Idaho UCC lien search showing conflicting results - need help verifying debtor records

This is so true. I've seen cases where 'LLC' vs 'L.L.C.' returned totally different results even though it's obviously the same entity.

Wait, so if the LLC's charter says 'Mountain View Equipment, LLC' with a comma, that's exactly how I need to search it? Even if most of their contracts use it without the comma?

I did check their Articles and it shows 'Mountain View Equipment, LLC' with the comma, but when I search that exact spelling I get different results than when I search without the comma. Something's not right with their system.

That's exactly the problem - the search algorithm should catch both variations but it doesn't. You need to search every possible variation of the name.

This is why I always run at least 4-5 different name variations. Takes forever but better safe than sorry when it comes to lien priority.

Really? It automatically knows what name variations to search? How does that work exactly?

Yeah, you just upload the Articles PDF and it extracts the legal name, then runs searches for all the common variations (with/without comma, abbreviated forms, etc.). Shows you exactly what liens exist and lets you verify they match the debtor properly.

That sounds too good to be true. I've been doing manual searches for years and it's always been a pain.

I feel your pain. It's like they designed the system to make it as difficult as possible to get accurate results.

At least it's not as bad as Montana's system. That one times out half the time.

Good point. I didn't think to check for former names. Is there a way to see name change history in Idaho?

You can see amendments to the Articles of Incorporation that show name changes. Sometimes companies change their name but don't update existing UCC filings.

This is getting complicated. Why can't they just make the search system smart enough to find obvious variations automatically?

How did you figure out about the DBA filings? Did you have to search trade names separately?

Yeah, had to search the DBA database separately, then run UCC searches on those names too. It was a nightmare but found liens I would have missed otherwise.

This is why I keep a checklist of all the name variations to search. Otherwise I'd forget half of them.

Do you search 'Mountain View' as two words and 'Mountainview' as one word? I never thought about that variation.

Absolutely! Space vs no space can make a huge difference in search results. Some filers combine words that should be separate.

They actually admitted their system has problems? That's surprising. Did they say if they're working on fixing it?

The person I talked to said they're aware of the issues but didn't give any timeline for fixes. Basically said we need to work around it by being more thorough with searches.

I think we all have this worry. The search systems aren't perfect and we're expected to be 100% accurate.

At least you're thinking about it now. Better to be paranoid and thorough than miss something important.

That's the second mention of Certana. Sounds like it might be worth checking out. Does it work for all states or just certain ones?

It works across all states. You just upload the documents and it does the name matching automatically. Much more reliable than trying to guess all the variations manually.

I might have to try this. I'm spending way too much time on manual searches and still not confident I'm finding everything.