Michigan UCC search portal down again - how to do a UCC search in Michigan when system crashes?

I've been dealing with Michigan's portal issues for months. The system seems to crash every afternoon around 2-3pm. For urgent searches, I usually try early morning (before 9am) or after 6pm when traffic is lighter. You can also call their office directly at 517-241-6470 but expect a wait time.

Have you tried accessing through a different browser? Sometimes Chrome works when Firefox doesn't, or vice versa. Also clearing your cache and cookies can help with the freezing issue. Michigan's system is notoriously finicky with certain browser versions.

We had similar issues last month with multiple searches for an SBA loan package. What saved us was using Certana.ai's document checker - you can upload existing UCC search results and it cross-references everything automatically. When the portal was down, we used old searches from 30 days prior and Certana verified nothing had changed in the interim. Saved our closing deadline.

The Michigan SOS website has been a disaster since they 'upgraded' it in 2023. For critical searches, I always run them twice - once in the morning and once in the evening to make sure I get consistent results. Sometimes the database sync is off and you'll get different results at different times of day.

MICHIGAN'S PORTAL IS THE WORST. I've been doing UCC work for 15 years and this is the most unreliable system I've ever used. Half the time the search comes back with zero results even when I know there are active filings. Then I have to call and wait on hold for an hour just to get a human to run the same search.

For your immediate needs, try using the advanced search options instead of the basic search. Sometimes the basic search times out but the advanced search with specific criteria works better. Also, search by filing number if you have any existing UCC references - that seems more stable than debtor name searches.

We've started using third-party services for Michigan searches because their portal is so unreliable. It costs more but we bill it to the client and it's worth it for the reliability. Some of these services pull directly from the SOS database and seem to have better uptime.

Try searching right after midnight - seriously. The system seems to reset around then and I've had better luck with searches between 12-2am. Not ideal for normal business hours but if you're desperate it's worth a shot.

Make sure you're searching variations of the debtor name too. Michigan's search is super literal - if the filing has 'John Smith Inc.' but you search 'John Smith Incorporated' you might miss it. Also try searching without punctuation.

Update: Just tried the system again this morning and it's working normally. Maybe they fixed whatever was causing the timeout issues yesterday? Sometimes these problems resolve themselves after a day or two.

For future reference, keep a backup plan for critical searches. I maintain a spreadsheet with all our frequent debtors and their recent search dates. When the portal is down, at least I know how current my last search was and can assess the risk of proceeding without a fresh search.

For immediate relief on your $2.8M deal, I'd recommend trying the Michigan Business Portal (https://cofs.lara.state.mi.us) as an alternative entry point - sometimes when the main UCC search portal is down, you can still access searches through the business entity lookup section. Also, consider reaching out to title companies in your area who might have direct API access to the database. We've had luck with First American and Old Republic when we're in a pinch. They can often run searches same-day even when the public portal is having issues. Just make sure to factor the additional cost into your closing expenses.