Section 8 Portability: How to Move With Your Voucher

• Initial PHA: the housing authority that issued your voucher.
• Receiving PHA: the housing authority where you want to live. It administers your assistance there.
• Absorb: the receiving PHA pays your assistance from its own funding.
• Bill: the initial PHA keeps funding your assistance and reimburses the receiving PHA.

The portability regulations are in 24 CFR § 982.353 through 24 CFR § 982.355. In general, a family issued a voucher may use it in the jurisdiction of any PHA with a voucher program. The main limits:

• The 12-month residency rule. If neither the head nor the spouse lived in the initial PHA's area when you applied, that PHA may require you to lease a unit there for the first 12 months of assistance before porting.
• Your standing. A PHA may deny a move if you are violating family obligations or owe the PHA money.
• Funding. A receiving PHA generally cannot refuse an incoming portability family — it must either absorb or bill for the voucher. The narrow exception is a PHA that HUD has given written approval to exempt from accepting portability moves (for example, in a declared disaster area); that exemption is rare and is not something a PHA can grant itself.
• Your lease. You can't simply leave in the middle of a lease; notice requirements in your lease still apply.

1. Check your standing with your current PHA. Make sure you are current on recertifications and have no unresolved family-obligation or repayment issues. These are the most common reasons a move is delayed or denied.
2. Notify your PHA and your landlord in writing. Give your landlord notice as your lease requires, and tell your PHA in writing that you want to move and port. Ask for the PHA's portability request form.
3. Initial PHA contacts the receiving PHA. Your current (initial) PHA sends your file to the receiving PHA. The receiving PHA decides whether it will bill your initial PHA or absorb your voucher into its own program, and responds with that decision before your initial PHA issues the moving voucher.
4. Attend the receiving PHA's briefing. The receiving PHA briefs you on its rules, issues its own voucher with its own search term, and gives you its payment standard.
5. Find a unit and submit a Request for Tenancy Approval. The unit must pass the receiving PHA's inspection and rent reasonableness review before assistance can start.
6. Sign the new lease. You sign the lease with the owner. The receiving PHA then executes the HAP contract with the owner, either billing your initial PHA or absorbing your voucher into its own program.

• The receiving PHA's payment standard applies, which can be higher or lower than your old one. Our payment standards by area tool shows HUD's underlying Fair Market Rent as an estimate — the receiving PHA sets its own adopted payment standard (typically 90-110% of that figure, sometimes higher with an approved exception), so confirm the current number with the receiving PHA directly before you rely on it.
• The receiving PHA's subsidy (bedroom) standards generally apply. See occupancy standards.
• Your new unit must pass the receiving PHA's HQS inspection and rent reasonableness review.
• Your annual reexamination moves to the receiving PHA's schedule. See the recertification guide.

A ported voucher is handled by the local receiving PHA like any other: its inspection, its rent reasonableness review, and its HAP contract. Whether you must accept vouchers at all depends on your state and local source-of-income laws, which vary. Apply your screening criteria consistently to every applicant. See the landlord's guide.

Can I move to another state with my Section 8 voucher?

Generally yes. Under HUD's portability rules (24 CFR 982.353), a family with a Housing Choice Voucher may lease a unit in the jurisdiction of any PHA that runs a voucher program, including in another state. There are limits: for example, if you did not already live in the issuing PHA's area when you applied, it may require you to lease there for the first 12 months, and your PHA's administrative plan may add its own conditions. Start by notifying your current PHA in writing before you move.

What is the difference between an initial PHA and a receiving PHA?

The initial PHA is the housing authority that issued your voucher. The receiving PHA is the housing authority in the area you want to move to. The receiving PHA briefs you, issues you a voucher for its area, inspects the new unit, and administers your assistance there. It then either absorbs you into its own program or bills the initial PHA for the subsidy.

What does it mean when a receiving PHA "absorbs" or "bills" a voucher?

If the receiving PHA absorbs your voucher, it pays your housing assistance from its own funding and you become one of its own participants. If it bills the initial PHA, the initial PHA keeps paying for your assistance and reimburses the receiving PHA. The receiving PHA decides which applies and tells the initial PHA before the initial PHA issues your moving voucher. Which one happens is up to the PHAs, not something you choose — but it is not a basis to refuse your family: a receiving PHA generally cannot turn away an incoming portability family without a narrow, HUD-approved exemption.

Which PHA's payment standard and rules apply after I move?

The receiving PHA's payment standard and subsidy standards (how many bedrooms your household qualifies for) generally apply to your new unit, which can differ from what you had before. Because payment standards vary by area, your voucher can cover more or less rent after a move. Check the receiving PHA's current payment standard before you sign a lease.

Do I have to tell my PHA before I move?

Yes. Federal rules require you to notify your PHA in writing before you move out of your unit, and to give the owner proper notice under your lease. To port, you also ask the initial PHA to send your file to the receiving PHA. Moving without following your lease and PHA procedures can put your assistance at risk.

Can my PHA refuse to let me port?

Your initial PHA (the one that issued your voucher) can delay or deny the move itself for reasons such as the 12-month residency rule, a violation of family obligations, or owing the PHA money — check your administrative plan and ask for the reason in writing. The receiving PHA is different: once your file reaches it, it generally cannot refuse to accept your family. The only exception is a narrow, written exemption HUD has granted that PHA (for example, in a declared disaster area) — that is rare and not something a PHA can decide on its own.

How long do I have to find a unit after porting?

The receiving PHA issues its own voucher with its own search term, and you must submit a Request for Tenancy Approval within that term. Search terms and extension policies are set by each PHA, so ask the receiving PHA right away, because the clock on your original voucher does not simply restart.

Does a landlord have to accept a voucher that was ported from another PHA?

A ported voucher is administered by the receiving PHA like any other voucher in its program: the unit must pass that PHA's inspection and rent reasonableness review. Whether a landlord must accept a voucher at all depends on state and local source-of-income laws, which vary. Landlords should apply their screening criteria consistently to every applicant.