Guide · 6 min
Mobile home permit in Hillsborough County, FL: what makes it different (2026)
Hillsborough runs permits through Accela ePermitting, with its own setbacks and a few quirks that trip up first-timers. The real checklist from a company that files here.
May 14, 2026
Hillsborough County handles mobile home set permits through Accela ePermitting, the same family of portal Polk uses, but with its own setbacks, its own review pace, and a few details that catch first-time applicants. This is the working checklist we file from in Hillsborough.
The document package
- Installer worksheet from the licensed installer for your specific home.
- Site plan showing the home's position with dimensions to every property line, plus well and septic if present.
- Notice of Commencement (NOC), owner-signed and recorded with the clerk before the first inspection.
- Anchoring affidavit for the wind zone (Hillsborough is Wind Zone II).
- Skirting affidavit and a blocking plan matching the manufacturer's specs.
Hillsborough setbacks
Here is the part that surprises most buyers: in Hillsborough a mobile home is allowed by-right only in agricultural and rural districts (AM, A, AR, AS-0.4, AS-1), not in standard residential districts. AS-1, a common one-acre rural lot, is the typical mobile home district, and there the setbacks run 50 feet from the front, 15 feet on the sides, and 50 feet at the rear, measured to the property line (Hillsborough LDC Sec. 6.01.01). Those are much larger than a regular house, so the buildable envelope, combined with the 75-foot well-to-septic separation, decides placement on most lots. We confirm your parcel's zoning first, because whether you can place a home at all comes before any setback math.
What's different here
- Because mobile homes are by-right only in agricultural and rural districts, the first question on any Hillsborough lot is the zoning code, not the setback. Rural areas of the county (east and south) are where most by-right mobile home lots are.
- Flood zones along the coast and rivers: parts of the county sit in zone A/AE where an Elevation Certificate is required; zone X needs nothing extra.
- A pre-owned home with no data plate and no MSO is solvable, but start that paper trail early.
What slows approvals
- Site plan and the separate septic (OSTDS) application showing different home positions.
- NOC submitted but never recorded with the clerk.
- Setbacks measured from the wrong line, easements and rights-of-way count against you.
- Affidavits signed by someone other than the installer of record.
Frequently asked
How long does a Hillsborough mobile home permit take?+
A complete, consistent package moves through Accela review in days to a few weeks; an incomplete one can sit for months of back-and-forth. Completeness on day one decides the pace.
Can I even put a mobile home on my Hillsborough lot?+
In Hillsborough a mobile home is by-right only in agricultural and rural districts (AM, A, AR, AS-0.4, AS-1), not standard residential. In AS-1, the common one-acre rural district, setbacks run 50' front, 15' side, 50' rear to the property line. We confirm your parcel's zoning before anything else, because eligibility comes before setbacks.
Do I need a flood elevation certificate?+
Only if your parcel is in flood zone A, AE, or V, common near the coast and rivers. Zone X needs nothing extra. We check your parcel's zone free before quoting.
Ready for a firm quote?
Same-day written quote with every line item visible.