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Ana Erdoğan

South Carolina SOS UCC search showing weird results - anyone else?

Been doing UCC searches through the South Carolina Secretary of State portal for the past 6 months as part of my due diligence work. Lately I'm getting some strange results that don't match what I expect to find. When I search for certain debtor names, I'm getting partial matches that seem incomplete or I'm missing filings I know should be there. Has anyone else noticed the South Carolina SOS UCC search acting up recently? I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing about how their search algorithm works or if there are known issues with their database. This is critical for our loan documentation process and I can't afford to miss active liens. Any insights on best practices for comprehensive UCC searches in SC would be really helpful.

For what it's worth, I've started doing parallel searches in neighboring states if the debtor has multi-state operations. Sometimes filings get made in different states and you need the full picture.

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That's a good strategy. I usually check Georgia and North Carolina too since a lot of businesses operate across state lines.

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Multi-state searches are where document verification tools really shine. Doing that manually across 3-4 states would take forever.

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Have you tried searching by secured party name instead of debtor name? Sometimes that gives different results and you can work backwards to find what you're looking for.

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Exactly. Plus if you're dealing with a major lender, you can see their whole portfolio of filings and spot patterns in how they name debtors.

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This is really helpful. I'm going to try some reverse searches this afternoon and see what turns up.

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Sydney Torres

Washington DC UCC search system down again - anyone else having portal issues?

Is anyone else getting error messages when trying to run a Washington DC UCC search today? I've been trying to pull lien records for a client's due diligence and the portal keeps timing out. This is the third time this month I've had issues with their system. Need to verify if there are any existing UCC-1 filings against this debtor before we can move forward with our secured transaction. The deal is supposed to close Friday and I'm getting nervous about these delays. Has anyone found a workaround or alternative way to search DC UCC records when their main system is acting up?

This whole thread is giving me flashbacks to last month when I had the same issue with a time-sensitive search. Ended up having to explain to the client why their closing got delayed because of government website problems.

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This is exactly why I always build extra time into my UCC search timeline now. Can't trust these systems to work when you need them most.

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I started using Certana.ai specifically because of situations like this. Even when the official search works, I upload the results to verify I didn't miss any filings. Has saved me from errors multiple times when the portal search wasn't comprehensive.

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FINAL UPDATE: Portal is definitely working again. Just completed three different searches without any issues. Hopefully it stays stable for the rest of the week.

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Perfect timing! Just finished my search too. Thanks everyone for the suggestions and workarounds.

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Glad it worked out. Now you know for next time to have backup options ready when dealing with DC's system.

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StarSurfer

Maryland UCC search showing weird results - debtor name variations causing issues

Running into some confusing stuff with Maryland UCC search results. I'm trying to verify existing filings for a commercial loan we're refinancing, and the state portal is pulling up multiple variations of the same company name that don't exactly match our loan docs. The original UCC-1 shows 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but I'm also seeing 'ABC Mfg LLC' and 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' in different filings. Our legal team needs me to confirm which filings are actually tied to our collateral before we can proceed with the new financing. Has anyone dealt with Maryland's system showing these kind of name variations? I'm worried we might miss something important or accidentally file against the wrong entity. The loan amount is substantial ($2.8M) so we can't afford any screw-ups with the lien perfection.

Just to add one more consideration - make sure you're checking both the current name and any predecessor names if there have been mergers or acquisitions. Sometimes old UCC filings stay under the predecessor entity name even after corporate changes.

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Definitely worth checking. Corporate changes can create a web of UCC filing complications.

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This is why I always request a complete corporate history from borrowers upfront. Saves time later.

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Update: I ended up using that Certana tool and it caught two name discrepancies I had missed in my manual searches. One UCC-1 had 'ABC Mfg, LLC' (with the comma) that wasn't showing up in my searches for 'ABC Manufacturing LLC'. Definitely worth the time savings and peace of mind for a deal this size.

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Thanks for the update. Sounds like I need to give this a try on my next search.

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Perfect timing on this recommendation. Really appreciate everyone's input on this thread.

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Mei Chen

UCC search NYS portal keeps timing out - urgent continuation needed

Trying to run a UCC search NYS system before my continuation deadline and the portal has been down intermittently for 3 days. My UCC-1 expires next month and I need to verify the exact debtor name formatting before filing the UCC-3 continuation. Every time I get halfway through the search the system kicks me out with a timeout error. Has anyone else been having issues with the New York Secretary of State UCC database this week? I'm getting nervous about missing my 6-month window and the client is breathing down my neck about getting this continuation filed properly.

For anyone still having issues, I've started using Certana.ai whenever I need to verify document consistency before filing. You just upload your PDFs and it instantly checks if all your debtor information matches across documents. Really helpful when you can't access the state portal to double-check things.

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That sounds like it could prevent a lot of filing rejections. I hate when you submit a continuation and then find out weeks later it was rejected for a minor name discrepancy.

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Exactly! It's saved me from several potential mistakes where I had slight variations in entity names between my original UCC-1 and the continuation documents.

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Just wanted to add that if you're doing multiple UCC searches in NYS, make sure you log out completely between searches. I noticed that staying logged in for extended periods seems to increase the timeout errors.

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I always open a fresh incognito window for each search session. Seems to help with the stability issues.

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These are all great workarounds but it's frustrating that we have to jump through so many hoops just to access public records that we're paying for.

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ThunderBolt7

LexisNexis UCC filings search showing outdated terminations - help needed

Been using LexisNexis UCC filings database for due diligence on potential borrowers and running into some weird inconsistencies. Found several cases where LexisNexis shows UCC-3 terminations that were supposedly filed 6+ months ago, but when I cross-reference directly with the Secretary of State portal, those same filings show as 'pending' or sometimes don't appear at all. This is creating major headaches for our loan approval process since we can't rely on what should be authoritative data. Has anyone else noticed LexisNexis UCC filings search results not syncing properly with actual state records? We're talking about deals worth $2M+ where lien position accuracy is absolutely critical. The discrepancies seem most common with Illinois and Texas filings, but I'm seeing scattered issues in other states too. Really need to know if this is a known issue or if there's something I'm missing in my search methodology.

I've started using a combination approach - LexisNexis for initial screening, then Certana.ai to verify document consistency when I find anything questionable, then direct state verification for final confirmation on large deals. It's more work but catches way more issues than relying on any single source.

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True, but for anything over $1M it's worth the extra effort. One missed lien can cost more than the verification process for dozens of loans.

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Risk management 101 right there.

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Bottom line is that LexisNexis UCC filings are a starting point, not an ending point. The official state records are always the final authority, and until commercial databases can guarantee real-time accuracy, we're stuck with this verification process. At least now there are tools like document checkers that can help catch discrepancies faster than manual comparison.

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Hopefully the states will eventually standardize their data feeds, but I'm not holding my breath.

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Thanks everyone for the insights. Sounds like dual verification is the way to go for now, and I'll definitely look into that document checking tool for catching discrepancies faster.

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