How to Transfer a Section 8 Voucher to Another State

How portability works

The Housing Choice Voucher program lets you rent a unit anywhere in the United States, as long as a PHA in that area runs a tenant-based voucher program. HUD's portability page says this lets families relocate for jobs, schools, safety, or to be closer to family.

Every port involves two housing agencies:

Role	Initial PHA	Receiving PHA
Who it is	The agency that gave you your voucher	The agency in the area you are moving to
What it does	Approves your move, issues the voucher you move with, sends your file	Issues you a new voucher, inspects the unit, signs the contract with your new landlord
Whose rules apply	Its rules on moves and on admitting applicants	Its payment standards, bedroom-size rules, voucher extensions, and income limits for applicants

You do not join the receiving PHA's waiting list. HUD rules say the receiving PHA's waiting list and selection preferences do not apply to a family that ports in.

You also do not need to pay anyone to handle the transfer. The two housing agencies send the paperwork to each other.

Who can transfer a voucher to another state

If you already rent with your voucher

HUD calls you a "participant" once a landlord has signed a Housing Assistance Payments (HAP) contract for your unit. Participants can generally port as long as the move does not break their lease and follows their PHA's rules on moves.

Your income is not checked again against the new area's income limits. You keep your assistance even if the new area has lower limits.

If you have a voucher but have not leased yet

HUD calls you an "applicant" until a HAP contract is signed. Two extra rules apply:

• If the head of household or spouse lived in the PHA's area when you first applied, you can port. The PHA may ask for proof, such as an old lease, school records, or voter registration.
• If you did not live there when you applied, you have no right to port during your first 12 months in the program. The PHA can still choose to allow it, for example for a job.

Applicants must also be income eligible in the new area. The receiving PHA's income limits are used, typically the very low-income limit. Income limits differ by county, so ask the receiving PHA for its current limit before you plan the move. Our guide to Section 8 income eligibility explains how these limits work.

If you have a project-based voucher

With a project-based voucher, the help is tied to the unit. HUD says that after one year in a project-based unit, a family may switch to a tenant-based voucher and then port, with some restrictions. Ask your PHA how it handles this.

Reasons a PHA can say no

Your current PHA must deny the move if you already moved out of your unit in a way that broke your lease (with the exceptions below). It must also deny an applicant who is not income eligible in the new area.

The PHA may also deny a move in these cases:

• You owe the PHA money and have broken a repayment agreement, or another program violation applies.
• The PHA has a written policy against moves during your first lease term, or against more than one move in a year.
• The PHA does not have enough funding to pay a higher subsidy in the new area.
• You are a nonresident applicant still in your first 12 months.

Funding denials in 2026

Some PHAs are short on money this year. HUD's 2026 voucher funding notice (PIH 2026-12) lists denying higher-cost moves as one way a PHA in a funding shortfall can cut costs. The same notice says those PHAs must keep allowing portability moves in and out of their area.

HUD limits funding denials. A PHA can deny your port for lack of funding only if the new area costs more, the receiving PHA will not take you into its own program, and the PHA could not otherwise avoid ending assistance for current families. If the new area does not cost more, funding is not a valid reason to say no.

If the PHA approves your move and runs short of money later, it can take back the voucher only if you can still stay in your current unit. If you have already moved out, or your landlord has rented your unit to someone else, the PHA must let you lease a new place.

Exceptions that protect you

A PHA must make exceptions in some situations:

• Survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking are protected by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). You can move even if it breaks your lease, as long as you meet your other program duties and moved to protect the safety of a survivor. This applies if the survivor reasonably believed they faced imminent harm by staying, or was sexually assaulted on the premises in the 90 days before the move or move request. HUD's VAWA page says voucher holders who are survivors must be allowed to move with continued assistance. You can request an emergency transfer with form HUD-5383. The PHA cannot require proof from a third party. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233 (TTY 1-800-787-3224).
• If you or someone in your household has a disability, you can ask for a reasonable accommodation, such as a second move in one year or extra search time. The PHA must grant it unless it would be an undue financial and administrative burden.
• A PHA may not deny a move when a family member is harassed because of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin and the family has to leave because of it.

For more on disability-related help, see our guide to HUD housing programs for people with disabilities.

Step-by-step: how to port your voucher

1. Contact your current PHA first

Tell your current PHA, ideally in writing, that you want to move under portability and name the city or county you want to live in. Do this before you give your landlord notice. HUD's tenant page says a family that wants to move must notify the PHA ahead of time, end its lease according to the lease terms, and find acceptable new housing.

Ask the PHA these questions:

• Am I eligible to port right now?
• Does your policy limit moves during my lease term or within 12 months?
• Do I owe anything, and can that block the move?
• When does my moving voucher expire?

2. Choose the receiving PHA

Some areas have more than one PHA. Your current PHA must give you contact information for every PHA that serves the area, and you pick one. You can also ask your current PHA to pick for you. The agency you choose must run a voucher program. Some PHAs only manage public housing.

You can look up agencies by state on HUD's PHA contact page.

3. Wait for approval and your moving voucher

Before approving the move, your current PHA must contact the receiving PHA to ask whether it will absorb you into its own program or bill your current PHA. That answer can affect whether the move is approved.

Once the move is approved, your current PHA issues you a voucher and tells you how to reach the receiving PHA. HUD says this should include the name, phone number, and email of the staff member who handles incoming families. Simply pointing you to HUD or a website does not meet this requirement.

Your current PHA then sends the receiving PHA your file, including:

• Form HUD-52665 (Family Portability Information)
• Your most recent Form HUD-50058 (Family Report)
• Your income and other verification documents
• A copy of your signed voucher

4. Give your landlord proper notice

Follow your lease. It says how much notice you need to give and how. HUD notes that a PHA can deny a move if you leave your unit in violation of the lease, unless a VAWA or other exception applies. If your lease term is not over, talk to your PHA and landlord before you move. Our guide to landlord and tenant rental rights covers the basics of leases and notice.

5. Contact the receiving PHA right away

The rules say you must promptly contact the receiving PHA and follow its procedures. If you do not, it can deny or end your voucher there.

Expect an appointment and paperwork. Some receiving PHAs require a briefing on their local rules. HUD says the briefing cannot unduly delay your search. Making you wait three weeks for a monthly session would not be reasonable.

The receiving PHA may run its own background screening. Our guide to what Section 8 looks for in a background check explains what PHAs review.

6. Get your new voucher

HUD expects the receiving PHA to issue your voucher within two weeks of getting your file, as long as the paperwork is in order and you have followed its procedures.

The new voucher cannot expire sooner than 30 calendar days after your original voucher's expiration date. For example, if your first voucher expires October 30, the new one cannot expire before November 29. The receiving PHA can give more time under its own extension policy.

The receiving PHA also decides your voucher size (number of bedrooms) using its own standards, which may differ from your old PHA's.

7. Find a unit and submit a Request for Tenancy Approval

Look for a landlord in the new area who will rent to you with the voucher. When you find one, submit a Request for Tenancy Approval (RFTA) to the receiving PHA before your voucher expires. The PHA must pause the clock on your voucher while it reviews the request.

8. Inspection, rent check, and lease

The receiving PHA inspects the unit for health and safety and checks that the rent is reasonable for the area. Once the unit passes, you sign the lease and the PHA signs a HAP contract with the landlord. The receiving PHA then lets your old PHA know you have leased up.

What changes when you move

Your rent share

Your share of the rent is usually 30% of your adjusted monthly income. HUD says it "may be as high as 40%" of your adjusted monthly income.

The receiving PHA's payment standard sets the most it will pay toward rent and utilities. In a more expensive area, the payment standard may be higher, but rents may be too. HUD notes that the payment standard is not a rent limit. You can sometimes choose a more expensive unit, but you pay the difference.

Ask the receiving PHA for its payment standards for your voucher size before you sign anything.

Your household and local rules

If someone is joining or leaving your household, tell both PHAs. Our guide on how to add someone to your Section 8 voucher covers what the PHA will ask for. After you lease up, the receiving PHA's policies apply to you, including its reexaminations and its rules on future moves.

Common problems and how to avoid them

Your voucher runs out before you find a place

HUD warns that a family that moves out before finding a new unit can end up with no assistance if the voucher expires. Line up housing in the new area early, and ask about extensions before the deadline. People with disabilities can ask for more time as a reasonable accommodation.

Moving costs catch you off guard

HUD tells families to plan for security deposits, moving costs, and living expenses during the move. The voucher does not cover these.

You change your mind about the new area

If you decide not to lease in the new area, the receiving PHA sends you back to your original PHA. Your original voucher and its rules apply again, and any extra time is up to that PHA.

You are denied and think it is wrong

If the receiving PHA refuses to help you or ends your assistance, it must offer an informal hearing (for participants) or an informal review (for applicants). Ask for it in writing. For free legal help, find a legal aid office through LawHelp.org. If the two PHAs cannot work things out, HUD's portability page says questions can go to your local HUD Public and Indian Housing field office.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to transfer a Section 8 voucher?

HUD does not set one total timeline. HUD expects the receiving PHA to issue your voucher within two weeks of receiving your file, if your paperwork is in order. After that, timing depends on how quickly you find a unit and how fast it passes inspection.

Can I move my voucher during my first year?

If you already rent with the voucher, your PHA may have a policy against moves during your first lease term or more than once a year. If you are a new applicant who did not live in the PHA's area when you applied, you may have to wait 12 months. In both cases the PHA can allow exceptions, and VAWA and disability accommodations still apply.

Do I have to get on a new waiting list?

No. The receiving PHA does not use its waiting list for families who port in. It must issue you a voucher, though it can screen you under its own policies.

Can the new housing authority turn me down?

A receiving PHA cannot refuse to help incoming families or send them to a neighboring agency. It can deny or end assistance based on its own screening rules, such as a recent eviction from federally assisted housing. It cannot hold up your voucher while that screening is in progress, and it must offer you a hearing or review if it acts against you.

Can I transfer my voucher if I am fleeing abuse?

Yes. Under VAWA, voucher holders who are survivors must be allowed to move with continued assistance, even if leaving breaks the lease, as long as they meet their other program duties. Use form HUD-5383 to request an emergency transfer, and call 1-800-799-7233 for confidential help. For more options, see our guide to emergency Section 8 housing.

Not sure which other programs you might qualify for in your new state? Try the KPCB Edge benefit finder. Only the agency that runs each program can decide whether you are eligible.

Sources

• Housing Choice Vouchers Portability, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026
• Housing Choice Voucher Program Guidebook: Moves and Portability, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026
• Housing Choice Voucher Program: Streamlining the Portability Process, Final Rule (80 FR 50564), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026
• Housing Choice Voucher Tenants, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026
• Notice PIH 2026-12: Implementation of the Federal Fiscal Year 2026 Funding Provisions for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026
• PHA Contact Information, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026
• Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, accessed October 2026