The HUD label and data plate on a manufactured home

A manufactured home carries two records of how it was built. The HUD label on the outside of each transportable section shows it was built to the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards. The data plate inside tells you who built it, when, and for what wind, snow and roof loads. Together they identify the home.

The HUD label

The certification label, often called the HUD tag, is a metal plate about 2 inches by 4 inches, etched on aluminum. It is riveted or screwed to the outside of the home so it's hard to remove. Each section of the home has its own. The label number has a three-letter code for the inspection agency that checked the home in the factory, followed by a six-digit number.

The data plate

The data plate is a paper label about the size of a sheet of letter paper, fixed inside the home. Look in a kitchen cabinet, on or near the main electrical panel, or in a bedroom closet. It lists:

• The name and address of the plant where the home was built
• The serial number, the model and the date it was made
• A statement that it was built to the federal standards in force at the time
• Whether it's designed to carry an attached accessory building or structure
• The HUD label numbers on each section
• The major appliances installed at the factory, with their makers and models
• The roof load and wind zone it was designed for, on maps of the United States
• Whether it came with storm shutters or other coverings for the windows and doors
• The agency that approved the design

The wind zone map carries a warning that the home wasn't designed for coastal wind pressures.

When the label or data plate is missing

HUD doesn't reissue certification labels. It can issue a Letter of Label Verification for a home whose history it can find, through its contractor, the Institute for Building Technology and Safety (IBTS). If both the labels and the data plate are gone, earlier financing papers for the home may list the label numbers.

A missing data plate can sometimes be replaced through the in-plant inspection agency that inspected the home and the manufacturer. The serial number is also stamped into the foremost cross member of the frame.

An annotated example

What to do next

Find the data plate and photograph it, and write down the HUD label number on each section. Keep both with the home's records, along with the wind zone and roof load the plate shows.