Data Plate Will Tell You The Wind Zone Rating

Look at manufacturer’s data plate to determine which wind zone standard your home was constructed to meet. It’s a paper sticker that is typically located on the wall of the master bedroom closet, inside a cabinet door in the kitchen, or near the electric panel. Here’s a photo of one below, with a red box around the wind zone part of the sticker.

   Shown below is an enlargement of that area. The wind zones are noted in Roman numerals, so an X in the box next to it indicates that this home is in “Zone II.” There is also a map showing the parts of the states that each wind zone covers, and a note that states that Wind Zone II and III homes should not be located within 1500 feet of the coastline unless the home and its anchoring and foundation system have been designed for the increased requires specified for Exposure D in ANSI/ASCE 7-88. Homes designed for Exposure D, also called “D-sticker” homes, have additional storm-resistant construction features.

   If your data plate has been removed or you can’t find, there is still hope: if you can locate either the HUD certification number or the serial number, then you can obtain the original data plate info from the Institute for Business Technology and Safety, a HUD contractor that maintains a database back to 1976 of HUD-code manufactured homes. There’s a fee of $100 for a replacement data plate by email. See our blog post What is a "HUD data plate/performance certificate" for a mobile/manufactured home? for details.

   The HUD certification number is etched into a 2” by 4” metal plate (called the “HUD tag”) riveted to the exterior wall of each section of a mobile on the long side at a corner near the bottom. There’s a picture of one below. It starts off life bright red, but will likely be faded when you find it. If even the HUD tag is gone, crawl under the home with a flashlight and look for the serial number on the forward cross-member of the steel I-beam frame. It is required by HUD to stamped into the metal by the manufacturer in letters a minimum of 3/8” high.

   If your mobile home was  manufactured before June 15, 1976, when HUD-Code regulations went into effect, there will not be a HUD data plate in the home and HUD will not certify pre-1976 mobile homes for a wind zone, no matter how storm-resistant the construction.

    Also, see our blog posts Can you move an older mobile home in Florida? and Can you put a zone 1 mobile home in Florida?

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Want to learn more about inspecting
manufactured/mobile homes? 
Get our  Handbook for 
Manufactured Home Inspectors 
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Here’s links to a collection of our blog posts about MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES:

• Where can I file a complaint if I have problems with my new or used manufactured/mobile home in Florida?

• What are the most common defects in mobile/manufactured home foundation piers?

• How do I determine the age of a very old mobile home?

• What is a "HUD label verification letter" for a mobile/manufactured home?  

• When did a ground cover vapor barrier (plastic sheet) become required under a mobile/manufactured home? 

• Is it safe to go under a mobile home? 

• How can I remove water under my mobile home?

• What's the differences between a trailer, a mobile home, a manufactured home, and a modular home? 

• What is a D-sticker mobile home? 

• What are the tie-down requirements for a mobile home?

• How fireproof is a mobile home?  

• Can I install a mobile home myself?

• What is a Park Model mobile home?  

• Does an addition to a mobile home have to comply with the HUD Code? 

• What walls can I remove in a mobile home?

• What can I do to prevent dampness and mold in my mobile home? 

• How can I tell if a mobile home is well constructed?

• How can I tell the difference between a manufactured home and a modular home?

       Visit our MOBILE/MANUFACTURED HOMES  page for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.