Article 9 UCC filing got rejected - debtor name issue killing our loan closing
We're supposed to close on a $850K equipment loan tomorrow and our UCC-1 filing under Article 9 just got bounced back from the SOS office. The rejection notice says 'debtor name does not match business records' but I swear we pulled the exact name from their articles of incorporation. The debtor is 'Advanced Manufacturing Solutions LLC' but apparently there's some microscopic difference I can't see. Our loan documents are already signed and the client is furious about the delay. Has anyone dealt with Article 9 UCC name matching issues like this? I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what's wrong with the debtor name format. Time is really running out here.
38 comments
Join the conversation
Carmen Vega
Oh man, I feel your pain on the Article 9 name matching nightmare. The SOS systems are ridiculously picky about exact formatting. Could be something as simple as 'LLC' vs 'L.L.C.' or maybe there's a comma missing somewhere. Did you check if there are any trade names or DBAs registered that might be causing confusion?
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•I double-checked the LLC designation and it looks correct. But you might be onto something with the trade names. I didn't think to look for DBAs when I was preparing the UCC-1 filing.
0 coins
Andre Rousseau
•DBAs can definitely mess up Article 9 filings. The system sometimes expects the registered trade name instead of the legal entity name on your UCC documents.
0 coins
Zoe Stavros
Article 9 UCC debtor name issues are the worst timing problems ever. I had a similar situation last month where the rejection was due to an extra space character in the middle of the company name. Try comparing your UCC-1 form letter by letter against the actual state business registry entry.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•That's exactly what I'm going to do right now. Extra spaces would be so frustrating but at least it's fixable quickly.
0 coins
Jamal Harris
•The space thing happened to me too! 'Manufacturing Solutions' vs 'Manufacturing Solutions' with two spaces. Took me forever to spot it.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•Found it! There was indeed an extra space. You just saved my closing. Thank you so much.
0 coins
GalaxyGlider
For future Article 9 UCC filings, I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool after getting burned on a name mismatch like this. You just upload your articles of incorporation and your UCC-1 form, and it instantly flags any debtor name inconsistencies before you submit to the SOS. Would have caught that extra space issue immediately.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•That sounds incredibly useful. I definitely need something to prevent this from happening again on future UCC filings.
0 coins
Mei Wong
•I've been manually comparing documents for years and still miss things like extra spaces. An automated checker would be a game changer for Article 9 compliance.
0 coins
Liam Sullivan
The Article 9 UCC system is SO unforgiving about debtor names. I once had a filing rejected because the company had 'Inc.' in their articles but 'Incorporated' on some other state filing. The SOS office wanted the exact match from the primary registration. Did you check which version of the company name is considered the 'official' version in their state database?
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•Yes, I went straight to the state business registry and copied it exactly. Well, I thought I did exactly but apparently there was that extra space.
0 coins
Carmen Vega
•Copy and paste is your friend for debtor names, but even then you have to watch out for invisible characters that get copied too.
0 coins
Amara Okafor
UGH the Article 9 filing system drives me absolutely CRAZY with these name matching requirements! I've had UCC-1 forms rejected for the most ridiculous reasons. One time it was because there was a period after 'LLC' and another time because there wasn't a period. There's no consistency between different states either.
0 coins
Giovanni Colombo
•The inconsistency between states is maddening. What works for Article 9 UCC filings in one state gets rejected in another.
0 coins
Amara Okafor
•Exactly! And they never give you enough detail in the rejection notice to actually fix the problem quickly.
0 coins
Zoe Stavros
•At least this one got resolved quickly. Some Article 9 name issues take days to figure out when you're dealing with complex entity structures.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Qasimi
Glad you found the space issue! For anyone else reading this Article 9 UCC thread, another common problem is when the debtor has recently amended their articles of incorporation and you're using the old name version. Always double-check that you have the most current legal name before filing your UCC-1.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•Great point about recent amendments. I'll make sure to check the filing date on the articles going forward.
0 coins
Andre Rousseau
•Recent amendments are such a trap. The old name might still show up in some searches even after the change is filed.
0 coins
StarStrider
This whole Article 9 UCC debtor name thing is why I'm paranoid about every filing now. I triple-check everything and still worry something will get rejected. How long did it take for you to get the rejection notice back from the SOS?
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•The rejection came back within about 4 hours, which was actually pretty fast. Some states take a full business day.
0 coins
StarStrider
•That's not too bad. I've waited over 24 hours before getting a rejection on a UCC-1 filing. Really kills the momentum on closings.
0 coins
Jamal Harris
•Electronic filing systems have definitely sped up the rejection process, but they're also more strict about formatting requirements.
0 coins
Dylan Campbell
Been doing Article 9 UCC filings for 15 years and name matching issues still catch me sometimes. The key is having a reliable process for verification before you submit. Sounds like you got it figured out just in time for your closing.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•Definitely learned my lesson about having a better verification process. This was way too stressful.
0 coins
GalaxyGlider
•That's exactly why tools like Certana.ai are becoming essential. Takes the human error out of the document comparison process for Article 9 compliance.
0 coins
Sofia Torres
Similar thing happened to me last week with an Article 9 UCC filing. Turned out the company had 'Solutions' in their legal name but I had typed 'Solution' (singular) on the UCC-1 form. One missing letter killed the whole filing. These systems are brutal about accuracy.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•One letter! That's even worse than my extra space. At least we both caught our mistakes relatively quickly.
0 coins
Sofia Torres
•Yeah, thankfully my closing wasn't the next day like yours. I had a few days to fix it and refile.
0 coins
Carmen Vega
•Article 9 UCC systems really need better error messages. 'Name does not match' doesn't tell you what specifically is wrong.
0 coins
Mei Wong
For what it's worth, I've started keeping a checklist for Article 9 UCC-1 filings that includes verifying the exact debtor name format, double-checking all punctuation, and confirming there are no extra spaces. Might be overkill but it's saved me from several rejections.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•A checklist is a great idea. I'm definitely creating one after this experience. Too much stress for something that should be straightforward.
0 coins
Mei Wong
•Article 9 compliance checklists are lifesavers. I also include checking for recent corporate changes and verifying the collateral description format.
0 coins
Dylan Campbell
•Checklists plus automated verification tools make for a pretty bulletproof Article 9 UCC filing process.
0 coins
Dmitry Sokolov
Just wanted to say thanks for posting this Article 9 UCC issue. I'm new to secured lending and didn't realize how picky the name matching requirements were. Going to be extra careful with my debtor names from now on.
0 coins
Yuki Kobayashi
•Happy to help! Hopefully you can learn from my stress and avoid the same mistake.
0 coins
Carmen Vega
•Welcome to the world of Article 9 UCC filings! It gets easier but you never stop being paranoid about the details.
0 coins