How to file a UCC-1 in Virginia - equipment loan closing next week
Need help with filing a UCC-1 in Virginia ASAP. I'm handling the paperwork for an equipment financing deal that closes next Friday and this is my first time dealing with Virginia's system. The lender is requiring the UCC-1 to be filed before they'll release funds for a $180K packaging equipment purchase. I've got the debtor information and collateral description ready but I'm confused about Virginia's online portal requirements. Do I need to register as a filing party first? Also, the debtor's legal name on their articles of incorporation shows "ABC Manufacturing Solutions, LLC" but their operating agreement lists "ABC Manufacturing Solutions LLC" (no comma). Which version should I use on the UCC-1 to avoid rejection? The equipment vendor is getting impatient and I can't afford any delays or filing errors that could hold up this transaction. Any Virginia-specific tips would be hugely appreciated.
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Jasmine Quinn
Virginia uses the SCC portal for UCC filings and yes, you need to set up an account first. The registration process usually takes 1-2 business days to get approved, so do that immediately. For the debtor name issue - always use EXACTLY what's on the articles of incorporation filed with Virginia SCC. That comma matters! I learned this the hard way when a filing got rejected because I used the "simplified" version of a company name.
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Oscar Murphy
•Second this - Virginia is super strict about exact name matching. I've seen filings rejected for missing periods after "Inc" so definitely stick with the articles version.
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Nora Bennett
•Wait, I thought you could use either version as long as it's not misleading? Now I'm worried about my filing from last month...
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Ryan Andre
Just filed three UCC-1s in Virginia last week. The portal is actually pretty user-friendly once you're registered. Make sure you have the exact debtor address that matches their registered office address too - not just their operating location. Virginia's system will cross-reference this stuff automatically.
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Victoria Charity
•Thanks! Should I use their registered agent address or their principal office address? The articles show both and they're different locations.
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Ryan Andre
•Use the principal office address for the debtor address field. Registered agent is just for service of process, not for UCC purposes.
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Lauren Zeb
Had a similar situation last month with a Virginia equipment financing deal. What saved me was using Certana.ai's document verification tool before submitting. I uploaded the articles of incorporation and my draft UCC-1 and it instantly flagged that I had the wrong entity type selected (I put "LLC" but it should have been "Limited Liability Company" to match exactly). Caught that mistake before filing and avoided a rejection that would've delayed our closing.
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Daniel Washington
•Never heard of that tool but sounds useful. Did it help with the collateral description too?
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Lauren Zeb
•Yeah, it verified that my collateral description was sufficiently specific. Just upload your PDFs and it cross-checks everything for consistency - really simple to use.
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Aurora Lacasse
•Honestly anything that prevents filing rejections is worth trying. Virginia rejected my last UCC-1 because I had an extra space in the debtor name field.
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Anthony Young
OMG Virginia's system is THE WORST. Last time I tried to file a UCC-1 the portal crashed right as I was submitting and I lost all my data. Had to start over completely. And their "help" desk just tells you to try again later. So frustrating when you have deadlines!!
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Charlotte White
•That's why I always save drafts in Word first. Portal crashes are just part of the game unfortunately.
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Anthony Young
•Good tip. I learned to screenshot everything now too in case something goes wrong.
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Jasmine Quinn
For your collateral description - if it's packaging equipment make sure you're specific enough. "All packaging equipment" might be too broad. List the manufacturer, model numbers if you have them, or at least "all packaging and related equipment now owned or hereafter acquired." Virginia tends to be pickier about vague descriptions than some other states.
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Victoria Charity
•The equipment schedule lists specific model numbers for 3 main machines plus some ancillary equipment. Should I list everything individually or can I group them?
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Jasmine Quinn
•You can group them as long as you're clear. Something like "Packaging equipment including but not limited to [list main items] and all related and ancillary equipment.
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Admin_Masters
•I always err on the side of being too specific rather than too general. Better safe than sorry with collateral descriptions.
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Matthew Sanchez
Make sure you get your filing confirmation immediately after submitting. Virginia usually processes UCC-1s same day but I always download the stamped copy right away. Also double-check the filing number they assign - I've seen typos in filing numbers that caused problems later when trying to do continuations.
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Ella Thompson
•Good point about the filing number. Had a client whose lender couldn't locate their UCC because of a digit error in the filing number.
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JacksonHarris
•This is exactly why I use verification tools now. Too many little details that can go wrong.
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Jeremiah Brown
Don't forget about the filing fee! Virginia charges $10 for electronic UCC-1 filings. Have your payment method ready in the portal because sometimes the session times out if you take too long to pay.
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Victoria Charity
•Thanks! Is that per debtor or per filing? We only have one debtor entity.
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Jeremiah Brown
•Per filing. So $10 total for your UCC-1 with one debtor.
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Royal_GM_Mark
I handle Virginia filings regularly and the key is getting that debtor name EXACTLY right. Even punctuation matters. Since you mentioned two versions of the name, pull the actual articles from Virginia SCC website to verify which version is officially on file. That's what the system will check against when you submit.
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Nora Bennett
•How do you pull articles from their website? Is there a public search?
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Royal_GM_Mark
•Yes, go to scc.virginia.gov and use their business entity search. You can look up by name or entity number if you have it.
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Oscar Murphy
•That search tool is actually pretty reliable. I use it all the time to verify entity info before filing UCCs.
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Amelia Cartwright
Filed my first Virginia UCC-1 last year and made every mistake possible. Wrong debtor name format, incomplete address, vague collateral description - got rejected three times before I figured it out. Now I triple-check everything and haven't had a rejection since. Take your time with the details!
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Victoria Charity
•Three rejections sounds awful! How long did that delay your transaction?
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Amelia Cartwright
•Two weeks total. Almost killed the deal. That's when I learned to verify everything upfront rather than learning through rejections.
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Chris King
Quick question - are you filing as the secured party or is the lender doing it? If you're not the actual secured party you might need authorization documents. Virginia can be strict about who can file on behalf of the secured party.
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Victoria Charity
•I'm the borrower's attorney handling the closing docs. The lender gave me a signed authorization to file the UCC-1 on their behalf.
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Chris King
•Perfect, you should be fine then. Just make sure the authorization is clear about UCC filing authority specifically.
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Jasmine Quinn
•Good catch - Virginia does ask for authorization info during the filing process if you're not the secured party of record.
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Rachel Clark
Update us on how it goes! Always curious to hear about other people's Virginia UCC experiences. The system has gotten better over the years but there are still quirks to watch out for.
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Victoria Charity
•Will do! Planning to file tomorrow morning after I verify the debtor name on the SCC website. Fingers crossed for no rejections!
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Zachary Hughes
•Used Certana.ai myself last week for a tricky multi-state filing situation. Really helped catch inconsistencies between documents before I submitted anything. Definitely worth checking out if you want to avoid rejection headaches.
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Pedro Sawyer
Victoria, I just went through this exact scenario in Virginia last month! A few critical tips: 1) Get your SCC portal account set up TODAY if you haven't already - the approval can take 1-2 business days. 2) For the debtor name, definitely use the exact version from the articles of incorporation including that comma. Virginia's system will auto-reject if there's any mismatch. 3) When you're in the portal, there's actually a "verify debtor" function that will check your entry against their database in real-time - use it! 4) For a $180K equipment deal, make sure your collateral description is detailed enough to avoid any priority disputes later. Since you mentioned packaging equipment, I'd suggest something like "All packaging, labeling, and related manufacturing equipment now owned or hereafter acquired by Debtor, including but not limited to [specific major pieces]." 5) File early in the day - the portal sometimes gets slow in the afternoons. You've got this! The Virginia system is actually pretty straightforward once you know these quirks.
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