South Carolina title problems, computed
In South Carolina, a manufactured home's paper is a Certificate of Title, and the office that holds it is the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV). This page is the whole process in one place: the duplicate path, the transfer, the bonded branch where the state offers one, the never-transferred and deceased-owner routes, and conversion to real property — with the form, the verified fee, and who must sign, from the state's own sources.
Skip the reading — get your exact path →
Mobile / manufactured homes (not modular homes) are titled by SCDMV; terms are used interchangeably by SCDMV.
South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (SCDMV) — https://dmv.sc.gov/vehicle-owners/types-of-vehicles/mobile-home. Every fee on this page is printed only where the dataset verified it; where a fee was not verified, the page sends you to the agency page for the current figure instead of guessing.
1) Complete the Title Application (SCDMV Form 400). 2) Provide acceptable identification (plus Form MV-80 if a company sends an agent, or MV-80A if someone picks the title up for you). 3) Pay $15 by check/money order to SCDMV (no cash by mail). 4) File online, by mail to SCDMV Titles, PO Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016-0024, or in person. If a lien is on the home, the duplicate goes to the lienholder. Same-day expedited duplicates are in-person only for an extra $20.
Form: SCDMV Form 400 — Application for Certificate of Title and Registration for Motor Vehicle or Manufactured Home/Mobile Home
Fee: $15; +$20 expedite fee in person
Who may apply: Owner listed on the title or the owner's legal representative; a lienholder may also apply
Previous owner must sign the title over to you — you must have the title (with the Bill of Sale on the back, or bring a separate Bill of Sale). Buyer files Form 400 with ID, lien information, casual sales/use tax as applicable, and the $15 titling fee. No sales tax on a person-to-person mobile home sale; dealer sales use the dealer's sales tax number; energy-efficient homes have a $300 sales-tax cap with the insulation report/invoice.
Form: SCDMV Form 400
Fee: $15 titling fee
Who must sign: Previous owner must sign the title over; buyer signs Form 400
No bonded-title program was verified for South Carolina in our October 2026 dataset. The usual routes are the owner of record applying for a duplicate and signing over, or a court order establishing ownership.
SCDMV is explicit: you must have the title signed over by the previous owner. Without it, there is no standard transfer — the titled owner must first get a duplicate (Form 400, $15) and sign it over, or ownership must be resolved through the courts. Do not close without the signed title.
Transfer through the estate: the personal representative / heir establishes authority with probate papers and a certified death certificate, obtains a duplicate if the title is missing, then signs over and the buyer/heir files Form 400.
The per-section title rule for South Carolina was not verified in our dataset — match every section's serial number to the title record with the agency before you buy or sell a multi-section home.
Eligibility: Home to be treated as real property; lien released (or Satisfaction of Lien Affidavit recorded by an SC-licensed attorney / affidavit filed with the clerk of court if a lien remains); current property taxes paid.
De-titling is BY MAIL ONLY. Send SCDMV: 1) the stamped Manufactured Home Affidavit or Retirement of Title Certificate from the county register of deeds / clerk of court, 2) the home's SC title, 3) lien release if applicable, 4) current paid property tax receipt (or a county treasurer letter that no taxes are owed), and 5) the $50 de-titling fee, to SCDMV Titles and Registration, PO Box 1498, Blythewood, SC 29016-0024. SCDMV sends written confirmation that the home has been de-titled. If a de-titled home is later sold to be moved off real property, the buyer files a Manufactured Home Severance Affidavit in both counties and the owner re-titles with Form 400 + $15.
Form: Manufactured Home Affidavit / Retirement of Title Certificate (county) + SCDMV Form 400 for any re-title
Fee: $50 de-titling fee
Why people do this: converting from personal-property titling to real-property titling saves a typical borrower about $49,000 over a $100,000 loan (Pew, February 2026). The full routing picture — which loan doors conversion opens — is on the financing-by-title-status page and in the conversion explainer.
Same state, other problem: South Carolina mobile home park laws — lot rent, closure, and purchase rights →
This state's titling definitions sit inside the federal ROAD Act parity wave (states certify by July 11, 2027 — July 11, 2028 for biennial-legislature states). See the ROAD Act tracker →
See the $39 Manufactured Home Playbook
One payment, yours to keep. Everything inside →
Verified October 2026. State data verified October 2026 — re-checked quarterly.
General information about how the process works in your state — not legal advice. For a contested eviction, a park-sale fight, or a title dispute with a lienholder, a local attorney or legal-aid office is the next step.