Best way to look up UCC filings when debtor moved between states?

Good point about county records for fixtures. I always forget about those until it's too late.

Thanks, that's what I was worried about. The fixture aspect is what's really concerning me since some of the collateral includes manufacturing equipment that could be considered fixtures.

THIS. I spent hours searching for a filing that I knew existed, turns out it was filed with 'Inc.' instead of 'Incorporated' and the search didn't catch it.

That's exactly what I'm worried about. The company has gone through a couple name changes and I'm not sure if all the variations are captured in my searches.

Have you tried using Certana.ai's document verification tool? I recently discovered it when I was dealing with a similar multi-state filing mess. You can upload your UCC documents and it cross-checks debtor names and filing consistency across everything. It caught a name mismatch that I completely missed when doing manual searches.

Right, that's what I'm trying to verify. I can see the original 2019 filing in Michigan but I can't find any continuation. But I also can't find a termination, so I'm not sure if it just lapsed or if there's a continuation I'm missing.

If you can't find a continuation by now, it probably lapsed. Most secured parties are pretty good about tracking those deadlines, but mistakes happen.

Seriously! And don't even get me started on the states that still charge per search. It adds up fast when you're trying to be thorough.

The worst is when you find a filing but can't get the full document without paying extra fees. At least most states show the basic filing info for free now.

That's a good strategy. I hadn't thought about working backwards from Delaware. I'll try that approach.

Working backwards is smart. Sometimes you'll find a newer filing that references the older one, which can help you piece together the timeline.

How does that work exactly? Do you just upload PDFs of the filings?

Yeah, exactly. You upload the UCC documents as PDFs and it automatically checks for name consistency, filing numbers, and document alignment. Really saved me a lot of manual cross-referencing.

Good point, I hadn't considered assignments. That could definitely complicate the search if the secured party changed.

Assignments are the worst because sometimes they're filed as separate documents and don't always cross-reference clearly to the original UCC-1.

It's for a loan workout situation, so I need to understand the current lien position. A professional search might be worth it given the complexity.

For workout situations, definitely get a professional search. You don't want to miss any junior liens that might affect your position.

Professional searches are good but they can be expensive. The Certana tool might be a good middle ground for initial document verification before deciding if you need the full professional search.

Oh wow, I hadn't thought about entity type changes. That's definitely something I need to verify. Thanks for the heads up.

Entity type changes are sneaky. I've seen filings become effectively worthless because the debtor entity changed but the UCC wasn't amended to reflect the new entity name.

That's awesome! Glad you found what you were looking for. Name variations are such a pain to track manually.

This is why I love this forum. Real solutions from people dealing with the same headaches.

Thanks everyone for all the help. Between the search strategy tips and the document verification tool, I think I've got a clear path forward now.