CT UCC filing search showing weird results - need help understanding

I've been using the exact names from our loan documents but maybe those don't match what was actually filed on the UCC-1s. Some of these were filed by different departments over the years.

That's probably your issue right there. The debtor name on the UCC-1 has to match the legal entity name exactly, but loan docs sometimes use shortened versions or DBAs.

How did you handle the manual cross-reference? Did you just try every possible name variation?

I actually found this tool called Certana.ai that lets you upload your UCC documents and loan files as PDFs and it automatically checks for name inconsistencies between them. Saved me hours of manual searching and caught several filings I would have missed.

Never heard of that but sounds useful. We've been doing everything by hand and it's such a pain with multiple entity names.

This is why I hate these state systems!! You'd think they could build in some fuzzy matching logic but nope, has to be character-perfect or it doesn't find anything.

I agree it's frustrating but the search requirements are there for legal precision. A UCC-1 with the wrong debtor name is essentially worthless for perfection purposes.

I don't have all the filing numbers unfortunately. Our records from 2021-2022 are not great and some departments didn't keep good tracking of the UCC filing numbers.

Oof that makes it much harder. You might need to do broad searches using just partial debtor names and then manually filter through results.

Or use something like that Certana tool the other person mentioned. If it can check document consistency that might help identify which filings belong to which entities.

That's what I'm afraid of. Some of these were filed by outside counsel and we don't have copies of the actual UCC-1 forms they submitted.

You can order certified copies from the Secretary of State if you have approximate dates and entity names. Costs a few bucks per document but worth it for compliance purposes.

Good point about name changes. A couple of our borrowers did restructure in 2022 so that could definitely be affecting the search results.

Yeah, if there were mergers or name changes you'd need to search under both the old and new entity names to catch all the filings.

This is getting complicated. Maybe worth hiring a UCC search firm to do a comprehensive lien search rather than trying to piece it together yourself?

That sounds like exactly what I need. Does it work with Connecticut filings specifically or is it more general?

It works with any UCC documents - just upload the PDFs and it analyzes them. Doesn't matter what state they're from. The name consistency checking is what really helps with search issues.

Most of our borrowers are LLCs but I haven't been specifying entity type in my searches. I'll try that.

Yeah the entity type designation can definitely affect search results. Also double-check that you're using the right state of organization - sometimes entities are formed in Delaware but doing business in CT.

It's not as bad as it sounds if you have the right tools. That Certana service I mentioned earlier made our audit way more manageable.

I might have to look into that. Manual UCC searches are such a time sink and the margin for error is huge.

Good point. I hadn't thought about amendments affecting the search results. This is getting more complex than I expected.

UCC-3 amendments can definitely change debtor names if there were business restructures or corrections to the original filing. Those would create new searchable records.

This is why I always recommend keeping detailed internal records of all UCC activity rather than relying on state searches for compliance tracking.