Mobile Home Tax Clearance

A tax clearance certificate is a document issued by our office, upon request, to identify the amount of tax liability that exists on a particular mobile home and the final date the amount may be paid before additional amounts are due.

If you have not previously requested a certificate, you will need to complete the Manufactured Home Tax Clearance Certificate Request Form that is available on this website as a fillable form. The form can be completed online and emailed, mailed, faxed, or delivered in person to our office. The HCD Title Search must be included in order for your request to be processed.

If you have previously requested a certificate and it has expired, a fee of $45 will be charged to reissue it. The form and all required documents must be mailed or delivered in person to our office along with your payment of $45.

If the new owner is an active duty military or a registered Native American, you must provide other documentation at the time of submitting the request to support your eligibility for an exclusion from reappraisal.

There are two types of mobile home tax clearance certificates issued: conditionals and regulars.  

• Conditionals are only issued to escrow or title companies that have an open escrow. Conditional certificates can take up to 5-business days for processing.
• Regular clearances are issued for all other requests and can take up to 30-days for processing. 

All requests can be emailed, faxed, mailed, or delivered in person to any branch location.  You may request to pick up a Regular Clearance from a branch office when it is ready. Upon completion of a conditional clearance, we will email a copy of the tax clearance certificate to the escrow or title company and the original will be mailed.

Most requests are completed before the allotted processing time.

Yes, you may, depending on when the tax clearance certificate is requested, and whether existing tax bills are paid at the time the tax clearance certificate is requested.

January 1 is the lien date for property taxes for the fiscal year that begins the following July 1. After January 1, we are required to estimate the tax liability for the new fiscal year. Payment of the estimated tax liability plus any unpaid prior year taxes is required before the tax clearance will be issued.

If the tax clearance request has been made by an escrow company as a result of a pending sale, we will issue a Conditional Tax Clearance Certificate requiring the estimated tax liability and all existing unpaid property taxes be collected at the close of escrow and paid to our office.

We do not pro-rate mobile home property tax bills. Any pro-rations of the property tax bills appearing on the certificate, whether paid or unpaid, must be made between buyer and seller.

If you are requesting a certificate for the first time, the completed form and HCD registration or title report can be submitted online, by mail, by fax or in person. Requests to reissue a previously issued certificate must include the $45 fee to reissue, and must be mailed or submitted in person.

There is no fee for a tax clearance certificate unless a previously issued tax clearance certificate expires prior to the date upon which title transfers. There is a cost of $45 for any subsequent tax clearance certificate issued with respect to a mobile home for which a tax clearance certificate has been previously issued.

The certificate is valid for 60 days from the date of issuance. If, for any reason, the sale or transfer does not take place within that sixty-day time period, then a new request must be submitted and the certificate will be reissued. A fee of $45 (payable to SDTTC) is required to reissue a certificate. Requests for reissued certificates can only be done in person or by mailing the documents and payment to our office.

Property tax bills for manufactured homes are billed annually in the same manner as secured property tax bills to allow for payment of the annual tax in two installments.

The first installment is due on November 1 and delinquent if not paid by December 10; the second installment is due on February 1 and delinquent if not paid by April 10. 

Failure to pay an installment by the deadline results in a 10% penalty immediately following the delinquent date. The first installment is delinquent if not paid by December 10, and the second installment is delinquent if not paid by April 10. A $10 charge is also added to the second installment.

If the tax bill is not paid by June 30, the taxes will be subject to a 1.5% interest penalty beginning on July 1, and a certificate of tax lien will be recorded with the County Recorder. An additional 1.5% interest penalty will accrue on the first day of each subsequent month until the taxes are paid. Taxes will be subject to enforcement of collection in the same manner as all other unsecured property.