Iowa UCC Code Requirements - Filing Getting Rejected Need Help

No DBAs involved, just the straight corporate name. But you might be onto something with the spacing - there's a comma in the middle of the company name that might be causing issues.

Yeah Iowa's system is notorious for comma problems. Try removing any commas or extra spaces and see if that helps.

Really? I thought the broader description would be safer to make sure we covered everything. What did you end up using that worked?

Had to break it down into separate categories and be more specific. Instead of "all inventory, equipment, and fixtures" I used "inventory consisting of retail merchandise, equipment used in retail operations, fixtures permanently attached to real property" and it went through fine.

That's interesting - I always thought broader was better for collateral descriptions to avoid missing anything important.

Never heard of that before. Is it specifically for UCC filings or just general document checking?

It's designed for UCC document verification. You upload your charter and UCC-1 and it cross-checks everything to make sure they align properly. Really helpful for catching those tiny details that cause rejections.

That sounds like it could save a lot of headaches. I've had too many filings come back for stupid formatting errors.

OMG yes! I feel your pain. Their error messages are completely useless.

Did calling actually help? I was thinking about trying that but wasn't sure if they'd give any useful information over the phone.

It did help but you have to be persistent. The first person I talked to basically just read me the same error message, but when I asked to speak to someone in UCC filings specifically they were able to tell me exactly what was wrong.

The address is just a street address, no suite numbers. But maybe there's something in how I formatted the city/state/zip?

Could be. Make sure the state is "IA" not "Iowa" and the zip code format matches exactly what they expect. Their system is really rigid about that stuff.

Filing as an entity. The secured party is the bank making the loan. I used their exact legal name from the loan agreement.

That should be fine then. Might be worth double-checking that the bank's address matches what they have on file with Iowa though.

Good point about the address matching. I had a filing rejected because I used the bank's mailing address instead of their principal business address.

That's frustrating but maybe worth a try. Did you wait between attempts or just keep submitting immediately?

waited like an hour between each one figured maybe their system needed time to reset or something

I've heard of this happening with other states too. Sometimes the portal just glitches and rejects valid filings for no reason.

That's the second mention of that tool. Sounds like it might be worth trying before I submit again.

Definitely worth it. Much faster than calling Iowa's office and trying to get answers. The document verification is pretty thorough.

Interesting point. The loan isn't closed yet but we're supposed to file before closing. Is there a specific timing requirement in Iowa's UCC code?

I don't think there's a hard rule about timing, but some states are picky about filings that seem premature. Might be worth checking with your lender about the sequence.

I don't think Iowa has timing restrictions like that. Most states allow you to file before the transaction as long as you have the debtor's authorization.

This is an initial UCC-1 so there shouldn't be any reference numbers needed. But good to know about the filing number format for future amendments.

Right, for UCC-1s you wouldn't need that. But Iowa is just really particular about formatting in general. Even small details can cause rejections.

Thanks, I think I'll try the document verification tool first and then call if that doesn't solve it. Really appreciate everyone's help with this Iowa UCC code nightmare.

Good plan. Hope you get it sorted out soon - financing deadlines are stressful enough without portal problems adding to it.

Keep us posted on what ends up working! Always good to know what fixes Iowa filing issues for future reference.