Mobile and Manufactured Homes

A residential dwelling built in a factory in accordance with U.S. Department of House and Urban Development code and the federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards.

Since the standards went into effect on June 15, 1976, we consider any manufactured home constructed before then to be a mobile home.

A manufactured home has support beams or an undercarriage built into the structure. These should not be removed.

Manufactured homes do not include mobile homes.

Any trailer, house trailer, or trailer coach that is:

• Over 8 feet wide or 45 feet long and designed to be moved by connecting to another vehicle
• Under 8 feet wide or 45 feet long and used as a principle residence

A residential dwelling built in a factory in accordance with the Uniform Building Codes.

These structures meet state building codes and have removable support beams or undercarriages for transport.

For tax purposes, a permanent foundation is concrete, concrete block, or wood pier resting on concrete or concrete block footings.

Permanent foundations do not include mudsill, pier and post, wood blocks, concrete blocks, or any other temporary support that rests on the ground.

The axles, tires, wheels, and hitch used to transport a mobile home.

• Ownership transfers of manufactured homes require a title from the Montana Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Division.
• The Department of Justice maintains all transferring regulations.

• If your mobile home was built before 1977, you will need to complete an Ownership Change Request for a Pre-1977 Mobile Home (Form AB-38).
• The Form AB-38 must be notarized or have a county treasurer seal if a notarized bill of sale or a signed-off title contract for purchase is not included with the form.
• Return Form AB-38 to the local DOR field office.

We can reclassify a mobile or manufactured home as real property if:

• The running gear is removed
• The home is attached to a permanent foundation that cannot be moved
• The home and land are in the same ownership
• The land is being purchased by the homeowner
• The homeowner has the permission of the landowner to permanently attach the home on the land
• The permanent foundation types consist of a concrete, concrete block, or wood perimeter foundation resting on a concrete or concrete block footing.
• The foundation has concrete stringers with footings or concrete columns with attachment points.
• The home is anchored, permanently blocked, and skirted.

Filing Form MV72

• Before we can reclassify your home as real property, you must give us a copy of the Statement of Intent to Declare a Manufactured Home an Improvement to Real Property (Form MV72) (PDF, 260 KB) filed with the County Clerk and Recorder's Office.
• Form MV72 is available from the Montana Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Division.

Download the Instructions for Statement Of Intent to Declare a Manufactured Home an Improvement to Real Property (Form MV72) ↗ (PDF, 198 KB)

Information to Include with Form MV72

• Manufactured home owner name and address
• Real property owner name and address
• Real property legal description
• Permission from the land owner to permanently attach a mobile or manufactured home to the land (if the land is held by a different owner than the home)
• A complete mobile or manufactured home description
• The owner's signature

If You Cannot Complete Form MV72

If you are unable to complete the Department of Justice Motor Vehicle Divisions, Form MV72 due to missing factory-installed identification tags, and you would like the home de-titled and considered an improvement to real property (land), please download, complete and submit the Department of Revenue, Statement to Declare a Manufactured Home an Improvement to Real Property (MOHO Form) (PDF, 227 KB) to your local Department of Revenue field office.

Need Help?

If you have any questions or need help with the process, contact your local Department of Revenue field office.

• If at some point in the future, you wish to remove the manufactured home from the real property, you will need to obtain a Reversal of Declaration of Manufactured Home as an Improvement to Real Property (Form MV73) (PDF, 158 KB) from your county treasurer's office and re-title the manufactured home.
• Download Instructions for Reversal of Declaration of Manufactured Home as Improvement to Real Property (Form MV73) (PDF, 244 KB)

Mobile homes are exempt from property tax if they are:

• At least 28 years old;
• Valued at less than $10,000 per their most recent assessment; and
• Not determined to be an improvement to real property.

An owner of multiple mobile homes may only qualify for this exemption for his or her two mobile homes with the lowest assessed values.

Owners of exempted mobile homes will be notified by the department when they receive their property classification and appraisal notices. The notices will not display market or taxable values for the exempt mobile homes.

A mobile home is considered an improvement to real property, and therefore ineligible for this exemption, if it is attached to a permanent foundation and its running gear is removed. (15-6-241, MCA)

Abandoned mobile homes that are no longer fit for human habitation are eligible for a property tax exemption if they are assessed separately from the land on which they are located and are not used for livestock or storage of personal property.

Property owners have to apply for the exemption by submitting the Abandoned Mobile Home Tax Exemption Application (PDF, 244 KB) by March 1 to be considered for the current tax year.

If the exemption is approved, the property owner remains eligible for the exemption as long as the property remains uninhabited and does not have another productive use.

See 15-6-242, MCA and 15-1-101. MCA for more information.