The Closing Itself
Mobile Home Title in a Florida Closing
Direct answer
A Florida mobile home becomes part of the real estate only after the certificate of title is retired under Fla. Stat. § 319.261. Until then, a deed to the land does not transfer the home. The same person must own the home and the land, or hold a recorded lease of 30 years or more, and the home must be permanently affixed. The title, the legal description, and a sworn statement are recorded with the clerk before FLHSMV retires the title. An RP decal has to be issued first. Time to Close Title closes the real estate. We do not issue or retire the certificate of title.
Key takeaways
- A deed transfers the home only after the certificate of title is retired and has not been reinstated.
- Retirement requires ownership of the land, or a recorded lease of 30 years or more, plus permanent affixation.
- The title must already be in the land owner's name, and an RP decal must be issued, before FLHSMV will retire it.
- Only a mobile home with body type HS can be retired. A park trailer or a modular-building title cannot.
- We close and insure the real property. The tax collector and FLHSMV handle the certificate of title.
When does a deed transfer a Florida mobile home?
Only after the certificate of title has been retired under Fla. Stat. § 319.261 and has not been put back in force. The statute says the home is then conveyed by deed or real estate contract, and only together with the land it is affixed to. A warranty deed, a special warranty deed, or a quitclaim of the lot does not move an active certificate of title.
That is a different question from the property tax card. Under § 320.015, a mobile home is taxed as real property only when its owner also owns the land and the home is permanently affixed. Otherwise it is subject to a license tax. Section 319.261(11) says retiring the title does not itself change that tax treatment. A home can be on the tax roll as real property and still have a live title at FLHSMV. The title search has to look for both.
| What you have | What transfers the home | What we close |
|---|---|---|
| Title retired, not reinstated | A deed, together with the land | The real estate, including the home |
| Active HS title, owner also owns the land | The certificate of title. Retirement can come after the title is in the owner's name | The land. The deed alone does not transfer the home |
| Lot lease shorter than 30 years | The certificate of title | Not a deed of the home. A short park lease is not § 319.261 ownership |
| Park trailer (PT) or modular building (MD) title | Those titles cannot be retired | FLHSMV procedure TL-39 limits retirement to body type HS |
How is a Florida mobile home title retired?
FLHSMV procedure TL-39, under § 319.261, is the sequence. The certificate of title must already be in the name of the person who owns the real property. Buying the home and retiring the title in one signature does not work. The buyer takes title in their own name first. An RP decal must already be issued. There is no FLHSMV fee and no tax-collector service charge for the retirement itself. Recording with the clerk is separate, and we do not invent the clerk's fee.
A double-wide or triple-wide has a title for each section. Each section needs its own retirement application, and every title has to be in hand. A lost section title has to be duplicated before the packet is recorded. A lien on the face of the title needs a satisfaction, or a statement from the lienholder that the lien will be released when the title is retired. After retirement, § 319.261(7) says there is no separate security interest in the home. The home is secured only by a mortgage on the real property.
30 years
Minimum recorded lease that counts as ownership for retirement.
HS only
Body type FLHSMV will retire. Park trailers and MD titles are out.
No FLHSMV fee
The retirement application itself. Clerk recording is separate.
Put the title in the land owner's name
FLHSMV will not retire a title that is still in the seller's name. An RP decal has to be issued first.
Record the packet with the clerk
Original title with year, make, width, length, and VIN; any lien release; the legal description; a 30-year lease if the land is leased; and the owner's sworn statement that the home is permanently affixed.
Apply to retire the title
Form HSMV 82109 goes to the tax collector with copies the clerk has stamped. One application per section. FLHSMV then retires the title.
Convey by deed after that
The home transfers only with the land. To move it later, the title has to be reinstated.
Which tax applies, sales tax or documentary stamps?
It follows how the home is transferred. FLHSMV procedure TL-08 says a straight sale of a mobile home that is not real property is charged 6 percent state sales tax on the sales price. A new mobile home, one whose title has never moved from a manufacturer, distributor, importer, or dealer to an ultimate purchaser, is 3 percent state sales tax, effective July 1, 2022. County discretionary surtax, if any, applies only to the first $5,000 and depends on the purchaser's residence county. We do not publish a county surtax rate.
The same procedure says a transfer of a home that has an RP decal is exempt from that sales tax when the land and the home are sold together. The deed is then the taxable document. Florida documentary stamp tax on a deed is covered in how stamp tax works. The Department of Revenue lists a document that transfers a mobile home as real property among the documents subject to that tax. Ask us for the figure in writing on the file. We do not guess it.
How does Time to Close Title close one from Spring Hill?
Send the contract to (352) 792-1214 or contact us. Say whether the home sits on land the seller owns, on a long lease, or on a park lot, and whether anyone has already retired the title. We search the Official Records of the county where the land sits. Hernando records in Brooksville. A Pasco or Citrus file can still be signed in Spring Hill, and it still records in that county. See Pasco and Citrus closings.
If the title is retired and has not been reinstated, we close the land and the home together: commitment, deed, and owner's policy on the real property. If the land is homestead, the spouse generally must join. Read why both spouses sign. If the title is still active, we will not insure the home as if the deed carried it. The tax collector transfers the certificate of title. Retirement can follow once that title is in the new owner's name and the RP decal is on the home.
A quitclaim we only prepare can convey the real property, including a home whose title is already retired. The client records that deed and pays the clerk. A quitclaim does not transfer an active certificate of title, and it does not retire one. If the home later has to come off the land, § 319.261(6) requires an affidavit from the owners and the lienholders and a title-company certification dated within 10 days of the application for a new title. We can prepare that certification when we are examining the file. We do not move the home.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Florida warranty deed transfer a mobile home?
It does if the certificate of title was retired under § 319.261 and has not been reinstated. The home then transfers only with the land. If the title is still active, the deed to the lot does not transfer the home.
Can I retire the title if I rent the lot?
Only if you have a recorded lease of 30 years or more. A typical park lease is shorter than that, so the home stays on a certificate of title. FLHSMV will not retire it.
Does owner's title insurance cover the mobile home?
It covers the real property we insure. After a recorded retirement, the home is part of that real property and is conveyed with the land. An active certificate of title is personal property. We do not treat the land policy as if it had retired the title.
Who retires the title?
FLHSMV, after the owner records the packet with the clerk and files form HSMV 82109 with the tax collector. Time to Close Title does not issue or retire certificates of title. There is no FLHSMV fee for the retirement application itself.
What if the home is a double-wide?
Each section has its own title and its own retirement application. Every title has to be recorded. A missing section title has to be replaced with a duplicate before retirement.
Can I use a quitclaim deed for a mobile home?
Yes, if the title is already retired, because the home is then part of the real estate. Time to Close Title prepares that deed. The client records it. A quitclaim does not transfer an active certificate of title.