UCC Document Community

Just wanted to chime in as another data point - filed a UCC-1 in NY about 3 weeks ago and can confirm it was $20. The online filing system is pretty straightforward once you navigate to the right section. One thing I'd add to what others have mentioned about name accuracy - also double-check that your business address matches exactly what's on your state registration. I almost made that mistake but caught it during review. The Secretary of State's search function is also useful for checking existing filings to see how similar businesses format their information. For your restaurant equipment, you should be good with the standard $20 fee as long as you only have one debtor entity.

I've been handling UCC filings in NY for several years and can confirm the $20 fee is still current for 2025. A few practical tips for your restaurant equipment filing: First, make sure you have your exact legal business name from your Articles of Incorporation or LLC formation documents - don't go by your DBA or trade name. Second, for the collateral description, keep it broad but relevant like "restaurant equipment, kitchen appliances, furniture and fixtures" rather than listing every individual item. Third, if you're unsure about any details, the NY Secretary of State UCC division is actually pretty helpful if you call them directly. They can clarify specific questions about your filing. Since you mentioned this is for $85K in equipment, your lender will probably want to see the filed UCC-1 before closing, so factor in the 1-2 business day processing time. Good luck with your equipment financing!

One more thing - make sure you get your filing receipts and confirmation numbers. Georgia's system usually emails them automatically but sometimes they end up in spam folders. You'll need those for your closing documents.

Thanks everyone for the detailed responses! This is exactly what I needed. Sounds like I should budget $100 for the 10 UCC-1 filings at $10 each, plus maybe an extra $30 for any potential rejections. I'm definitely going to triple-check all the debtor names against the corporate charters before submitting - those rejection stories are scary when you're on a tight deadline. I might look into that Certana.ai tool a few people mentioned for the document verification. Really appreciate all the practical tips about the portal, confirmation emails, and collateral descriptions. This community is invaluable for getting real-world insights beyond what's on the official websites!

Just to add another perspective - I've been doing UCC filings for about 8 years now and can confirm that business inventory and equipment always require filing for perfection. The automatic perfection rules are really narrow and designed for specific consumer scenarios where the administrative burden of filing would be excessive. For your $85K inventory + $30K equipment situation, you're definitely in filing territory. Also worth noting that even if automatic perfection somehow applied (which it doesn't here), you'd still want to file anyway because it gives you better priority protection and clearer notice to other potential creditors. The filing fees are minimal compared to the risk of having an unperfected security interest. Better to over-file than under-file in commercial lending.

This is a great discussion and really helpful for someone new to secured lending. I'm just starting out in commercial finance and the distinction between automatic perfection and filing requirements was confusing me too. From everything I'm reading here, it sounds like the rule of thumb is: when dealing with business/commercial collateral (inventory, equipment, etc.), always file the UCC-1. Automatic perfection is really just for specific consumer goods scenarios where filing would be impractical. The point about priority protection is especially important - even if automatic perfection might technically apply in some edge case, the filed UCC-1 gives you better standing against other creditors. For the minimal cost of filing, it seems like the obvious choice for business loans. Thanks everyone for breaking this down so clearly!

Final thought - don't underestimate the importance of good customer support from your data vendor. When you have questions about specific filings or need help interpreting the data, you want to be able to reach someone who understands UCC filings, not just a generic tech support person.

This is such a comprehensive discussion - thanks everyone for sharing your experiences! As someone new to UCC data purchasing, I'm really appreciating all the practical advice here. One question I haven't seen addressed yet: how do you typically validate the completeness of purchased data? I'm worried about missing filings that should be in the dataset. Do vendors provide any kind of coverage guarantees or ways to spot-check against the actual Secretary of State records?

Article 9 security interest perfection seems simple until you actually start doing it. Between debtor name requirements, collateral descriptions, fixture issues, and multi-state complications, there's so many ways to mess it up. At least once you get perfection right, you're generally in good shape priority-wise.

As someone new to equipment financing, this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm just starting to understand UCC Article 9 perfection requirements and had no idea about the fixture vs personal property distinction. It sounds like the key issues to watch for are: 1) proper debtor names on UCC-1 filings, 2) adequate collateral descriptions that cover everything, 3) fixture analysis for permanently attached equipment, 4) PMSI timing requirements (20 days), and 5) continuation filings every 5 years. The mention of automated tools like Certana for document checking is intriguing - seems like it could help catch those costly technical errors before they become problems. Thanks for sharing all this practical knowledge!