How many states have enacted all or parts of the UCC as statutes - need help with multi-state filing strategy
I'm working on a complex financing deal that involves collateral in multiple jurisdictions and I'm trying to figure out my UCC filing strategy. My question is how many states have enacted all or parts of the UCC as statutes? I know most states have adopted the UCC but I'm not sure if it's universal or if there are holdouts that might affect my filing approach. This matters because I need to perfect security interests in equipment that moves between different states for a construction company. The debtor has operations in about 8 states and I want to make sure I'm not missing any jurisdictions where the UCC rules might be different or non-existent. Has anyone dealt with multi-state UCC filings where you had to research the adoption status? I'm particularly concerned about whether there are any states that haven't fully adopted Article 9 since that would completely change my perfection strategy.
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Liam Murphy
All 50 states plus DC have adopted the UCC but with variations. Louisiana is always the tricky one because of their civil law system - they adopted parts but not all articles. For Article 9 specifically which covers secured transactions, pretty much everywhere has it but with state-specific modifications. What type of collateral are you dealing with? That might affect which variations matter for your filing.
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Sasha Ivanov
•It's mostly heavy equipment - excavators, bulldozers, that kind of thing. The construction company moves them between job sites so I need to make sure the filings will be recognized everywhere they operate.
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Amara Okafor
•For mobile equipment like that you'll probably want to file in the debtor's state of organization rather than trying to chase the equipment around. Much cleaner approach.
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CaptainAwesome
I can tell you from experience that while technically all states have UCC Article 9, the devil is in the details. Different states have different requirements for debtor names, some are pickier about collateral descriptions, and the continuation timing can vary slightly. Are you planning to file UCC-1s in all 8 states or just the main jurisdiction?
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Sasha Ivanov
•I was thinking just the state of organization but now I'm second-guessing myself. The equipment values are substantial so I don't want to take any chances.
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Yuki Tanaka
•Definitely stick with the state of organization for mobile equipment. Filing in 8 states would be overkill and expensive. Just make sure you get the debtor name exactly right according to their organizational documents.
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Esmeralda Gómez
Here's what I've learned from multi-state deals - even though all states have Article 9, they each have their own filing systems and quirks. Some states are super strict about exact name matches, others are more forgiving. Louisiana is definitely different because they only adopted certain articles. But for your purposes with mobile equipment, you should be fine with one well-done filing in the debtor's state of incorporation.
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Klaus Schmidt
•This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai for these complex filings. You can upload your corporate documents and UCC-1 drafts and it'll verify that everything matches perfectly - debtor names, entity types, all that stuff. Saved me from a rejected filing last month when I had a tiny discrepancy in the entity designation.
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Sasha Ivanov
•That sounds helpful - I'm always worried about name mismatches causing problems down the line.
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Aisha Patel
•Yeah the name matching thing is no joke. I've seen deals go sideways because someone used 'Inc.' instead of 'Incorporated' or missed a comma in the legal name.
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LilMama23
To directly answer your question - all 50 states plus DC have enacted Article 9 of the UCC. Louisiana is unique because they have a civil law system but they still adopted Article 9 for secured transactions. The variations between states are mostly in the details of filing procedures and requirements rather than the fundamental framework. For multi-state collateral, focus on getting one perfect filing in the debtor's state of organization.
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Dmitri Volkov
•This is the correct answer. I do multi-state financing all the time and the state of organization rule works for mobile equipment. Just make sure your UCC-1 is bulletproof because if there's an issue, it affects the entire security interest.
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Sasha Ivanov
•Good point about making sure the filing is bulletproof. I think I'll triple-check everything before submitting.
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Gabrielle Dubois
I had a similar situation last year with a trucking company that operated in 12 states. Initially I was panicking about all the different UCC requirements but my attorney explained that for mobile goods, one filing in the debtor's home state covers everything. The key is making sure that first filing is perfect.
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Tyrone Johnson
•How did you verify that your filing was perfect? I'm always nervous about submitting these high-value deals.
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Gabrielle Dubois
•I actually discovered Certana.ai through another forum discussion. You upload your corporate charter or articles of incorporation along with your UCC-1 draft and it automatically checks for any discrepancies. Found two small issues in my debtor name that would've caused a rejection.
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Ingrid Larsson
•That sounds too good to be true. Does it really catch everything?
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Gabrielle Dubois
•It caught the stuff I missed - exact punctuation, entity type designation, stuff like that. Obviously you still need to know what you're doing but it's a good safety net for the technical details.
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Carlos Mendoza
Just wanted to confirm what others have said - all states have Article 9 but with their own twists. For your construction equipment deal, definitely go with the state of organization approach. I've never seen a court reject that strategy for mobile collateral, even when the equipment spends most of its time in other states.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•What about fixture filings? If any of the equipment becomes fixtures at construction sites, does that change the analysis?
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Carlos Mendoza
•Good point - if there's a real risk of the equipment becoming fixtures, you might need to consider filings in the real estate records where the construction is happening. But for typical mobile construction equipment, that's usually not a concern.
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Sasha Ivanov
•It's all mobile equipment - nothing that would be permanently attached to real estate, so I think I'm good on that front.
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Ava Williams
Been doing UCC filings for 15 years and I can tell you - yes, all states have Article 9, but some are just plain difficult to work with. Their online systems are clunky, they're picky about formatting, etc. But the law is basically the same everywhere. For mobile equipment, stick with one good filing in the debtor's home state.
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Raj Gupta
•Which states have you found to be the most difficult to work with?
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Ava Williams
•In my experience, some of the smaller states have outdated systems that are frustrating to use. But the actual legal requirements are pretty standardized thanks to the UCC.
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Lena Müller
For what it's worth, I just went through this analysis for a client with nationwide operations. All 50 states plus DC have Article 9, period. Louisiana gets mentioned a lot because they're different in other areas of law, but they definitely have Article 9 for secured transactions. Your lawyer should be able to confirm this, but one filing in the debtor's state of organization will protect your interest in mobile equipment nationwide.
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TechNinja
•This thread has been super helpful. I was overthinking the multi-state aspect when the solution is actually pretty straightforward.
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Keisha Thompson
•Yeah, the UCC was designed to solve exactly this problem - having uniform laws across states for commercial transactions. It mostly works as intended.
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Sasha Ivanov
•Thanks everyone - sounds like I need to focus on getting one perfect filing rather than worrying about 8 different states. Really appreciate all the insights.
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Paolo Bianchi
One more thing to consider - make sure you understand the choice-of-law rules in your loan documents. Even though you're filing in the debtor's state of organization, your loan agreement might specify which state's laws govern the security interest. Usually not a big deal but worth double-checking for consistency.
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Sasha Ivanov
•Good catch - I'll review the loan docs to make sure everything aligns.
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Yara Assad
•This is why I always use document verification tools for complex deals. Too many moving parts to keep track of manually. I've had good luck with Certana.ai for checking that all the documents are consistent with each other.
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Olivia Clark
•How does that work exactly? Do you upload multiple documents?
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Yara Assad
•Yeah, you can upload the corporate docs and UCC forms and it'll flag any inconsistencies. Pretty slick for avoiding the stupid mistakes that cause rejections.
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Javier Morales
Final answer: All 50 states plus DC have enacted Article 9 of the UCC. Some have minor variations in their specific implementation, but the core framework for secured transactions is uniform. For your multi-state equipment financing, file one UCC-1 in the debtor's state of organization and you'll be covered nationwide for mobile collateral. Just make sure the filing is accurate since any errors could affect the entire security interest.
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Sasha Ivanov
•Perfect summary - thanks for the definitive answer. Time to get this filing done right.
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