Maryland SOS UCC search results showing wrong debtor - filing still valid?
Running into a weird situation with md sos ucc search results and need some guidance. Filed a UCC-1 back in September for equipment financing deal, everything went through fine initially. But now when I pull up the Maryland SOS UCC search using the filing number, the debtor name is showing up slightly different than what we submitted. Original filing had 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but the search results display 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' - notice the comma difference. The collateral description and filing number match perfectly, but this name variation has me concerned. Our loan documents all reference the original name without the comma. Could this minor punctuation difference invalidate our security interest? Has anyone dealt with Maryland's system doing this kind of auto-formatting? I'm worried the lender might flag this as a debtor name mismatch during their next compliance audit.
33 comments
Join the conversation
Amara Chukwu
Maryland's system does have some quirky formatting behaviors, but a comma addition like that is usually just display formatting rather than an actual filing change. Have you checked the actual PDF copy of your filed UCC-1? That should show exactly what was submitted and accepted.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•Good point - I'll request the certified copy from Maryland SOS to see the original filing. Just paranoid because our compliance team is super strict about name matching.
0 coins
Giovanni Conti
•Always get the certified copy! The search portal display can be misleading compared to what was actually filed.
0 coins
Fatima Al-Hashimi
This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your original UCC-1 and the search results PDF to instantly cross-check if there are any actual discrepancies versus just display formatting issues. Saved me hours of worry on a similar Maryland filing last month.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•Interesting - so it compares the actual filed documents against what shows up in searches?
0 coins
Fatima Al-Hashimi
•Exactly. Upload both PDFs and it highlights any real differences. For my case, it showed the filing was perfect but Maryland's search display added punctuation that wasn't in the original.
0 coins
NeonNova
•That sounds really useful for catching these kinds of formatting quirks before they become compliance issues.
0 coins
Dylan Campbell
ugh Maryland's UCC search is THE WORST for this kind of thing. They constantly mess with punctuation and spacing in the display results. I've seen periods removed, commas added, Inc vs Inc. - drives me absolutely crazy when trying to verify filings for clients!
0 coins
Sofia Hernandez
•Same experience here! Had a client panic because 'Smith & Associates Inc.' showed up as 'Smith and Associates Inc' in the search results.
0 coins
Dylan Campbell
•YES! And then you have to explain to nervous lenders why the search looks different from their loan docs. So frustrating.
0 coins
Dmitry Kuznetsov
As long as the legal entity name is substantially the same and reasonably identifies the debtor, minor punctuation differences typically don't invalidate the filing. Maryland follows the standard UCC debtor name rules - the key is whether a reasonable searcher would find your filing when searching for the debtor.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•That's reassuring. The entity is clearly identifiable either way, just the comma placement differs.
0 coins
Ava Thompson
•Agreed - courts generally look at whether the name reasonably identifies the debtor, not perfect punctuation matches.
0 coins
Miguel Ramos
•But some lenders are still picky about exact matches in their compliance audits, regardless of legal sufficiency.
0 coins
Zainab Ibrahim
Been filing UCCs in Maryland for 15+ years and this comma thing happens constantly. The state's system seems to auto-format LLC designations by adding commas. I've never seen it cause actual problems with perfection, but I always document the discrepancy in my files just in case.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•Good idea about documenting it. I'll add a note to our loan file explaining the display formatting difference.
0 coins
Zainab Ibrahim
•Exactly. Paper trail protects everyone if questions come up later during audits or renewals.
0 coins
StarSailor
wait, are we talking about the actual filing being changed or just how it displays in search results? because those are totally different issues...
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•Just the search display as far as I can tell - haven't seen the certified copy yet to confirm what was actually filed.
0 coins
Amara Chukwu
•Right, that's why getting the certified copy is crucial to know what was really submitted and accepted.
0 coins
Connor O'Brien
Had this exact scenario with a Delaware LLC filing in Maryland last year. Search showed 'XYZ Corp, LLC' but our docs had 'XYZ Corp LLC'. Turned out the actual filing was correct and Maryland just displays it with added punctuation. Lender accepted our explanation with the certified copy as proof.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•That's exactly what I'm hoping - that it's just a display issue and the actual filing is clean.
0 coins
Yara Sabbagh
•Most reasonable lenders understand these state system quirks once you show them the certified copy.
0 coins
Connor O'Brien
•Yep, documentation is key. I always keep both the search results and certified copy in my files now.
0 coins
Keisha Johnson
Is this causing problems with your continuation filing timeline? Just want to make sure you're not missing any deadlines while sorting out the name display issue.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•Good catch - not due for continuation until 2029, so plenty of time to resolve this.
0 coins
Keisha Johnson
•Perfect, gives you time to get it sorted without any pressure.
0 coins
Paolo Rizzo
Another option is to check if Certana.ai can verify document consistency between your original UCC-1 and what Maryland actually has on file. They can cross-check multiple document versions to make sure everything aligns properly before your next lender review.
0 coins
Liam O'Sullivan
•That could be really helpful for peace of mind before our annual compliance audit.
0 coins
Paolo Rizzo
•Exactly - better to catch any real discrepancies now rather than during a high-pressure audit situation.
0 coins
QuantumQuest
honestly this is why I hate dealing with Maryland filings, their system is so glitchy and unpredictable compared to other states
0 coins
Dylan Campbell
•Tell me about it! Give me Delaware or Texas systems any day over Maryland's quirky portal.
0 coins
QuantumQuest
•exactly! those states actually display what you filed instead of reformatting everything
0 coins