Foundation finance company UCC filing rejected - debtor name mismatch help needed
We're a foundation finance company specializing in equipment loans and our UCC-1 filing just got rejected by the SOS office. The rejection notice says "debtor name does not match entity records" but I've triple-checked everything against the borrower's articles of incorporation. The debtor is listed as "ABC Foundation Services LLC" on our loan docs and that's exactly what we put on the UCC-1. Has anyone dealt with this kind of rejection before? We need to get this perfected ASAP since we have a $180k piece of construction equipment as collateral and the borrower is asking about early payoff options. The SOS portal shows the business entity as active but maybe there's some naming variation we're missing? This is holding up our entire closing process.
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Ryan Andre
Foundation companies can be tricky with naming variations. Check if the entity was registered with any additional words like 'Inc' or different punctuation. Sometimes the state database has slight differences from what appears on their paperwork.
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Lauren Zeb
•Good point about punctuation. I've seen rejections over missing commas or periods in LLC names.
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Daniel Washington
•Also worth checking if they filed any DBAs or have alternate business names on record with the state.
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Aurora Lacasse
What state are you filing in? Some states are more strict about exact name matching than others. Also try searching the SOS business entity database directly to see exactly how the name appears there.
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Nora Bennett
•We're filing in Colorado. I did search their database and the entity shows up as active, but maybe I'm missing some subtle difference in the name format.
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Anthony Young
•Colorado can be particular about exact matches. Try copying the name directly from their entity search results.
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Charlotte White
I had a similar issue with a foundation client last month. Turned out their legal name included 'The' at the beginning which wasn't on our loan documents. Had to amend the UCC-1 with the exact name from state records. Cost us 3 extra days in the closing process.
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Admin_Masters
•That's frustrating but at least you caught it. How did you figure out the discrepancy?
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Charlotte White
•Honestly we ended up using Certana.ai's document checker tool. You just upload your charter docs and UCC filing PDFs and it flags any name inconsistencies automatically. Saved us from manually comparing everything line by line.
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Matthew Sanchez
•Never heard of that tool but sounds useful. Manual document comparison is such a pain especially when you're dealing with multiple entities.
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Ella Thompson
Foundation finance companies often have complex entity structures. Double-check if you're dealing with the parent entity or a subsidiary. Sometimes the equipment is actually owned by a related LLC.
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JacksonHarris
•This is important. I've seen situations where the loan is with the foundation but the collateral is owned by their operating subsidiary.
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Jeremiah Brown
•Also check if there's a trust involved. Some foundations operate through trusts which can complicate the debtor identification.
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Royal_GM_Mark
UGH the SOS systems are so frustrating with these name matching requirements!!! I swear they reject filings for the tiniest differences. Last week we had one rejected because we used 'Corp' instead of 'Corporation' even though both versions appear on different state documents.
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Amelia Cartwright
•I feel your pain. The inconsistency between state records is maddening.
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Chris King
•At least you found out quickly. Better than finding out during a lien search months later.
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Rachel Clark
Try pulling the entity's certificate of good standing. Sometimes that shows the exact legal name format the state expects for filings. Also check if they've filed any amendments to their articles that might have changed the name slightly.
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Zachary Hughes
•Certificate of good standing is great advice. That's the most official source for the exact name.
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Mia Alvarez
•Also worth checking the registered agent information to see if there are any name variations listed there.
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Carter Holmes
Had the exact same problem with a foundation client in Ohio. The issue was that their legal name had changed slightly when they renewed their registration but they never updated their loan documents. We had to file a UCC-3 amendment after getting the original UCC-1 through with the correct name.
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Sophia Long
•How long did the amendment process take? We're under time pressure here.
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Carter Holmes
•About 2-3 business days in Ohio. But honestly I started using Certana.ai after that experience - you upload your charter and UCC docs and it immediately shows you any name mismatches. Would have caught our error before filing.
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Angelica Smith
Check if there are any special characters in the name like ampersands or apostrophes. Some filing systems don't handle those properly and you might need to spell them out.
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Logan Greenburg
•Good point about special characters. I've seen issues with LLC names that include '&' symbols.
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Charlotte Jones
•Also watch out for extra spaces between words. The electronic filing systems can be picky about formatting.
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Lucas Bey
Foundation entities sometimes operate under multiple legal structures. Make sure you're not dealing with a situation where the foundation is the borrower but a separate entity owns the equipment. That would require filing against the actual equipment owner.
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Harper Thompson
•This is crucial for equipment financing. Always verify who actually owns the collateral.
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Caleb Stark
•Especially with construction equipment - sometimes it's owned by an operating LLC but guaranteed by the foundation.
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Jade O'Malley
Try calling the SOS filing office directly. Sometimes they can tell you exactly what name format they're expecting. It's faster than guessing and refiling multiple times.
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Hunter Edmunds
•Good suggestion. Most state filing offices are pretty helpful when you call with specific questions like this.
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Ella Lewis
•Just make sure to get the exact spelling and punctuation from them if you call.
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Andrew Pinnock
UPDATE: Got it resolved! The issue was that the foundation had filed an amendment to their articles last year that added 'Colorado' to their legal name, so they're actually 'ABC Foundation Services of Colorado LLC' in the state database. Thanks everyone for the suggestions - the certificate of good standing tip was what helped us find the discrepancy.
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Brianna Schmidt
•Glad you got it sorted out! Those name amendments can be tricky to catch.
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Alexis Renard
•Perfect example of why it's worth getting current state documents before filing. Saves time in the long run.
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Camila Jordan
•For future filings, that Certana.ai tool mentioned earlier would probably catch these kinds of amendments automatically by cross-referencing your documents.
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