UCC Document Community

Just to close the loop on fees - regular UCC-1 electronic filing in most states is $10-15. Fixture filings vary by county but usually $25-50. Your original fee quotes sound about right for county fixture filings.

This is exactly why I always recommend doing a detailed collateral analysis before filing. For construction equipment deals like this, I create a simple spreadsheet with three columns: Equipment Type, Mobility/Attachment Status, and Filing Type. Mobile cranes and excavators go in the "Regular UCC-1" bucket, while permanently installed conveyor systems and any equipment that's hardwired or bolted to foundations go in the "Fixture Filing" bucket. It saves a lot of confusion later and helps justify the filing strategy to clients who question why they're paying multiple filing fees.

Hope this helps with your audit! UCC searches can be stressful when you're under time pressure but California's system is one of the better ones. Just stay organized with your debtor name list and you should be fine. Let us know how it turns out!

One more tip for your California UCC searches - if you're dealing with any corporate debtors that might have undergone mergers or acquisitions during that 2015-2023 timeframe, make sure to search under both the original entity name and any successor entities. California doesn't automatically transfer UCC filings when companies merge, so you could have active filings under old company names that are still legally valid. I've seen deals get held up because someone missed a filing under a predecessor company name that was still perfecting collateral.

Just want to add that Louisiana is pretty fast with processing compared to some states. Usually see the UCC show up in searches within 24-48 hours of filing. The $30 fee includes reasonably quick turnaround time.

Thanks everyone for the detailed breakdown! This has been super helpful. Based on what I'm seeing here, I should budget around $240 for the 8 UCC-1 filings ($30 each) plus another $120 for UCC searches ($15 x 8) to check existing liens first. That puts me at $360 total, which is actually reasonable for the due diligence and filing costs. I'm definitely going to look into that document verification tool that Jacob mentioned - sounds like it could save me from costly rejections. The last thing I want is to pay filing fees twice because of formatting issues. I'll also make sure to save all the receipts locally since the email confirmations aren't reliable. Really appreciate this community sharing real-world experiences and current pricing!

Keep in mind that 9-406 has some limitations too. If the account debtor has legitimate business reasons for questioning the assignment (like disputes over the underlying services), they might have grounds to continue paying the original payee until those disputes are resolved.

UPDATE: We sent the demand letter via counsel and got immediate compliance. Account debtor started redirecting payments within 48 hours and agreed to remit the $45K in past diversions over the next 30 days. Sometimes you just need to show them you're serious about enforcement. Thanks everyone for the advice!

Don't overlook the possibility that some of those filings might be for different entities entirely. Similar business names in the same industry aren't uncommon, especially in maritime services. I'd suggest getting federal tax ID numbers if possible - that's usually the most definitive way to confirm entity identity when names are similar.

Thanks everyone for the helpful suggestions. I'm going to start by pulling the exact Articles of Incorporation to get the correct legal name, then try the Certana tool a couple people mentioned to verify the name matches on those questionable UCCs. Will also reach out to the secured parties on the largest filings to confirm whether they apply to my borrower. This process is always more complicated than it should be, but at least now I have a systematic approach to work through it.