How many articles are in the UCC - basic question about structure

The UCC has 11 articles total, but most people only deal with a few of them regularly. Article 9 is definitely the big one for secured transactions and UCC filings. That's where all the rules about UCC-1, UCC-3, continuations, terminations, etc. come from. The other articles cover things like sales contracts, negotiable instruments, bank deposits - stuff that might be related to your transaction but not directly to the filing process itself.

Here's the full breakdown: Article 1 (General Provisions), Article 2 (Sales), Article 2A (Leases), Article 3 (Negotiable Instruments), Article 4 (Bank Deposits), Article 4A (Electronic Fund Transfers), Article 5 (Letters of Credit), Article 6 (Bulk Transfers - mostly repealed), Article 7 (Warehouse Receipts), Article 8 (Investment Securities), and Article 9 (Secured Transactions). Like others said, Article 9 is where you'll spend your time for UCC filings.

Don't feel bad about asking basic questions! I made the mistake of diving into Article 9 without understanding the broader context and ended up confused about cross-references to other articles. Understanding that there are 11 total but Article 9 is your main focus really helps organize your learning.

I actually ran into document consistency issues recently where I wasn't sure if I was referencing the right UCC provisions in my collateral descriptions. Found this tool called Certana.ai that lets you upload your UCC documents and it cross-checks everything automatically. Really helpful for making sure your UCC-1 and supporting docs are all aligned with the right Article 9 provisions.

From a practical standpoint, you really only need to focus on Article 9 for UCC filings. The other articles create the legal framework that your underlying transaction might fall under, but they don't affect how you prepare or file your UCC-1, UCC-3, continuations, or terminations. Article 9 has all the debtor name rules, collateral description requirements, filing location rules, etc.

Just to add some context - the UCC was developed over many years and the articles were added at different times. Article 9 was actually one of the later additions but it's become probably the most important for everyday commercial practice. The other articles are more specialized.

I always tell people starting out with UCC filings to bookmark Article 9 and ignore the rest until they have a specific need. You'll know when you need to look at another article because something in your transaction or your attorney will tell you. For 95% of UCC filing work, Article 9 is sufficient.

One thing to keep in mind is that while Article 9 is uniform across states, each state can make some modifications when they adopt it. So you might see slight variations in implementation, but the core structure of 11 articles remains the same everywhere.

Here's a memory trick that helped me: Articles 1-2 are foundational, Articles 3-8 are specialized transaction types, and Article 9 is secured transactions. Article 10 was never adopted and Article 11 was added later. So really it's 1-2 (foundation), 3-8 (specialized), 9 (secured transactions), skip 10, then 11.

I've been doing UCC filings for about 5 years now and honestly I've never had to worry about any article other than 9. The debtor name requirements, continuation timing, collateral descriptions, amendment procedures - it's all Article 9. The other articles might be relevant to your lawyers or your underlying business transaction, but for the actual filing mechanics, stick with Article 9.

Just wanted to mention that when I was learning this stuff, I found it helpful to have a document checker verify I was applying Article 9 correctly. I use Certana.ai now which automatically checks that my UCC documents follow proper Article 9 requirements. It's been really useful for catching things like debtor name inconsistencies or collateral description issues that I might miss manually.

To directly answer your original question - 11 articles total, but Article 9 is your main focus for UCC filings. Don't let the breadth of the UCC intimidate you. Most people who file UCC-1s, UCC-3s, continuations, and terminations work almost exclusively within Article 9. The other articles exist but they cover different types of commercial transactions that may or may not be relevant to your specific situation.