Mobile home titles in Vermont

Vermont transfers a mobile home through the town land records rather than a DMV title: a Mobile Home Uniform Bill of Sale, endorsed by the town clerk and filed in the town records. The information below describes how the law generally works; anyone with a specific title question should consider consulting a licensed attorney in Vermont.

What the statute says

Under 9 V.S.A. §2602(b), "prior to the sale or transfer of ownership of a mobile home, the seller ... shall provide a copy of a completed, unexecuted, mobile home bill of sale ... to the town clerk in which the mobile home is located for his or her endorsement." The clerk "shall not endorse a mobile home uniform bill of sale unless ... all property taxes due and payable on the mobile home ... have been paid in full" (§2602(b)(2)). The seller then "execute[s] and provide[s] the endorsed bill of sale to the buyer," and "the buyer ... shall execute and then file the executed bill of sale with the clerk of the town in which the mobile home will be located within 10 days" (§2602(b)(3)–(4)). The form notice states that "a financing statement evidencing a security interest in the Mobile Home must be filed with the Secretary of State."

A mobile home financed as residential real estate is conveyed differently: §2604 requires it to be "conveyed by a warranty deed" (or quitclaim deed) in the statutory form, with the consent of the landowner where the home is sited, giving the transfer "the force and effect of a deed in fee simple."

How it works in general

Vermont doesn't issue a vehicle-style DMV title for a mobile home. Instead, a sale runs through the town clerk: the seller gets the Uniform Bill of Sale endorsed (which the clerk does only after confirming the home's property taxes are paid), both parties sign it, and the buyer files it with the clerk of the town where the home will sit within 10 days — and any lender records its security interest with the Secretary of State. A home that has been financed or affixed as residential real estate is instead conveyed by a recorded deed and taxed as real property (with the property transfer tax); a home that isn't is personal property subject to sales tax. The endorsed bill of sale (or deed), the town records, and any financing statement are the key documents.

Common scenarios

General examples Vermont residents commonly encounter:

• A home is sold on a rented lot. Ownership transfers by a Mobile Home Uniform Bill of Sale endorsed and filed with the town clerk (§2602).
• The clerk won't endorse the bill of sale. The home's property taxes must be paid first (§2602(b)(2)).
• A home is financed as real estate. It's conveyed by deed and taxed as real property (§2604).

Other authorities that may apply

The town clerk endorses and records the bill of sale and the property tax (9 V.S.A. Chapter 72; 32 V.S.A.); the Secretary of State records security interests; the Vermont Department of Taxes administers the property transfer tax and sales tax on a mobile home sale. The home's construction follows the federal HUD code, and the bill of sale or deed and any financing documents also control.