How to file a UCC-1 in Indiana - specific portal requirements?
Need some guidance on filing a UCC-1 in Indiana. I'm handling collateral for an equipment loan and the borrower's business name has some complexity - it's registered as "J&M Construction Services, LLC" but they do business as "J and M Builders". The loan documents reference both names inconsistently. I'm worried about getting the debtor name exactly right since I've heard Indiana SOS is strict about rejections. Also unsure about their online portal requirements - do they require specific formatting for collateral descriptions? This is my first time filing in Indiana and don't want to mess up a $180K equipment lien. Any tips on navigating their system would be appreciated.
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Max Knight
Indiana Secretary of State portal is pretty straightforward but you're right to be careful about debtor names. For the name issue - use the exact legal name from their Articles of Incorporation, which should be "J&M Construction Services, LLC". The DBA doesn't matter for UCC purposes. Check their business entity search first to confirm the exact spelling and punctuation.
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Emma Swift
•This is crucial advice. I've seen filings get rejected for missing a comma or using 'and' instead of '&' in business names.
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Isabella Tucker
•Agreed on checking the entity search first. Indiana's pretty good about keeping their database current.
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Jayden Hill
For collateral descriptions in Indiana, keep it simple but comprehensive. "All equipment, machinery, and fixtures used in construction operations" should cover your equipment loan. Don't get too specific unless required by your lender. The portal accepts standard descriptions just fine.
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Madeline Blaze
•Should I list the specific equipment models and serial numbers or is that overkill?
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Jayden Hill
•Usually overkill unless your loan docs specifically require it. General categories work fine for most lenders.
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LordCommander
•Some lenders do want serial numbers for high-value equipment though. Check your loan agreement.
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Lucy Lam
Had a similar situation last month with inconsistent names in loan docs. Ended up using Certana.ai's document checker tool - you can upload your loan agreement and proposed UCC-1 as PDFs and it instantly flags any name mismatches or inconsistencies. Saved me from filing with the wrong debtor name. Really simple to use, just drag and drop the documents.
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Madeline Blaze
•That sounds helpful - did it catch other issues besides names?
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Lucy Lam
•Yeah it also flagged that my collateral description didn't match what was in the loan docs. Helped me tighten that up before filing.
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Aidan Hudson
INDIANA PORTAL IS A NIGHTMARE!!! Filed three UCC-1s last week and two got rejected for the stupidest reasons. One rejection was for putting a period after LLC when their system apparently doesn't want periods. Make sure you preview everything twice before submitting.
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Zoe Wang
•What were the other rejection reasons? Trying to avoid similar issues.
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Aidan Hudson
•Second rejection was for collateral description being 'too vague' - I just wrote 'all assets' which apparently isn't specific enough for them anymore.
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Connor Richards
•That's frustrating but 'all assets' has been getting rejected more lately in several states. Better to be more descriptive.
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Grace Durand
Quick tip - Indiana charges $25 for electronic filing. Make sure you have payment ready because the session times out if you take too long entering info. Lost my first attempt that way.
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Steven Adams
•How long do you have before timeout?
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Grace Durand
•I think it's 20 minutes but don't quote me on that. Just have everything ready to go before you start.
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Alice Fleming
The debtor name thing is critical. I always recommend doing a business entity search on the Indiana SOS website first, then copy and paste the exact name from there. For your situation with J&M Construction Services, LLC - that's almost certainly the legal name you want. The DBA stuff doesn't matter for UCC filings.
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Madeline Blaze
•Good point about copy/paste. Eliminates any typos.
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Hassan Khoury
•Just make sure there's no extra spaces when you paste. Some systems are picky about that.
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Victoria Stark
•I always paste into notepad first to clean up any weird formatting, then copy from there to the filing system.
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Benjamin Kim
Been filing in Indiana for years. Their system is actually pretty user-friendly once you get used to it. The key things: exact debtor name from Articles of Incorporation, reasonable collateral description (not too broad, not too narrow), and double-check everything before hitting submit. $180K is a decent size loan so definitely worth getting right the first time.
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Madeline Blaze
•Any specific collateral description format they prefer?
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Benjamin Kim
•Just make it clear and comprehensive. 'All construction equipment, tools, and machinery' would work for your situation.
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Samantha Howard
honestly indiana isnt that bad compared to some states ive dealt with. california is way worse for uccfilings. just take your time and read the error messages if you get any
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Megan D'Acosta
•True, at least Indiana gives decent error messages when something's wrong.
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Sarah Ali
•Yeah some states just say 'invalid filing' without telling you what's actually wrong.
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Ryan Vasquez
One more thing - make sure you get the filing number and acknowledgment copy immediately after filing. Indiana emails it but sometimes those emails get caught in spam filters. Print or save the confirmation page right away.
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Madeline Blaze
•Good reminder about checking spam folder. I'll watch for that.
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Avery Saint
•I always add the SOS email to my contacts list beforehand to avoid the spam issue.
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Taylor Chen
Update us on how it goes! Always curious to hear about other people's filing experiences, especially with larger loan amounts.
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Madeline Blaze
•Will do! Hoping to get this filed tomorrow morning. Thanks everyone for the helpful advice.
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Keith Davidson
•Good luck! The prep work is the hardest part - once you have the right info, the actual filing is pretty quick.
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Ezra Bates
Last suggestion - if you're doing multiple UCC filings regularly, consider setting up an account with their portal. Makes repeat filings much faster since it saves your secured party info.
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Ana Erdoğan
•Didn't know they offered accounts. Is there a fee for that?
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Ezra Bates
•No fee for the account setup, you just pay per filing. But it's convenient if you file regularly.
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Sophia Carson
•The account feature also lets you track your filing history which is nice for record keeping.
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Nia Harris
As someone who's been through similar naming issues with LLC filings, I'd strongly recommend doing a quick entity verification search on the Indiana SOS business database before filing. For your J&M situation, the legal entity name "J&M Construction Services, LLC" is almost certainly what you want to use - the DBA name doesn't matter for UCC purposes. Also, since this is a $180K equipment loan, consider having your collateral description reviewed by your legal team if possible. Something like "All equipment, machinery, tools, and fixtures used in debtor's construction business operations" should be comprehensive enough without being too broad. Indiana's portal is generally reliable, but definitely save/print your confirmation immediately after submission.
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Javier Morales
•Great comprehensive advice! The entity verification search is definitely the safest approach. One thing I'd add - when you do find the exact legal name in the Indiana database, take a screenshot or print it out for your records. That way if there's ever a question about the name you used, you have documentation showing exactly what was in the state system at the time of filing. Really helpful for audit trails, especially on larger loans like this one.
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