


Ask the community...
Bottom line - get that UCC-3 termination filed as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more likely the borrower is to have issues if they need to show clear title for other financing. Most lenders try to handle terminations within 30 days of payoff as standard practice.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to double-check all the details and get this filed this week.
One thing that might help is to pull up your original UCC-1 filing and have it side by side when you're preparing the UCC-3 termination. I always do this to make sure I'm copying the debtor information exactly as it appears on the original filing. Also, since your loan was paid off in October and it's now June, you definitely want to get this filed ASAP - the borrower has legitimate concerns about the delay. Most secured parties aim for 30-60 days max after payoff to avoid these kinds of issues. The good news is that once you file the termination correctly, it should clear up quickly in the system.
As a newcomer to UCC filings, this thread has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm just getting started with secured transactions at my firm and was completely unaware of how complex staying current with regulatory changes can be. The distinction between actual UCC law changes vs. state procedural updates is something I never would have thought to consider. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here about contacting our state SOS office directly and setting up email alerts. The automated document verification tools mentioned also sound like they could be really valuable for someone like me who's still learning what to look for. Thanks for such a thorough discussion - it's clear this community really knows their stuff!
Welcome to the UCC world, Manny! You're smart to jump into these discussions early - I wish I had found this community when I was starting out. One thing I'd add to all the great advice already shared is to keep a simple log of any filing rejections or issues you encounter, along with how you resolved them. Over time you'll start to see patterns in what each state's system is picky about, which really helps streamline the process. Also, don't be afraid to ask "dumb" questions here - everyone's been incredibly patient with newcomers and the collective knowledge in this group has saved me countless hours of research!
As another newcomer to UCC filings, I really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and practical tips! This discussion has made me realize how much I still need to learn about staying current with regulatory changes. I've been mostly focused on learning the basic filing procedures, but it's clear that ongoing compliance monitoring is just as important. The suggestion about keeping a log of filing issues and resolutions is brilliant - I'm definitely going to start doing that. Also planning to reach out to our state SOS office and explore those automated verification tools mentioned. It's reassuring to know this community is so supportive of people who are just getting started in this field. Looking forward to contributing more as I gain experience!
Just remember continuation timing - you can file up to 6 months before expiration but not earlier. And you HAVE to file before the expiration date or your lien lapses. Missouri doesn't give extensions.
Perfect timing then. You'll be all set with plenty of buffer time.
Thanks everyone for all the detailed info! This has been super helpful. I'm feeling much more confident about budgeting for these Missouri filings now. Sounds like $30 total for both the continuation and amendment filing electronically should cover it, plus a little buffer for any potential issues. I really appreciate all the practical tips about the portal, timing, and making sure debtor names match exactly. Will definitely file electronically to save money and get faster processing. You've saved me from potentially making some costly mistakes!
One thing that helped me when I had this exact problem was checking if there were any subsidiary or DBA names filed under your main entity. Sometimes lenders file UCCs under doing-business-as names that aren't immediately obvious. Also, if you had multiple pieces of equipment financed in separate transactions, each one might have gotten its own UCC filing with slightly different debtor name variations. The Texas system is notorious for being literal about punctuation - even something like "ABC Company, LLC" vs "ABC Company LLC" (without the comma) can cause search failures. Try searching with and without commas, periods, and other punctuation marks in your business name.
This is such valuable insight about DBA names and multiple filings! I hadn't considered that our equipment might have been financed in separate transactions with different name variations. We do have a couple of DBA names registered, so I should definitely try searching under those as well. The punctuation issue you mentioned is probably exactly what's happening - I bet our legal name has commas or periods that I'm not including in the search. Going to try every possible combination of our business name with and without punctuation marks. Really appreciate the detailed troubleshooting steps!
Here's another angle to consider - check if your business has gone through any entity conversions or mergers since the original filing. I've seen cases where companies converted from LLC to Corp (or vice versa) and the UCC filings remained under the old entity name, making them nearly impossible to find unless you search specifically for the previous legal name. Also, Texas allows for "seriously misleading" name variations that can still be legally sufficient, so the filing might be under a shortened or slightly altered version of your business name that you wouldn't think to search for. If you have access to your business credit reports, sometimes UCC filings show up there with the exact names and filing numbers used, which can be a backdoor way to find the information you need.
That's a really smart point about entity conversions! We actually did convert from an LLC to a Corporation about 18 months ago, which would have been after the original UCC filings. So the filings are probably still under our old LLC name, which would explain why I can't find them when searching under our current corporate name. I should definitely check our business credit reports too - that's a great tip about UCCs sometimes showing up there with the exact filing details. This gives me several new search strategies to try. Thanks for thinking of the entity conversion angle!
Taylor To
One more thing about Washington UCC filings - they charge $12 for the standard UCC-1 which is pretty reasonable compared to other states. You can pay by credit card through their portal. The filing becomes effective immediately upon acceptance, and you should get your filing number and confirmation pretty quickly. Make sure you keep that filing number for any future amendments or continuations you might need to do down the road.
0 coins
Nathaniel Mikhaylov
•Good to know about the fee and immediate effectiveness. I'll make sure to save all the confirmation details for our loan files.
0 coins
Ella Cofer
•$12 is definitely reasonable. Some states charge way more for UCC filings. Washington keeps it simple.
0 coins
Javier Morales
This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm new to UCC filings and have been intimidated by the whole process. Reading through everyone's experiences with Washington state filings and the practical tips about entity name verification, collateral descriptions, and even the technical issues to watch out for has given me a much better understanding of what to expect. The Certana.ai tool mentioned by several people sounds like it could be a game-changer for someone like me who's still learning the ropes. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge - this is exactly the kind of real-world guidance that makes this community so valuable!
0 coins