To transfer a mobile home title in Texas, you file an Application for Statement of Ownership (Form 1023) with the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs within 60 days of the sale, along with a bill of sale, the seller’s existing Statement of Ownership, any lien releases, and a $55 fee. The TDHCA, not the DMV or a county clerk, keeps the ownership record for manufactured homes, and it issues a document called a Statement of Ownership that replaces what used to be called a title. A complete application takes about 15 working days to process once it reaches the agency.
Check Ownership and Liens Before You Pay
Before you hand over money, verify the seller actually owns the home and check for mortgage liens or tax liens attached to it. You can search the TDHCA database online using the home’s serial number, or call the Manufactured Housing Division at 1-800-500-7074 (extension 64471). The agency specifically recommends running this check before you buy a used manufactured home or submit a transfer application.1Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Instructions and Information: Applying for a Statement of Ownership
If a tax lien shows up, the TDHCA tracks that information and it has to be resolved as part of the transfer.2Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Tax Lien Information – Manufactured Housing Discovering a lien after you have already paid the seller is far worse than finding it beforehand.
Documents You Need to Gather
You will need both parties’ full legal names, current addresses, and contact information. For the home, you need the serial number (sometimes called the VIN), manufacturer, model, year, dimensions, and the HUD label or Texas Seal number.3Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Application for Statement of Ownership Most of this appears on the existing Statement of Ownership or on the data plate inside the home.
The core documents for a standard sale:
- Application for Statement of Ownership (Form 1023), signed by both buyer and seller. Notarization is optional.3Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Application for Statement of Ownership
- A bill of sale documenting the transaction. Notarization is not legally required but protects both parties if a dispute arises.
- The seller’s existing Statement of Ownership. If the home was titled before June 2003, the seller may have an older Certificate of Title, which the TDHCA treats the same way.4Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Frequently Asked Questions: Statement of Ownership
- A lien release if the seller had a loan on the home. TDHCA Form 1013 is the standard form.
Forms are on the TDHCA website. Form 1037 is a longer instruction guide that walks through which documents apply to your specific type of transaction.5Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Statement of Ownership Application Instructions Start there if your situation is not a straightforward sale.
Homes built after June 15, 1976, should carry a HUD certification label on the exterior and a data plate inside. If the label is missing, HUD does not reissue it, but its contractor, IBTS, can provide a Letter of Label Verification at (866) 482-8868.6U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Manufactured Housing HUD Labels (Tags) Homes with no HUD label need a Texas Seal, which adds $35 per section to the transfer fees.
What It Costs
The TDHCA charges a flat $55 to issue a new Statement of Ownership, whether the home is being transferred as personal property or as real property. Add $35 per section if the home needs a Texas Seal. A double-wide with no HUD labels runs $55 plus $70, or $125 total.7Cornell Law Institute. 10 Texas Admin Code 80.3 – Fees
Filing a lien release with the ownership transfer adds no separate fee. Pay by cashier’s check or money order made out to “TDHCA/MHD.” Personal checks are not accepted, and fees are non-refundable.
How to Submit the Application
Mail the complete package to:
Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs
Manufactured Housing Division
P.O. Box 12489
Austin, Texas 78711-24898Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Contact the Manufactured Housing Division
The package should include Form 1023, the bill of sale, the existing Statement of Ownership, any lien release documents, and payment. Send it certified mail with return receipt so you have proof it arrived. In-person submission is allowed but does not speed up processing.
Deadline and Processing Time
You have 60 days from the sale date on the bill of sale to file the application.4Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Frequently Asked Questions: Statement of Ownership Missing that window can trigger a late fee on top of the standard $55, so start pulling documents together before closing rather than after.
Once the TDHCA has a complete application, processing takes up to 15 working days, plus mail time in each direction.5Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Statement of Ownership Application Instructions If something is missing or incorrect, the agency sends a notice requesting corrections, and the clock restarts. The common reasons for rejection are mismatched serial numbers, missing signatures, and unsigned lien releases.
When the New Statement of Ownership Arrives
The TDHCA mails the new Statement of Ownership to the address the new owner listed on Form 1023. If a lienholder was recorded on the application, the agency mails a copy to the lender too. Check every detail as soon as it arrives: your name, the serial number, the location, and any liens shown. A correction of a TDHCA error is free; a correction of an error that came from your application means filing a new Form 1023 with another $55 fee.7Cornell Law Institute. 10 Texas Admin Code 80.3 – Fees
Store the document somewhere secure. You will need it again if you sell, refinance, convert to real property, or move the home.
Transfers After a Death
When an owner dies, the path depends on whether there is a will, whether the estate goes through probate, and whether a right of survivorship agreement is already on file with the TDHCA.
If no probate is opened, the TDHCA accepts a Statement of Inheritance (Form 1014, also called Form C), which works as an affidavit of heirship.9Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Statement of Inheritance File it with the standard Form 1023 and the $55 fee. If the estate does go through probate, the agency generally wants certified copies of letters testamentary or letters of administration from the probate court instead.
Co-owners who want the home to pass to the survivor automatically can put an Affidavit of Fact for Right of Survivorship (Form 1018) on file. Both owners sign, and the signatures must be notarized.10Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Affidavit of Fact for Right of Survivorship Ownership Agreement The form has different attestation blocks depending on whether the co-owners are legally married, in a common-law marriage, unmarried, or married to other people.
Transfers After a Divorce
To remove a former spouse from the Statement of Ownership, file Form 1023 with a certified copy of the divorce decree that awards the home to one party. The standard $55 fee applies.5Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Statement of Ownership Application Instructions If a lien remains, the lender’s consent, or a refinance into the retaining spouse’s name alone, may be needed before the TDHCA will process the change. The divorce decree alone does not resolve the lender’s interest.
Converting the Home to Real Property
If you own both the home and the land it sits on (or hold a qualifying long-term lease), you can elect to treat the home as real property. That changes how it is taxed and financed and generally opens the door to a conventional mortgage instead of a chattel loan.
You make the election on Form 1023. The home must be properly installed and connected to utilities, and every existing lienholder must either release the lien or give written consent to the conversion. The TDHCA then issues a Statement of Ownership that shows the real property election on its face.
Within 60 days after the TDHCA issues that new document, you must file a certified copy in the real property records of the county where the home sits, and notify both the TDHCA and the chief appraiser of the county appraisal district that you have done so. The election is not perfected until all of that is complete.11Texas Public Law. Texas Occupations Code Section 1201.2055 – Election by Owner Miss the county filing and the home ends up in a gray zone where the state record shows real property but the county record does not, which creates title problems later.
If You Are Also Moving the Home
Transportation is handled by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, not the TDHCA. A single-trip manufactured housing permit costs $40 and is valid for one move over up to five days.12Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Manufactured Housing Single-Trip Permits Relocating the home also starts a new 60-day window to file with the TDHCA for an updated Statement of Ownership showing the new location.4Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. Frequently Asked Questions: Statement of Ownership