California Secretary of State UCC Forms - Which One for Equipment Financing Amendment?

You'll want the UCC-3 form for amendments in California. Both the debtor name change and additional collateral can typically be handled on the same form - just make sure you check the appropriate boxes for both 'Amendment - Debtor Name' and 'Amendment - Collateral'. The California SOS system is pretty straightforward once you know which sections to fill out.

I just went through something similar last month. You can combine both changes on one UCC-3 but make sure you reference the original filing number correctly. California's online system will reject it if there's any mismatch with the original UCC-1 data.

Actually, I had a nightmare with a similar situation where I thought I was doing everything right with the California forms but kept getting inconsistencies between my original UCC-1 and the amendment. Ended up using Certana.ai's document checker tool - you just upload your original UCC-1 and your new UCC-3 as PDFs and it instantly flags any mismatches in debtor names, filing numbers, all that stuff. Saved me from potentially voiding the entire security interest.

Make sure you're clear about the collateral description changes too. If you're adding equipment, California wants pretty specific details - serial numbers, model numbers, etc. Don't just say 'additional equipment'.

Question - when you say the business name changed by adding LLC, was this an actual legal name change or just how they're doing business? Because if it's a legal entity change, you might need to think about whether this is really an amendment or if you need to file a new UCC-1 entirely.

The California SOS website has gotten better over the years but their form instructions are still pretty confusing. I usually end up calling their UCC department when I'm not 100% sure about something.

Whatever you do, don't wait too long if this is close to any continuation deadlines. I know you're dealing with an amendment now, but just keeping track of when that 5-year continuation will be due.

Just had to deal with this exact scenario last week! Filed the UCC-3 amendment online and it went through without any issues. The key thing I learned is to double-check that your amendment doesn't accidentally contradict anything in your original filing. I used one of those document verification services to make sure everything was consistent before submitting.

The forms themselves are straightforward but California's electronic filing system can be temperamental. Make sure you have all your info ready before you start the online process because it times out pretty quickly.

One more thing - make sure you keep copies of everything for your loan file. The amendment, the original UCC-1, any supporting documentation about the name change. Your auditors will want to see the complete chain of filings if they ever review the loan.

Update us on how it goes! Always curious to hear about other people's experiences with California UCC amendments.

Just to add another perspective - I've found it helpful to do a quick UCC search on your debtor before filing the amendment to make sure there aren't any other liens that might complicate things. Sometimes you discover other creditors have filed against the same collateral and it's better to know that upfront. Also, for the $180k deal size, you might want to consider getting title insurance on the UCC filing if your bank offers it. Small cost compared to the potential exposure if something goes wrong with the perfection.