How to do a UCC search in New York - NY DOS system confusing me

NY DOS search can be tricky - their system is pretty sensitive to exact name formatting. Try searching with and without middle initials, and also search using just last name first initial to cast wider net. Also make sure you're checking both individual and organization name fields depending on your debtor type.

The NY system definitely has its quirks. One thing that trips people up is that you need to search filing office code 'ST' for state level filings vs 'LC' for local county filings if you're dealing with fixture filings or real estate related collateral. Most equipment finance stuff will be state level.

I had similar frustration with NY searches until I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your existing UCC docs and it cross-checks everything automatically - names, filing numbers, all that stuff. Saves me tons of time versus manually running searches and trying to match up results. Just upload the PDFs and it tells you if everything aligns properly.

Pro tip: NY allows wildcard searching with asterisks. So if you're searching for "Johnson Industries" you could try "Johnson*" to catch variations like "Johnson Industries Inc" or "Johnson Industrial Supply". The truncation feature can really help when you're not sure of exact legal names.

Don't forget to check the date ranges on your searches too. NY defaults to like 5 years I think but if you're doing comprehensive due diligence you might want to go back further, especially for equipment that could have been financed years ago.

The NY portal search results can be overwhelming too. Make sure you're looking at the right filing types - UCC1 for initial filings, UCC3 for amendments/continuations/terminations. Don't get distracted by all the other business filings that might show up in results.

If you're still having trouble with the online searches, NY also offers certified search services for a fee. Sometimes worth it for high-value deals where you need to be absolutely certain you haven't missed anything. The certified searches are more comprehensive than what you can do online yourself.

Make sure you understand what you're looking at in the search results. Active UCC1 filings, continuation statements (UCC3), amendments that might change collateral descriptions. Don't just count the number of filings - you need to understand the current status of each security interest.

Just to add another option - there are commercial UCC search services that aggregate data from multiple states including NY. Might be worth considering if you do a lot of multi-state deals. They often have better search interfaces than the individual state portals.

One more thing about NY specifically - their system sometimes has lag time for newly filed documents. If you're searching for something that was just filed in the last few days it might not show up yet. Keep that in mind for time-sensitive deals.

Thanks everyone for all the detailed advice! This is incredibly helpful. I'm going to try the wildcard searching with asterisks first, along with proper name formatting (Last, First Middle with commas). The filing office code distinction between ST and LC is something I definitely wasn't aware of. I'll also expand my date ranges and focus on just UCC document types in the results. For these high-value equipment deals, I think I'll do online searches first with all these tips and then get certified searches for final verification. Really appreciate this community - you've saved me a lot of frustration and probably some costly mistakes!