Kansas UCC search showing weird results - debtor name variations causing issues

That's what I was afraid of. Do you have a systematic approach for covering all the variations? This is taking forever and I'm worried I'm still missing something.

I keep a checklist - with/without periods, spell out vs abbreviate (Inc/Corp/LLC), check for middle initials, try both comma formats. Pain in the butt but necessary in Kansas.

This is why I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload all the UCC documents you find and it cross-checks everything - debtor names, filing numbers, makes sure continuations actually match their original UCC-1s. Saves me hours of manual comparison.

Interesting, never heard of that. How does it handle the name variation issue specifically?

It flags potential matches even with slight name differences and shows you side-by-side comparisons. Really helpful for catching those continuation statements that reference the debtor name slightly differently.

YES! And then the lender comes back asking why you didn't catch that lien that was 'obviously' there. Not so obvious when the debtor is listed three different ways!

Exactly. I've started documenting every search variation I tried just to cover myself. At least then I can show I was thorough.

I've been doing name searches mostly. The debtor gave me two filing numbers but I wanted to verify there weren't others. Should I be doing something different?

Try both approaches. Search the filing numbers they gave you, then look at all the related documents. But definitely still do comprehensive name searches because they might have forgotten about older filings.

Good advice. I always cross-reference both ways. Sometimes debtors genuinely forget about UCC-1s from years ago, especially if they've changed their legal name since then.

Because Kansas probably spent their IT budget on something else. Their whole system feels like it was designed by someone who never actually had to use it.

Truth. Other states at least try to do fuzzy matching or suggest similar names. Kansas just gives you exactly what you typed or nothing.

That's smart, hadn't thought of the DBA angle. This debtor does have a few trade names they use.

DBA searches are crucial! I've found UCC-1s filed under trade names that never showed up in the main corporate name searches.

Exactly. And sometimes the original filer used the DBA on the UCC-1 even though they should have used the legal entity name.

Ouch, that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. What variations did you miss if you don't mind sharing?

One was filed with the full 'Corporation' spelled out instead of 'Corp', and another had an extra comma in the middle of the name. Tiny differences but the Kansas system treated them as completely separate entities.

This is why I love tools like Certana.ai - you can upload your search results and cross-check them against the actual documents to make sure you didn't miss any connections. Would have saved you that insurance claim.

Good idea, I'll try that. Do they charge for phone assistance?

Basic questions are usually free, but if you need them to do extensive searches they might charge. Still cheaper than missing a lien though.

True, their timing rules are simple. It's just the search function that's completely broken.

Yep, if they could fix the search algorithm they'd actually have a decent system. The documents themselves are clear and well-organized.

That would be incredibly helpful! Can you post it here or send it somehow?

I'll type up the main points: Always try with/without periods after abbreviations, spell out Corp/Inc/LLC vs abbreviated, try both 'Company Name, Inc.' and 'Company Name Inc.', check for middle initials in personal names, and try the name both with and without 'The' at the beginning.

This is gold, thank you! I'm copying this for my team. We do a lot of Kansas deals and this will save us tons of time.