When it comes to mobile home decals, most people are confused about what they mean. The decal number on a mobile home is not the same as the VIN or license tag that you see on cars driving down your street.
Mobile homes have their own set of laws and regulations when it comes to these numbers because there are multiple parties involved in buying and selling them from state agencies, banks, lending companies, dealerships, etc.
In this blog post, we’ll go over what each type of decal means so you can feel comfortable knowing exactly who owns any given mobile home in your neighborhood!
Mobile Home Decal Number
The decal number is not the VIN, but just like the VIN it follows unique patterns that are set forth by state and federal governments.
It can be found on both sides of the mobile home, just underneath the kitchen windows.
Mobile homes have different placement for these mobile home decals from state to state so you might have to eyeball a few before you find them!
If they’re not in this spot, then they’d be on one of the front corners or even on a label sewn into one of the seams.
What does a mobile home decal mean?
The mobile home decal tells you exactly who owns a mobile home at any given point in time, making it much easier when tracking down a specific person.
Every mobile home has a decal number that is unique to it and the state in which it was built or purchased.
These decals follow a very strict pattern so you can easily tell one from another by looking at them.
1- Federal Government issued Mobile Home Decal
The federal government’s role with these decals is to track all of the mobile homes being manufactured and sold from manufacturers, dealerships, etc.(www.hud.gov/)
They have nothing to do with tracking down an owner if anything goes wrong with a mobile home – this must be done through county records where the address of the owner is listed next to their name on a property tax bill or deed/title document.
Federal decal numbers start with a letter that represents the country in which it was manufactured, then has a dash or hyphen, then four more letters or numbers.
For example:
- AL-xxx = Alabama manufactured mobile home being sold by an authorized dealership located in Alabama
- AR-xxx = Arkansas manufactured mobile home being sold by an authorized dealership located in Arkansas
- AZ-xxx = Arizona manufactured mobile home being sold by an authorized dealership located in Arizona and so on.
The federal government is not involved with direct sales of homes from one owner to another. These must be done through local dealerships and banks detailing the sale of the property.
Example: Bob bought a 40′ doublewide from Brewer Mobile Homes in Alabama, but he lives in North Carolina so he has to sell the home.
The dealership where it was purchased is not involved in this sale, so instead Bob’s local bank would be filing paperwork with the federal government about this sale.
2- State issued Mobile Home Decal:
The state issues decals to measure how many mobile homes are being sold in their state and what the address of that mobile home is at that given time.
These can show up on manufacturers, dealerships, or banks depending on who is selling the mobile home – these are also different from county records where owners’ addresses are listed next to their names on a property tax bill or deed/title document!
This usually only matters if a mobile home is abandoned or seized for some reason and the bank or government has to track it down because people are living in it!
Example: Bob’s mobile home is seized by police, but he has no record of owning this mobile home; his local bank filed paperwork with the state saying they own Bob’s old mobile home.
The state doesn’t know about any individuals’ names or addresses, so they can easily look up the address next to the decal number on their records and find where this house was located.
3- Sale/Dealership Mobile Home Decal:
Another good use for these decals is tracking down where a mobile home was purchased if you’re trying to get information about its owner or location! If you see one of these decals on a mobile home, it means that one of two things happened:
- Someone bought the home and is no longer living in it (the decal was put there as part of the transaction when they bought it).
- The home has been abandoned or seized and is now being tracked down by someone who needs to reclaim it.
4- Manufacturer’s Mobile Home Decal:
These decals will either be attached to a used mobile home before you buy it (or else you would know that this isn’t a “used” mobile home! It’s actually “new”), or these decals are only on new homes. If you’re looking at a new mobile home and see one of these, then congratulations, you found a new home!
These decals are used by the manufacturer to track homes of theirs that are being sold through authorized dealerships.
These would not be on new homes being sold directly from the manufacturer because then they would already know who owns these homes and where they’re located, so why do they need to file paperwork with the federal government?
Remember, if you see one of these on your mobile home it doesn’t mean anything special other than the fact that this is a “new” home.
Also Read: Do Travel Trailers Have Vin Numbers?
Where is the serial number located on a mobile home?
The serial number on a mobile home can typically be found:
- On the data plate, which is usually located on the door or near the main electrical panel
- On the registration certificate or title
- On any documentation from the manufacturer or dealer
If you’re having trouble finding the serial number, you can also try contacting the manufacturer or dealer. They should be able to help you locate it.
Is the serial number the same as the VIN on a mobile home?
The two numbers are different. The serial number is used to identify the manufacturer of the mobile home, while the VIN number is used to identify the specific vehicle.
The serial number can be found on the data plate, which is usually located on the front door or near one of the windows. The VIN number, on the other hand, is typically located on the frame of the mobile home.
It is important to note that the VIN number for a mobile home is not the same as the VIN number for a car. The VIN number for a mobile home is composed of 17 characters, while the VIN number for a car only has 16 characters.
Conclusion
A decal number is an identifying sticker on a mobile home that tells you who manufactured it and when. It’s important to know this for any warranty claims, but also if you’re considering buying one!