A protocol that enables an 802 mobile host to obtain a “home IP address,” and other configuration parameters via DHCP or BOOTP, while attached to either its home subnet or a foreign subnet. Inner and outer encapsulation headers are used to forward DHCP messages from a DHCP server outbound through a “forward tunnel,” to a mobile host on a foreign subnet and are also used to forward DHCP messages from a mobile host on a foreign subnet inbound through a “reverse tunnel” to the home subnet. A mobile host must add an inner encapsulation header to inbound DHCP packets with the source IP address set to 0 to indicate that the packet is from a mobile host that does not have a registered home IP address. Outer encapsulation headers contain the home address and the care-of address for the mobile host.