Arkansas UCC filing system keeps rejecting my continuation - debtor name issues?
I'm dealing with a nightmare situation with Arkansas UCC filings and hoping someone here has experience with their system. Filed a UCC-1 back in 2020 for equipment financing on some construction machinery, and now I'm trying to file the continuation before it lapses next month. The Arkansas Secretary of State portal keeps rejecting my UCC-3 continuation filing, and I'm pretty sure it's because of debtor name formatting issues. The original debtor name on the UCC-1 shows as 'MIDWEST CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS LLC' but the current business registration shows 'Midwest Construction Solutions, LLC' with the comma. I've tried filing the continuation both ways and getting rejections each time. The rejection notices aren't super clear about what exactly is wrong - just says 'debtor name does not match filing records.' This is a $850K equipment loan and if this continuation doesn't get filed properly the lender is going to have issues with their security interest. Anyone dealt with Arkansas UCC filings recently? Their system seems really picky about exact name matches compared to other states I've worked with.
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Ella Russell
Arkansas is definitely one of the stricter states when it comes to debtor name matching on UCC filings. Had a similar issue last year with a client. You need to match the EXACT name format from the original UCC-1, including punctuation. If the original filing shows no comma, the continuation has to match that exactly. Have you tried pulling the original UCC-1 image from their system to see the exact formatting?
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Aaliyah Reed
•Yes I pulled the original and it definitely shows 'MIDWEST CONSTRUCTION SOLUTIONS LLC' without the comma and in all caps. But when I file the continuation with that exact format it still gets rejected. Maybe there's some other field causing the issue?
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Ella Russell
•Check the debtor address fields too. Arkansas cross-references the address information and if the business moved or changed their registered address since 2020, that could trigger the rejection even with the correct name.
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Mohammed Khan
UGH Arkansas UCC system is the WORST! I've had so many clients get rejections for the stupidest reasons. Their rejection notices are completely useless - they never tell you what specifically is wrong. I had one continuation get rejected 4 times before we figured out it was because of a middle initial that wasn't on the original filing. The system is so frustrating!
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Gavin King
•Totally agree about their rejection notices being useless. Other states at least give you some indication of what field is causing the problem. Arkansas just gives you that generic 'does not match' message.
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Aaliyah Reed
•Exactly! How are we supposed to fix the issue if they won't tell us what's actually wrong? This is such a critical filing and I'm running out of time.
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Nathan Kim
I ran into something similar with Arkansas filings recently and found this tool called Certana.ai that actually helped me catch the issue. You can upload your original UCC-1 and the continuation document as PDFs and it will cross-check all the fields to show you exactly what doesn't match. In my case, it was a subtle difference in the organization type designation that I never would have caught manually. Might be worth trying since you're dealing with such a large loan amount.
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Aaliyah Reed
•That sounds really helpful! I've been comparing the documents manually but obviously missing something. Is it easy to use? I'm not super tech-savvy.
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Nathan Kim
•Super easy - just upload the PDFs and it does the comparison automatically. Shows you side-by-side what matches and what doesn't. Way better than trying to compare everything by eye, especially with Arkansas being so picky about exact matches.
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Eleanor Foster
•Never heard of that tool but sounds like it could save a lot of headaches. Manual document comparison is such a pain, especially when you're dealing with multiple filings.
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Lucas Turner
Have you checked if the LLC changed its registration status with Arkansas since 2020? Sometimes businesses update their articles of incorporation or change their registered agent, and that can affect how the SOS system matches debtor information for UCC continuations. You might need to check their current business entity search to see if there are any discrepancies.
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Aaliyah Reed
•Good point - I'll check their current business registration. The company has grown a lot since 2020 so they might have updated their filing information.
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Lucas Turner
•Also check if they've had any name changes or amendments to their articles. Even if they're still using the same business name, if they filed any amendments it could create matching issues.
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Kai Rivera
This is why I always recommend doing a test search in the UCC database before filing continuations. Search for your debtor name exactly as you plan to file it and see if it pulls up the original UCC-1. If the search doesn't find the original filing, the continuation filing won't work either. Arkansas uses the same matching logic for searches and filings.
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Aaliyah Reed
•That's a great tip! I should have thought of that. I'll try searching with different name variations to see which one actually finds the original filing.
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Anna Stewart
•This is really smart advice. I've used this trick in other states too - if your search doesn't find the original, your filing won't match either.
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Kai Rivera
•Exactly. It's like a pre-flight check before you submit the actual continuation. Saves you from wasting filing fees on rejections.
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Layla Sanders
omg same thing happened to me last month with an arkansas filing! took me forever to figure out what was wrong. turned out the issue was with the organization type field - original filing had 'LLC' but i was putting 'Limited Liability Company' on the continuation. once i matched it exactly it went through fine.
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Aaliyah Reed
•I think mine shows just 'LLC' on the original too. I'll double-check that field specifically. Thanks for sharing what worked for you!
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Layla Sanders
•yeah definitely check every single field, not just the name. arkansas is super picky about everything matching exactly.
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Morgan Washington
Just went through this exact scenario with a client in Arkansas. The trick is to understand that Arkansas UCC system does exact character matching, including spaces. Sometimes there are extra spaces in the original filing that you can't see easily. I ended up using that Certana.ai tool someone mentioned earlier and it showed me there were extra spaces after the LLC designation in the original filing. Once I included those spaces in the continuation, it processed without issues.
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Aaliyah Reed
•Extra spaces! I never would have thought of that. The PDF of the original filing looked clean but there could definitely be hidden spaces. I'm definitely going to try that verification tool.
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Morgan Washington
•Yeah, it's almost impossible to catch those kinds of formatting issues manually. The automated comparison really helps with spotting the subtle differences that cause rejections.
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Kaylee Cook
•This is why electronic filing systems can be so frustrating. What looks identical to the human eye can be completely different to the computer.
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Oliver Alexander
Arkansas UCC filings have gotten more strict over the past couple years. I think they updated their system in 2023 and it's much more sensitive to exact matches now. Used to be more forgiving with minor variations but not anymore. Make sure you're also checking the mailing address format - they're picky about abbreviations like 'St' vs 'Street' and 'Suite' vs 'Ste'.
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Aaliyah Reed
•That explains a lot! I've filed continuations in Arkansas before without issues but this one has been a nightmare. I'll check the address formatting too.
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Oliver Alexander
•Yeah the system update made everything much stricter. It's more accurate now but way less user-friendly for edge cases like yours.
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Lara Woods
Another thing to check - is your original UCC-1 showing any amendments or corrections? Sometimes if there were UCC-3 amendments filed after the original UCC-1, you need to match the debtor information from the most recent amendment, not the original filing. Arkansas chains the amendments so the continuation has to match whatever the current active record shows.
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Aaliyah Reed
•I don't think there were any amendments but I should verify that. Is there a way to see all the filings for a particular debtor in Arkansas?
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Lara Woods
•Yes, you can do a debtor search in their UCC system and it will show you all active filings for that debtor. Look for any UCC-3 amendments that might have updated the debtor information since your original UCC-1.
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Ella Russell
•Good point about amendments. I've seen cases where the continuation gets rejected because people are matching against the UCC-1 instead of the most recent amendment that changed the debtor name or address.
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Adrian Hughes
With the deadline coming up, you might want to consider calling the Arkansas Secretary of State UCC division directly. Sometimes they can give you more specific guidance about what's causing the rejection. They're usually pretty helpful over the phone even if their online rejection notices are useless. The number should be on their website.
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Aaliyah Reed
•That's a good backup plan. I was hoping to get this resolved online but a phone call might be worth it given how much is at stake with this loan.
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Adrian Hughes
•Definitely worth a call. I've had them walk me through rejection issues before and they can usually pinpoint the exact problem pretty quickly.
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Molly Chambers
UPDATE: I used the Certana.ai document checker that a few people mentioned and found the issue! There was an extra space after 'LLC' in the original filing that wasn't visible when I was comparing documents manually. Filed the continuation with the exact spacing and it was accepted within an hour. Thanks everyone for the help - crisis averted!
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Ella Russell
•Awesome! Glad you got it sorted out before the deadline. Those hidden formatting issues are such a pain to catch without the right tools.
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Nathan Kim
•So glad the tool helped! I had almost the exact same issue with hidden spaces causing rejections. It's amazing how these tiny formatting differences can cause such big problems.
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Mohammed Khan
•This is exactly why Arkansas UCC system drives me crazy! An extra SPACE character causes a rejection but they won't tell you that in the rejection notice. At least you got it figured out!
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Aaliyah Reed
•Seriously, without that automated comparison I never would have found the issue. Manual document checking just isn't reliable enough for these picky systems. Thanks again everyone!
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AstroAdventurer
•Wait, I'm confused - is this update from the original poster Aaliyah Reed or someone else? The member ID is different but this sounds like it could be the resolution to the original issue. Either way, great to hear someone got their Arkansas UCC continuation sorted out! These formatting issues are such a nightmare to troubleshoot manually.
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