UCC Document Community

One last thing - when you're preparing those additional party forms, pay extra attention to the secured party information. It needs to match exactly between the main UCC-1 and all additional party forms. I've seen filings where the secured party name was slightly different between forms and it created confusion during payoff processing.

This is exactly the kind of detailed discussion I needed to see! As someone new to equipment financing, I had no idea about all these nuances with additional party forms. The point about future releases really resonates - I can see how having separate forms for each guarantor would make partial releases so much cleaner. One question though - when you're doing the collateral descriptions on each additional party form, do you describe ALL the collateral (equipment + personal assets) on each form, or just the specific assets that particular guarantor is pledging? I'm working on a similar deal structure and want to make sure I get this right from the start.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful info! This thread really clarified the relationship between GSAs and UCC filings for me. Definitely going to use that document checker tool before signing anything.

Great thread! One additional tip - make sure your lender provides you with a copy of the filed UCC-1 with the official file stamp from the Secretary of State. This proves it was actually filed and accepted. I've seen cases where lenders thought they filed but there were technical errors that caused rejections, leaving the security interest unperfected. Having that stamped copy in your records protects both parties and gives you peace of mind that everything was done correctly.

One more thing to consider - if this is a stock purchase vs asset purchase, the UCC implications are different. Stock purchase means you're taking on all existing liens, asset purchase might allow you to take assets free and clear depending on the structure.

Given your tight timeline and the complexity of acquisition due diligence, I'd strongly recommend going with a professional UCC search service rather than trying to handle this yourself. With equipment financing and SBA loans involved, you'll want to make sure the search covers all possible debtor name variations, subsidiary entities, and any predecessor companies. The professional services typically provide both state and federal searches, plus they'll give you the actual UCC-1 forms so you can see exactly what collateral is pledged. For a 3-week closing timeline, order this within the next few days since some services take up to a week. The cost is usually under $200 and could save you from major headaches down the road.

Bottom line on UCC 9-103 - when in doubt, file in both states. The cost of dual filings is minimal compared to the risk of losing your security interest. I'd rather explain to a client why we spent an extra $40 on a filing fee than why we lost a $2.8 million secured claim.

Great discussion everyone! As someone new to UCC filings, this thread has been incredibly educational. I'm curious about one practical aspect - when you're filing in multiple states like Delaware and Alabama, do you typically use the same secured party information and addresses, or do some states have different requirements for how the secured party should be listed? Also, are there any states that are particularly difficult to work with in terms of their UCC filing systems or rejection rates? I want to make sure I'm prepared for potential complications when I start handling these multi-state transactions.

Try calling the Texas SOS office directly. Sometimes their staff can help with search issues that aren't obvious from the website interface.

UPDATE: Finally found the issue! The borrower's legal name had 'TEXAS' at the end but they've been doing business without it. The UCC-1 was filed under the full legal name including 'TEXAS'. Thanks everyone for the suggestions - ended up using a combination of exact legal name search and Certana.ai to confirm there were no other liens I missed.