Cancellation of Mobile Home Titles." Because these are real-property steps, confirm with the titling agency — including Tennessee DOR on whether a bond can be written on an affixed home — before assuming a surety bond is an option.

Michigan

LARA issues the certificate of title for manufactured homes, and the bond is a backstop rather than a default: it applies only "if the department is not satisfied as to the ownership." The amount is "twice the value of the mobile home as determined by the department," and the bond "shall be returned at the end of 5 years" (MCL 125.2330a). Title applies to "every mobile home located in this state" after December 31, 1978 (MCL 125.2330). Note this LARA bond is separate from the motor-vehicle title bond described on our Michigan vehicle title bonds page, which Michigan's Secretary of State requires under MCL 257.217.

Alabama

Alabama uses a flat bond schedule by model-year age — $50,000 for a home under 10 model years old and $25,000 for one 10 or more model years old (Admin. Code 810-5-75-.34) — processed through a designated agent such as the county license plate issuing official. If you bring a home into Alabama on an out-of-state bonded title, you still post an Alabama bond: an application supported by an out-of-state surety-bond title requires the applicant "to post a surety bond in Alabama in order to title the motor vehicle or manufactured home,"; as with any Alabama bonded title, the application "must be made within ninety (90) days from the date the surety bond was executed." See more on our Alabama vehicle title bonds page.

Colorado

Colorado records manufactured-home certificates through the County Clerk and Recorder, and Form DR 2922 is the "Title Or Salvage Title Established By Surety Bond." For a manufactured home the certified VIN inspection is replaced by a VIN verification on DR 2698, and "VIN inspections are not required for manufactured homes coming in from out of state." Where the home was permanently affixed before July 1, 2008 and no title exists, Colorado uses an Affidavit of Real Property instead. More on our Colorado vehicle title bonds page.

North Carolina

NCDMV handles mobile-home titles, and the bond amount is driven by appraisals rather than the standard Value Schedule: "two appraisals from different North Carolina dealers are required." Form MVR-46G is the Cancellation of Mobile Home Titles. Confirm the bond amount with NCDMV before applying. More on our North Carolina vehicle title bonds page.

Florida

Florida is the clearest no: Form TL-70 lists "Vessel, mobile home, recreational vehicle, or off-highway vehicle" among the items a bonded title cannot be issued for. Where ownership of a "motor vehicle or mobile home" has already passed by court order or operation of law, s. 319.28(2)(a) accepts an affidavit "together with a copy of the journal entry, court order, or instrument upon which such claim ... is founded." For a home with no paperwork at all, TL-70 refers to another procedure — confirm it, and the current application form, with FLHSMV. Rebuilt mobile homes are handled under procedure TL-37.

Texas, California, Washington, and Missouri — a non-bond process

In these states the sources describe a non-bond route for manufactured homes: three of them title the home outside the vehicle agency, and Missouri's DOR titles it under a separate manufactured-home statute. Texas excludes mobile homes from the Certificate of Title Act; TDHCA issues a Statement of Ownership, you "must apply to the Department for it within 60 days from the date of any sale," and where the seller is gone the Department reviews an application backed by "evidence of ownership (i.e. bill of sale, purchase agreement, contract, receipts, deed records, etc.)" ; when converting a home from real property back to personal property and the applicant is not the owner of record, TDHCA's rules accept proof such as "a court order confirming ownership, or title insurance policy." California's HCD titles current manufactured homes and handles a lost, stolen or illegible title with Form HCD RT 480.4 (duplicate title). Washington lets you title the home as personal property through DOL or "recorded as real property within the county," approved by the county auditor. Missouri's Department of Revenue titles manufactured homes under RSMo 700.320, accepting a bill of sale "only if the purchaser/seller is from a non-titling state or if a Missouri seller provides the purchaser with a statement from the seller's county assessor stating the manufactured home was previously assessed as real estate." For California, Washington, and Missouri, confirm with HCD, DOL, and the Department of Revenue on whether a surety bond is available.