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Finding the Two ID Plates on a HUD-Code Manufactured Home
Where to find a manufactured home's federal certification label and data plate, and exactly what each one must show under HUD rules.
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Updated: Sources: 2
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What matters now
- The certification label is a small aluminum plate, about 2 by 4 inches, on each transportable section.
- It sits near the taillight end, about 1 foot up from the floor and 1 foot in from the road side.
- The label certifies the home met federal construction standards in effect when it was built.
- A separate paper data plate is posted near the main electrical panel or another visible spot.
- The data plate lists the serial number, manufacture date, and the home's roof and wind load design.
Every HUD-code manufactured home carries two separate federal identification plates, each with its own required location and required contents. A small certification label sits near the taillight end of each transportable section, and a larger paper data plate is posted near the electrical panel. Neither one substitutes for the other, and neither one tells you whether the home was installed correctly or what condition it is in today.
This original record-reading guide is a general reading aid, not cited evidence. It does not depict a source record; the article text and source links provide the facts.
Key points
- A federal certification label — about 2 in. by 4 in., etched on aluminum — is fixed near the taillight end of each transportable section.
- The label certifies that the home met federal construction standards in effect when it was manufactured.
- A separate paper data plate is posted near the main electrical panel or another readily accessible, visible spot.
- The data plate lists the unit’s identifying details and structural design, including its roof and wind load zone.
Certification label location
The certification label is “approximately 2 in. by 4 in. in size” and “etched on 0.032 in. thick aluminum plate” (24 CFR 3280.11).
Manufacturers must fix one label to each transportable section of the home, “located at the taillight end of each transportable section” (24 CFR 3280.11). A home built from multiple transportable sections carries one label on each section.
Within that end of the section, the rule pins the label down further: “approximately 1 foot up from the floor and 1 foot in from the road side, or as near that location on a permanent part of the exterior of the manufactured home section as practicable” (24 CFR 3280.11). If that exact spot isn’t practical on a given home, the label goes on the nearest permanent exterior surface instead.
What the certification label confirms
The label’s purpose is narrow but specific: it certifies that the home “is constructed in conformance with the Federal manufactured home construction and safety standards in effect on the date of manufacture” (24 CFR 3280.11). In practical terms, that means the standards that applied on the day the home was built — not any later or earlier version of the federal code.
Data plate location
The data plate is a separate, paper document — not the small aluminum certification label — and it is typically found inside the home rather than on its exterior. It must be posted “near the main electrical panel or other readily accessible and visible location” (24 CFR 3280.5).
What the data plate must show
Where the certification label is a brief compliance statement, the data plate is a fuller record of the unit’s identity and design. Its required contents include “the name and address of the manufacturing plant,” “the serial number and model designation of the unit, and the date the unit was manufactured,” “a list of the certification label(s) number(s) that are affixed to each transportable manufactured section,” and “a list of major factory-installed equipment, including the manufacturer’s name and the model designation of each appliance” (24 CFR 3280.5).
The data plate must also carry “reference to the roof load zone and wind load zone for which the home is designed” (24 CFR 3280.5).
What this does not tell you
Locating and reading these two plates confirms what the home was certified and labeled as when it left the factory. They do not tell you:
- How the home was installed. Site installation is a separate question that neither the certification label nor the data plate addresses.
- The home’s current physical condition. Both plates are fixed at the time of manufacture and don’t change if the home ages or is damaged later.
- How a state titles or zones the home. Those are separate state-level processes.
- What to do about a missing or damaged label. Replacing a lost or damaged plate is a different question from what these two records require the labels to contain in the first place.
Source links
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-B/chapter-XX/part-3280/subpart-A/section-3280.11 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-24/subtitle-B/chapter-XX/part-3280/subpart-A/section-3280.5