Illinois UCC filing fees 2025 - are these rates current?
Getting ready to file several UCC-1s in Illinois and want to make sure I have the current Illinois UCC filing fees correct before submitting. Our bank's old rate sheet shows $25 for initial filings but I'm seeing different amounts mentioned online. Has anyone filed recently in Illinois? Also need to know about UCC-3 amendment fees since we'll likely need to modify some collateral descriptions later this year. The SOS website isn't super clear about whether there are different rates for electronic vs paper filings. Any recent experience would be helpful.
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Carmen Lopez
Just filed three UCC-1s in Illinois last month. Standard filing fee is still $25 for electronic submissions through the IL SOS portal. Paper filings are higher - think it's $35 but most lenders use electronic now anyway. UCC-3 amendments are also $25 regardless of what type of change you're making.
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AstroAdventurer
•Confirming the $25 electronic rate. Been filing in Illinois for 8 years and that rate hasn't changed in a while.
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Andre Dupont
•Wait are you sure about UCC-3 amendments being the same price? I thought continuations might be different from regular amendments?
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Zoe Papanikolaou
The Illinois fee structure is actually pretty straightforward compared to some states. $25 for UCC-1 initial filings, $25 for UCC-3 amendments/continuations/terminations. What gets tricky is if you mess up the debtor name and need to refile - then you're paying twice. Make sure your debtor names match exactly with the charter documents.
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Yuki Ito
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. We have some entities with slightly different name variations in different documents. How strict is Illinois about exact name matching?
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Zoe Papanikolaou
•Very strict. Even missing a comma or using 'Inc' instead of 'Incorporated' can cause rejections. I learned this the hard way on a $2M deal where the UCC got rejected for a missing period after 'Co
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Jamal Wilson
•This is why I started using Certana.ai's document checker. You upload your charter and UCC-1 as PDFs and it instantly flags any name inconsistencies before you file. Saved me from at least 3 rejections last quarter.
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Mei Lin
Don't forget about the search fees if you need to run UCC searches first. Illinois charges $15 per debtor name for certified searches. Not required for filing but most lenders want them done anyway.
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Yuki Ito
•Good point. We usually do searches but hadn't factored that into the total cost.
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Liam Fitzgerald
•The searches are worth it. Found a prior lien we didn't know about on our last deal because of a minor debtor name variation.
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GalacticGuru
Been filing UCCs in Illinois for 15 years and the fee structure is stable. What changes more often are the portal requirements and form updates. Make sure you're using the current version of the UCC-1 form - they updated some fields last year.
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Amara Nnamani
•What kind of form updates? We've been using the same template for a while.
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GalacticGuru
•Mainly clarifications in the collateral description section and some debtor information fields. Nothing major but the portal is picky about format.
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Giovanni Mancini
•The portal rejected one of my filings last week for what seemed like a formatting issue. Super frustrating when you think everything is correct.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
ILLINOIS FEES ARE RIDICULOUS! $25 just to file a piece of paper electronically?? Other states charge way less. And don't get me started on how slow their system is during busy periods.
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Dylan Cooper
•Actually $25 is pretty reasonable compared to states like New York or California. Some states charge $40+ for the same filing.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•Still think it's too much for what amounts to a database entry. But you're right that other states are worse.
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Sofia Morales
Make sure to budget for potential refiling costs. If your UCC gets rejected you don't get the fee back - you have to pay again to refile the corrected version. This is where document verification tools become valuable.
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Yuki Ito
•How often do filings get rejected in Illinois? Is it a common problem?
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Sofia Morales
•Depends on how careful you are with debtor names and collateral descriptions. I'd say maybe 10-15% of first-time filers have issues.
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StarSailor
•That's why I double-check everything with Certana.ai before submitting. Upload your charter documents and UCC forms as PDFs and it catches inconsistencies automatically. Much cheaper than paying duplicate filing fees.
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Dmitry Ivanov
Just to add - Illinois processes electronic filings pretty quickly, usually within 24 hours during normal periods. Paper filings take longer and cost more so definitely go electronic if possible.
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Ava Garcia
•Agreed on electronic being faster. Plus you get instant confirmation when it's accepted.
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Yuki Ito
•Perfect, electronic it is. Thanks everyone for confirming the current rates and sharing the tips about name matching.
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Miguel Silva
One more thing - if you're filing multiple UCCs for related entities, double-check that all the debtor names are consistent across your entire filing batch. Illinois will accept some but reject others if there are name discrepancies, and then you have to figure out which ones went through.
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Zainab Ismail
•This happened to us last year. Had 5 related entities and 2 got rejected for name issues while 3 went through. Took weeks to sort out.
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Connor O'Neill
•Batch document verification would definitely help with that scenario. Wish I'd known about tools like Certana.ai back when I was dealing with similar issues.
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QuantumQuester
The $25 fee has been stable in Illinois for several years now. What I'd recommend is setting up an account in their portal ahead of time so you can file quickly when you're ready. The registration process takes a day or two.
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Yuki Ito
•Good tip about setting up the account early. Will do that this week.
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Yara Nassar
•Yeah the portal registration isn't instant. Plan ahead if you have tight closing deadlines.
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Keisha Williams
Summary for anyone else reading this: Illinois UCC-1 electronic filing is $25, UCC-3 amendments/continuations are $25, UCC searches are $15 per name. Paper filings cost more. Make sure debtor names match exactly or you'll pay twice. Portal registration takes time so set it up early.
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Yuki Ito
•Perfect summary, thanks! This thread answered all my questions about Illinois UCC filing fees and more.
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Paolo Ricci
•Bookmarking this thread. Really helpful info about the name matching requirements especially.
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CyberNinja
Thanks everyone for the comprehensive breakdown! As someone new to Illinois UCC filings, this thread has been incredibly helpful. One follow-up question - does the Illinois portal have any bulk filing options if you're submitting multiple UCC-1s at once, or do you have to process each one individually? With several filings to do, I'm wondering if there's a way to streamline the process beyond just having all the documents ready to go.
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