NY CLS UCC continuation filing rejected - debtor name mismatch issue
Been dealing with a nightmare situation where our NY CLS UCC continuation got rejected twice now. The original UCC-1 was filed back in 2020 for equipment financing, debtor listed as 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but now the SOS is saying there's a name discrepancy. Client changed their official name to 'ABC Manufacturing Group LLC' last year but we didn't catch it when preparing the continuation. Portal keeps rejecting with error code about exact debtor name match required. Anyone dealt with this specific NY CLS system quirk? The 5-year deadline is coming up fast and I'm worried about losing perfection on a $850K equipment lien. Do I need to file an amendment first or can this be fixed with just the continuation if I get the name exactly right?
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Caleb Bell
ugh this exact thing happened to me last month! NY CLS is super picky about debtor names matching EXACTLY. Even a missing comma can cause rejection. You'll probably need to pull the original filing first to see exactly how the name appears on record.
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Danielle Campbell
•This is why I always double-check the debtor name against the most recent Secretary of State records before filing anything. Name changes are so common but easy to miss.
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Rhett Bowman
•The NY portal error codes are terrible too - they don't tell you exactly what's wrong half the time.
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Abigail Patel
You're going to want to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name first, then do your continuation. NY requires the debtor name to match exactly what's on the original UCC-1. Since your client officially changed their name, you need that amendment to reflect the current legal entity name before the continuation will be accepted.
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Daniel White
•Wait, can you do both in one filing? I thought there was a way to combine name corrections with continuations in NY.
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Abigail Patel
•Not in NY CLS system. You have to do the amendment first, wait for it to process, then file the continuation. Pain in the neck but that's how their system works.
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Nolan Carter
•Actually I've had success doing a continuation with amended debtor information all on one UCC-3 form. But you have to be really careful with the checkboxes.
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Natalia Stone
Had a similar issue recently and ended up using Certana.ai to verify all my documents before refiling. You can upload your original UCC-1 and proposed continuation to their system and it will flag any inconsistencies between the documents - saved me from another rejection. Just upload the PDFs and it cross-checks debtor names, filing numbers, everything automatically.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Never heard of that service - does it work with NY CLS specifically? I'm desperate at this point.
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Natalia Stone
•Yeah it works with any UCC documents regardless of state. The tool caught three different name variations I had across my docs that would have caused more rejections.
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Tasia Synder
•How much does something like that cost? Sounds expensive but might be worth it for big liens.
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Selena Bautista
THE NY SYSTEM IS THE WORST. I swear they reject filings just to collect more fees. Had one rejected because I used 'Street' instead of 'St' in the address. These bureaucrats have nothing better to do than nitpick every single character.
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Mohamed Anderson
•I feel your pain but getting angry doesn't help. The system is what it is and we have to work within it.
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Selena Bautista
•Easy for you to say when you're not staring down a lapse deadline with an $850K lien at stake!
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Ellie Perry
Check if your client filed a Certificate of Amendment with the NY Department of State when they changed their name. That official document will show both the old and new names, which might help with your filing. Sometimes the SOS wants to see that trail of name changes.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Good point - I should have that in the client file somewhere. Would that document need to be attached to the UCC filing or just referenced?
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Ellie Perry
•Usually just having the certificate number and date is enough for the UCC filing. But keep the actual certificate handy in case they ask for it.
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Landon Morgan
this is why i always set calendar reminders for continuation filings like 6 months early. gives you time to deal with exactly this kind of problem without panic mode
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Yeah I usually do that too but this client was a referral and I inherited the file late in the game. Lesson learned for sure.
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Teresa Boyd
•Six months early is smart. I do 90 days but that's cutting it close for complicated situations like this.
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Lourdes Fox
You might want to call the NY UCC filing office directly. Sometimes they can tell you exactly what the issue is over the phone, especially if you have the filing number from your rejected attempts. They're usually pretty helpful when you explain the time crunch situation.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Tried calling twice but got put on hold for 45 minutes each time. Maybe I'll try early morning before they get busy.
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Lourdes Fox
•Yeah early morning around 8 AM is definitely the best time. Also have your original UCC-1 filing number ready when you call.
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Bruno Simmons
•The NY filing office phone system is terrible but the actual staff are knowledgeable once you get through to them.
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Aileen Rodriguez
Whatever you do, don't let that 5-year deadline pass. Even if you have to file a protective continuation with the old name and then sort out the name issue later, at least you'll maintain perfection. You can always file amendments after the fact to clean up the record.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•That's actually a really good backup plan. File with the original name to preserve the lien, then deal with the name correction separately.
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Zane Gray
•Smart thinking. Better to have a continuation with the wrong name than no continuation at all.
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Abigail Patel
•Just make sure your lender is okay with that approach. Some are sticklers about having everything perfect before filing.
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Maggie Martinez
I had this exact problem with a NY filing last year. Ended up using that Certana tool someone mentioned earlier - uploaded my original UCC-1 and the continuation I was trying to file. It immediately flagged the name discrepancy and showed me exactly what needed to be corrected. Made the whole process way less stressful.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Did you have to file an amendment first or were you able to get the continuation through after correcting the name?
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Maggie Martinez
•I ended up doing the amendment first just to be safe, then filed the continuation a few days later. Both went through without any issues once the names matched perfectly.
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Alejandro Castro
For future reference, always pull a current UCC search on the debtor before filing any continuations or amendments. The search results will show you exactly how the debtor name appears in the system and save you from these kinds of rejections. It's a small cost compared to the headache of dealing with rejected filings.
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Kaitlyn Jenkins
•Yeah that's definitely going into my standard checklist going forward. This whole situation could have been avoided with a simple search first.
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Monique Byrd
•Most UCC search companies will highlight any name variations or similar names too, which is really helpful.
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Alejandro Castro
•Exactly. And you can usually get search results back same day, so there's really no excuse not to do it.
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Danielle Campbell
•I always recommend doing searches 30 days before any major filing deadline. Gives you time to address any surprises.
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