Florida UCC termination fee - unexpected charge after loan payoff
Just paid off our equipment loan and the bank is telling me there's a Florida UCC termination fee of $10 to release the lien. This wasn't mentioned anywhere in our original loan docs and I'm wondering if this is standard practice. The equipment was a $85k packaging line we financed through a regional credit union two years ago. They filed the UCC-1 when we got the loan but now they're saying I need to pay this termination fee before they'll file the UCC-3 to release their security interest. Is this normal for Florida or are they trying to nickel and dime me? I thought lenders were supposed to handle terminations as part of the loan payoff process.
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Natasha Volkov
Yeah that's the standard Florida Secretary of State filing fee for UCC-3 terminations. It's $10 per filing and someone has to pay it - either you or the lender. Most banks just build it into their loan servicing but smaller credit unions sometimes pass it along to borrowers.
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Javier Torres
•Exactly right. The $10 fee is set by Florida Statutes and goes directly to the SOS office when they file the termination electronically.
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Emma Wilson
•Wait so every state charges different amounts? I thought this was federal since it's UCC.
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QuantumLeap
This is totally normal unfortunately. I deal with Florida UCC filings all the time and the $10 termination fee is just part of doing business here. Some lenders eat the cost, others don't. At least it's only $10 - I've seen states where it's $25 or more.
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Malik Johnson
•What states charge more? We might be expanding to other locations and want to know what to expect.
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QuantumLeap
•Texas is around $15 I think, and some northeastern states are higher. Florida's actually pretty reasonable compared to most.
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Isabella Santos
Had this exact situation last month with a different credit union. They wanted me to pay the termination fee AND handle filing the UCC-3 myself. I ended up using Certana.ai to upload my loan docs and UCC-1 to make sure everything matched before I paid them. Found out the debtor name on their original filing had a small error that would have caused problems with the termination. Saved me a headache.
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Oliver Schmidt
•Really? What kind of name error? Now I'm worried they messed something up on mine too.
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Isabella Santos
•They had our LLC name as 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but our articles of incorporation actually say 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' with the comma. Small difference but it matters for UCC filings.
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Ravi Sharma
•This is why I always double-check everything. One tiny mistake and your lien could be invalid.
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Freya Larsen
The $10 fee is legit but make sure they're actually filing the termination! I've heard horror stories of borrowers paying the fee and then the lender never actually files the UCC-3. You should get a copy of the filed termination statement for your records.
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Oliver Schmidt
•Good point. How long should I expect it to take for them to file it after I pay?
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Freya Larsen
•Most lenders file within a few business days. Florida's system is pretty fast so you should see it show up in the UCC search within a week.
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Omar Hassan
UGH this is so frustrating! Why do they spring these fees on you at the end? Like you said it should be part of the loan process. I'm dealing with something similar in Georgia and they want $12 there. It's not the money it's the principle.
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Chloe Taylor
•I feel you on this. It's like paying to get your own property back.
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ShadowHunter
•At least it's only $10-12. Some states I've dealt with charge way more for amendments and continuations.
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Diego Ramirez
Before you pay anything, verify that the UCC-1 they filed is actually correct. I learned this the hard way when we found out our bank filed our UCC with wrong collateral description. Had to file an amendment before they could do the termination properly.
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Oliver Schmidt
•How do I check that? I don't have access to their filing system.
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Diego Ramirez
•You can search Florida's UCC database online. Just need your business name or the filing number if you have it.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•Or upload your loan agreement and their UCC-1 to something like Certana.ai to automatically check if everything matches up.
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Sean O'Connor
Just pay the $10 and be done with it. It's a standard filing fee and you want that lien released ASAP. Trust me, having an unreleased UCC on your business can cause problems if you ever need financing again or try to sell equipment.
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Zara Ahmed
•This. Don't fight over $10 when it could impact your credit worthiness later.
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Oliver Schmidt
•You're probably right. I just wish they had mentioned it upfront instead of surprising me at payoff.
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Luca Conti
Standard practice varies by lender but the fee itself is definitely legitimate. I work with Florida UCC filings regularly and $10 is the correct amount for electronic termination statements. Some banks include it in their loan terms, others don't.
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Nia Johnson
•Do you know if there's any difference in fee between electronic and paper filing?
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Luca Conti
•Electronic is $10, paper filing would be higher but most lenders use electronic now since it's faster and cheaper.
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CyberNinja
Had to deal with this last year. Paid the fee but then found out they made an error on the termination filing. Had to go back and forth with them for weeks to get it corrected. Make sure you review the termination before they file it!
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Oliver Schmidt
•What kind of error did they make?
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CyberNinja
•They put the wrong file number on the UCC-3 so it didn't properly terminate the original UCC-1. Was a mess to clean up.
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Mateo Lopez
•This is exactly why I check everything twice. One mistake and you're back to square one.
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Aisha Abdullah
The $10 Florida termination fee is normal but negotiate with them about who pays it. Especially if you're a good customer who paid off early or something. Some lenders will waive it as a courtesy.
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Ethan Davis
•Worth a shot but most credit unions are pretty strict about their fee structures.
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Oliver Schmidt
•I might ask since we did pay off 6 months early and have other accounts with them.
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Connor Gallagher
New to UCC filings here - just want to make sure I understand this correctly. So the $10 fee goes directly to the Florida Secretary of State's office, not to my credit union? And once they file the UCC-3 termination, that completely removes their security interest in my equipment? I'm asking because I want to make sure there's nothing else I need to do on my end to fully clear this lien before I consider any future financing or equipment sales.
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