Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
Chloe Davis
I'm dealing with something similar but my debtor is an individual doing business under multiple trade names. Do the same rules apply for personal vs business debtors when it comes to name variations?
CosmicCowboy
•Individual debtors are different - you use their legal name as it appears on their driver's license or other official ID, not their business trade names.
Chloe Davis
•OK that's simpler at least. Thanks for clarifying the difference.
AstroAlpha
Update for anyone following this thread - I ended up filing UCC-1s under both the current registered name and the most recent previous name, then did UCC searches to verify they were accepted properly. Total cost was about $120 in filing fees but worth it for the peace of mind. The Certana document checker mentioned earlier helped me verify that my collateral descriptions matched across all my loan documents before filing, which probably saved me from having to file amendments later.
AstroAlpha
•Both went through without problems. The key was making sure I had the exact registered names from the Secretary of State database.
Emma Wilson
•This gives me hope for fixing my situation. Going to try the dual filing approach too.
Join the conversation
NebulaNova
For future reference, always verify lien releases directly with the original lenders when possible, especially for larger amounts. I've seen cases where termination statements were filed incorrectly or incompletely, leaving liens technically still active even though they should have been released.
How do you typically contact the original lenders? Do you just call their main number or is there a better way to reach the right department?
NebulaNova
•I usually start with their commercial lending or loan operations department. Most larger lenders have dedicated staff for lien releases and UCC inquiries. Smaller lenders might require going through their main line.
Aisha Khan
State UCC databases are honestly a mess. I've started using third-party services that aggregate data from multiple sources and cross-check everything automatically. Costs a bit more than doing manual searches but saves tons of time and catches discrepancies like this.
Aisha Khan
•I've had good luck with services that offer document verification features. Certana.ai has been particularly useful for catching inconsistencies between search results and actual filings.
Yuki Ito
•Worth the investment if you're doing regular due diligence work. Manual verification gets expensive fast when you factor in staff time.
Join the conversation
Make sure you're not using any smart quotes or em-dashes that might have gotten copied from a Word document. PDF forms can be finicky about special characters that look normal but aren't standard ASCII.
I didn't think about that but it's possible. The original documents might have fancy formatting that doesn't translate well to PDF forms.
Liv Park
•Yeah, this is a common issue when copying from Word docs or PDFs that were created with design software.
Update us when you figure it out! I bookmark these threads because I always run into similar issues and it helps to see what actually worked for people.
Ryder Greene
•Same here, these PDF formatting issues are becoming more common and it's good to know what solutions actually work.
Definitely interested in the follow-up. These technical filing issues waste so much time.
Join the conversation
Kaylee Cook
This thread is making me paranoid about my own filings now! I always just assumed if the names looked the same they were the same. Apparently there's a lot more precision required than I realized.
Kaylee Cook
•That's terrifying honestly. Makes me want to double-check all my recent filings.
Good practice is to always verify the debtor name against the most current state records before any UCC filing.
Update us when you figure out what was causing the rejections! I file UCCs in multiple states and New Jersey is definitely one of the pickier ones about exact name matches. Would be helpful to know what the actual issue was.
Good luck! The name matching thing is such a common problem but once you figure out the trick for a particular state it gets easier.
Gavin King
•Definitely try that document verification approach - catches the stuff that's hard to spot manually.
Yara Sayegh
For what it's worth, I always recommend getting a certified copy of the articles of incorporation directly from the SOS before preparing any UCC-1. That way you know you have the exact legal name format they have on file. Eliminates any guesswork about commas, periods, spacing, etc.
0 coins
Emma Wilson
•Agreed. And some states let you search entity records online for free so you don't even need to order a certified copy for basic name verification.
0 coins
Yara Sayegh
•True, though I still prefer the certified copy for high-dollar transactions. Belt and suspenders approach.
0 coins
Malik Davis
This thread is super helpful! I'm dealing with something similar but with an amendment instead of an initial filing. Going to try some of these suggestions.
0 coins
Isabella Santos
•UCC-3 amendments can be even trickier because you have to match the original filing exactly. Good luck!
0 coins
Malik Davis
•Thanks! Yeah I'm paranoid about getting the original filing number wrong too.
0 coins