UCC Document Community

Bottom line: 5 years for standard UCC-1 filings, 6-month window before expiration to file continuations, no grace period after expiration. With your timeline and dollar amounts, I'd start working on those continuation statements immediately. Better to be 6 months early than 1 day late.

One thing that might help with your situation - check if any of your lenders have UCC monitoring services. Some larger lenders will actually track the expiration dates for you and send renewal notices. It's worth calling them to see if they're already on top of this, especially for $850K in secured debt. That said, don't rely on them completely - the responsibility is still ultimately yours as the secured party. But it could buy you some peace of mind while you get your continuation statements filed.

One more thing - make sure you're using the correct mailing address for the debtor. Texas Business and Commerce Code requires the address to match what's on file with the Secretary of State. If the partnership changed addresses recently, that could be another reason for rejection.

I've dealt with similar Texas UCC rejections and it's usually a combination of issues. First, verify the limited partnership's exact legal name in the Texas Secretary of State database - if they changed names recently, make sure the amendment has been fully processed. Second, check if the entity is in good standing (Texas won't accept UCC filings against entities with compliance issues). Third, be more specific in your collateral description - instead of "construction machinery," try "excavators, bulldozers, and compaction equipment located at [specific address]." Texas Business and Commerce Code Section 9.108 is stricter about generic descriptions than other states. Finally, double-check that all addresses match their registered office exactly. With your tight timeline, I'd also recommend calling the UCC division at 8 AM sharp - they're most helpful first thing in the morning.

Bottom line: don't overthink the duration rule. It's 5 years from filing date, period. Your energy is better spent on making sure your continuation forms are accurate and filed within the 6-month window. The mechanics are straightforward if you stay organized.

One additional consideration for your portfolio review - make sure you're also checking whether any of your borrowers have changed their organizational structure since the original UCC-1 filings. If a debtor incorporated, merged, or was acquired, you may need to file UCC-3 amendments to add the new entity name before filing continuations. The 4-month rule for seriously misleading name changes could impact your security interest even if you get the continuation timing right.

Has anyone reported this specific ctcs@uccstatements.com domain anywhere? Might be worth flagging it with relevant authorities if multiple people are seeing emails from the same source.

Just to add another data point - I received the exact same email from ctcs@uccstatements.com yesterday. Same subject line about "UCC Statement Verification Required" and it also referenced what appeared to be legitimate filing numbers. I almost clicked it because the timing seemed suspicious - we had just completed a major refinancing with new UCC filings last week. Glad I found this thread first! Definitely reporting this domain to the authorities as well. It's concerning how targeted and timely these scams are becoming.

Update us on how it goes! Always curious to hear about other people's Virginia UCC experiences. The system has gotten better over the years but there are still quirks to watch out for.

Victoria, I just went through this exact scenario in Virginia last month! A few critical tips: 1) Get your SCC portal account set up TODAY if you haven't already - the approval can take 1-2 business days. 2) For the debtor name, definitely use the exact version from the articles of incorporation including that comma. Virginia's system will auto-reject if there's any mismatch. 3) When you're in the portal, there's actually a "verify debtor" function that will check your entry against their database in real-time - use it! 4) For a $180K equipment deal, make sure your collateral description is detailed enough to avoid any priority disputes later. Since you mentioned packaging equipment, I'd suggest something like "All packaging, labeling, and related manufacturing equipment now owned or hereafter acquired by Debtor, including but not limited to [specific major pieces]." 5) File early in the day - the portal sometimes gets slow in the afternoons. You've got this! The Virginia system is actually pretty straightforward once you know these quirks.