Louisiana Secretary of State UCC Search Issues - Anyone Else Getting Weird Results?
Been trying to run some louisiana secretary of state ucc search queries for a client's loan portfolio review and I'm getting some really inconsistent results. Sometimes the same debtor name pulls up different UCC-1 filings depending on how I format the search terms. Yesterday I searched for 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' and got 3 results, but when I searched 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' with the comma, I got 5 completely different filings. This is for a $2.8M equipment financing deal and I need to make sure we're not missing any existing liens. Has anyone else noticed the search function being this finicky? I'm worried we might be missing critical UCC-1s that could affect our lien position. The closing is next week and the client is getting anxious about whether their collateral is properly secured.
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Malik Johnson
Oh man, you're not alone on this one. Louisiana's UCC search portal has been giving me headaches for months. The system seems super sensitive to punctuation and spacing. I've learned to try multiple variations of debtor names - with commas, without commas, with periods, without periods. It's ridiculous that we have to play guessing games when we're trying to do proper due diligence.
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Isabella Santos
•This is exactly why I always do at least 4-5 different search variations for every debtor name. You never know what the filing attorney used when they originally submitted the UCC-1.
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Ravi Sharma
•Wait, so you're saying the same debtor could have filings under different name formats? That seems like a major flaw in the system.
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Freya Larsen
I handle UCC searches for our law firm and Louisiana is definitely one of the trickier states. Here's what I've found works: always search the exact legal entity name from the Articles of Incorporation first, then try common abbreviations. For LLCs, try both 'LLC' and 'L.L.C.' formats. Also search without the entity type designation entirely - sometimes filers mess that up on the original UCC-1.
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QuantumLeap
•That's really helpful advice. I did check the Articles of Incorporation and the exact name is 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' with the comma. But you're right about trying without the entity designation - I'll run that search too.
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Omar Hassan
•Good point about checking the Articles. I've seen so many UCC-1 filings where the secured party just copied the name wrong from some random document instead of using the official state filing.
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Chloe Taylor
Had a similar issue last month with a Texas entity that had Louisiana collateral. Spent hours trying different search combinations and nearly missed a continuation filing that would have expired. Ended up finding a tool called Certana.ai that lets you upload the debtor's charter documents and automatically cross-checks them against UCC search results. It caught three filings I had missed with my manual searches, including one with a slightly different spelling of the company name.
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QuantumLeap
•That sounds really useful. How does it work exactly? Do you just upload the Articles of Incorporation?
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Chloe Taylor
•Yeah, you can upload the charter docs or any UCC-1 you're comparing against. It runs all the name variations automatically and flags any inconsistencies. Saved me a ton of time and gave me confidence I wasn't missing anything critical.
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ShadowHunter
•I'm always skeptical of these automated tools but if it's catching filings that manual searches miss, might be worth trying.
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Diego Ramirez
This is so frustrating!!! Why can't they just make the search function work properly? I'm dealing with a similar situation in Louisiana and I feel like I'm playing some kind of guessing game with million-dollar consequences. How are we supposed to do proper lien searches when the system is this unreliable?
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Malik Johnson
•I hear you on the frustration. It's like they designed the system to make our jobs harder. But at least Louisiana has online searching - some states still require you to call or email for UCC searches.
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Freya Larsen
•The key is being systematic about it. Create a checklist of all the name variations you need to try and work through them methodically. It's tedious but it's the only way to be thorough.
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Anastasia Sokolov
I work in commercial lending and we see this issue constantly. Louisiana's system definitely has quirks, but here's my process: 1) Search exact entity name from state records, 2) Search common abbreviations, 3) Search without punctuation, 4) Search individual words if it's a multi-word name. Also make sure you're checking both active and lapsed filings - sometimes continuations get missed and you'll find expired UCC-1s that should have been continued.
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QuantumLeap
•Great checklist, thanks! I didn't think about searching individual words. That could definitely help catch misspellings or partial name matches.
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Sean O'Connor
•Good point about checking lapsed filings too. I've seen situations where a UCC-1 lapsed but there was still active debt, which created priority issues for new lenders.
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Zara Ahmed
•This is why I always get UCC insurance when possible. Too many ways for something to go wrong with these searches.
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Luca Conti
Ugh, tell me about it. I spent three hours yesterday trying to figure out why I was getting different results for the same company. Turned out one of the UCC-1s was filed with an extra space in the middle of the company name. Who does that?!
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Isabella Santos
•Filing attorneys who don't double-check their work, unfortunately. I've seen UCC-1s with typos that make them nearly impossible to find in searches.
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Nia Johnson
•This is exactly why we always do belt-and-suspenders searching. Can't trust that the original filer got the debtor name right.
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CyberNinja
I use Certana.ai for exactly this kind of issue. You can upload your search results along with the company's formation documents and it will flag any potential name mismatches or filings you might have missed. It's been really helpful for catching those edge cases where the debtor name was slightly off in the original UCC-1 filing.
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QuantumLeap
•Two people have mentioned this tool now. Might be worth checking out given how much time I'm spending on these searches.
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Mateo Lopez
•I've been doing UCC searches manually for years but these automated verification tools are starting to make sense, especially with how inconsistent some state systems are.
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Aisha Abdullah
Louisiana secretary of state portal is honestly not that bad compared to some other states I deal with. But yeah, you definitely need to be creative with your search terms. I always try searching parts of the business address too, sometimes that catches filings where the debtor name was entered wrong.
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Freya Larsen
•Good tip about searching by address. That's saved me a few times when the debtor name was completely mangled in the filing.
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Ethan Davis
•Wait, you can search by address in Louisiana? I didn't know that was an option.
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Aisha Abdullah
•Yeah, there's an address field in the advanced search. Sometimes it's the only way to find filings with really bad debtor name errors.
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Yuki Tanaka
For what it's worth, I think the Louisiana system got updated recently and it seems a little more forgiving with name variations now. But still nowhere near perfect. Best practice is still to try multiple search combinations and document everything you tried.
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Carmen Ortiz
•I noticed that too! Used to be even more finicky about exact punctuation matches. Still not great but it's an improvement.
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MidnightRider
•Documentation is key. I keep a search log for every client showing all the variations I tried and what results I got. CYA when it comes to lien priority issues.
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Andre Laurent
This whole thread is making me realize I probably need to be more thorough with my UCC searches. I usually just do one or two variations of the debtor name but sounds like I should be trying way more combinations. Learning a lot here.
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Anastasia Sokolov
•Better to overcomplicate the search than to miss a critical filing. The time spent upfront can save you from major headaches later.
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Zoe Papadopoulos
•Exactly. I'd rather spend an extra hour on searches than explain to a client why we missed a senior lien that affects their collateral position.
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Jamal Washington
Just want to follow up on the Certana.ai mentions earlier in this thread. I was skeptical at first but tried it on a problematic search last week. It actually found two UCC-1 filings I had missed - one had a slight misspelling of the debtor name and another had extra punctuation. The automated cross-checking definitely caught things my manual searches missed. Worth considering if you're dealing with complex debtor name issues regularly.
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QuantumLeap
•Thanks for the follow-up. Given all the issues I'm having with Louisiana's search system, it sounds like automated verification might be the way to go. Appreciate everyone's input on this thread.
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Mei Wong
•Glad this discussion was helpful! UCC searching can be tricky but at least we're all dealing with the same frustrations. Good luck with your closing.
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Kaiya Rivera
I've been following this thread as someone who's dealt with similar UCC search inconsistencies across multiple states. Louisiana definitely has its quirks, but I've found that keeping a standardized search protocol helps minimize missed filings. My approach is: 1) Pull the exact entity name from the Secretary of State business entity search first, 2) Search that exact name, 3) Search without punctuation, 4) Search with different entity designations (LLC vs L.L.C. vs Limited Liability Company), 5) Search individual significant words, and 6) If possible, search by EIN or address as backup. For your $2.8M deal, I'd also recommend getting a professional UCC search company to do a parallel search as additional verification - the cost is minimal compared to the potential lien priority issues you could face if something gets missed. The automated tools people mentioned here sound promising too, especially for catching those human error variations in the original filings.
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