UCC Document Community

One more thought - while notarization isn't required, make sure you have proper corporate authority if your debtor is an entity. Board resolutions, operating agreements, whatever is needed to show the person signing has authority to grant the security interest.

Just jumping in as someone new to UCC work - this thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm working on my first secured transaction and was wondering about the same notarization question. One follow-up: when you say the security agreement needs "authentication by debtor," does that mean it has to be an original signature or can it be electronically signed? Our client is asking about using DocuSign for the security agreement.

Had a nightmare situation where our insurance verification was wrong - we thought borrower had adequate coverage but there was a gap in the policy dates. When equipment was stolen during the gap, we were stuck. Now I use Certana.ai to double-check all insurance docs against our security agreements. Catches date gaps, coverage amount mismatches, incorrect loss payee designations. Worth it for the peace of mind alone.

Thanks everyone - this is super helpful. Sounds like our requirements are probably reasonable (we require replacement value coverage, A-rated carrier, loss payee naming us as secured party). The borrower's attorney is likely just trying to reduce their client's costs. I'll review our security agreement language to make sure we're covered contractually, not just relying on Article 9. The document verification idea is smart too - we've had issues with inconsistent naming between UCC filings and insurance docs before.

Last thought - whatever you decide, make sure you get written confirmation from your lender about their perfection requirements. If they're saying control is sufficient, get that in writing so you're covered if questions come up later. Banks change their minds sometimes and you want to be able to point to their original guidance.

Adding to the great advice here - one thing I'd suggest is checking your state's UCC filing requirements too. While the federal UCC rules are pretty consistent, some states have specific quirks about deposit account perfection. Also, if you're working with a smaller regional bank, they might be less familiar with control agreements than the big national banks. I've seen cases where the bank THOUGHT they had proper control documentation but it wasn't legally sufficient. Since you're dealing with $275k in equipment plus $180k in the deposit account, this isn't small potatoes - might be worth having an attorney review the control agreement language just to be safe.

going through something similar with a restaurant chain that has accounts at 6 different banks... nightmare to track but we ended up with 'all deposit accounts maintained by debtor at any financial institution' - broad but effective

As someone relatively new to UCC filings, this discussion has been eye-opening! I've been handling mostly equipment financing where filing alone does the trick, so the deposit account control requirement is news to me. @Henry Delgado - for your $2.8M facility, I'd definitely recommend getting those control agreements in place with First National ASAP if you haven't already. The UCC description can be broad like others suggested ("all deposit accounts maintained with First National Bank"), but without control, you won't have perfected security regardless of how perfect your filing language is. This thread is going in my reference folder for sure!

Just wanted to confirm the current PA fee schedule since this thread has been helpful: UCC-1 initial filing $62, UCC-3 continuation $52, UCC-3 amendment $42, UCC-3 termination $42, debtor name search $8, certified copy $8, expedited processing +$50. All electronic filing required.

Really appreciate this detailed discussion - saved me a lot of headaches! Just wanted to add that PA also has a helpful feature where you can preview your UCC-3 continuation before final submission. It shows exactly how your filing will appear and flags any obvious formatting issues. The preview doesn't catch everything (like exact debtor name matching) but it's a good first check before paying the $52 fee. Also, for anyone doing multiple filings like Victoria mentioned, PA's portal lets you save incomplete filings as drafts, so you can prepare several continuations and submit them in batches rather than doing them one at a time.