NY SOS UCC search not showing filed continuation - anyone else having this issue?
Really frustrated right now. Filed a UCC-3 continuation back in March for a client's equipment loan (original UCC-1 was set to lapse in May). Got the acceptance notice from NY SOS system, paid the fee, everything looked good. But now when I run a new york sos ucc search on the debtor name, the continuation isn't showing up in the results. The original UCC-1 from 2020 is there, but it's showing as 'will lapse' instead of 'continued.' Has anyone run into this before? The client is freaking out because their bank is asking for proof the lien is still active. I have the acceptance email but the search results make it look like we never filed anything. Is there some delay in the NY system updating search results after continuations? This is keeping me up at night.
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Diego Mendoza
I've seen this exact issue with NY SOS before. Sometimes their search database doesn't update immediately after processing continuations. Try searching by the original filing number instead of debtor name - that usually pulls up the complete chain including amendments and continuations.
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Chloe Wilson
•Just tried that and still only showing the original UCC-1. This is really concerning because the lapse date was supposed to extend to 2030 but the search is still showing the original 2025 lapse.
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Anastasia Romanov
•Wait, when you filed the continuation did you make sure the debtor name on the UCC-3 matched EXACTLY with the UCC-1? Even a middle initial difference can cause the system to not link them properly.
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StellarSurfer
Oh no, this happened to me last year with a different state but similar issue. Turned out the continuation was filed correctly but there was a tiny discrepancy in how I entered the debtor's legal name. The original had 'ABC Company LLC' and I put 'ABC Company, LLC' with a comma. Small difference but it created a separate record instead of continuing the original.
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Chloe Wilson
•That's terrifying. Let me double-check the names. The original UCC-1 has the debtor as 'Metropolitan Equipment Leasing Inc' and I'm pretty sure I used the same format on the continuation but now I'm second-guessing everything.
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Sean Kelly
•This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's document checker. You can upload both your original UCC-1 and the UCC-3 continuation PDFs and it instantly flags any name inconsistencies between documents. Would have caught this issue before filing.
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Chloe Wilson
•Never heard of that but I'm definitely looking into it. This stress isn't worth it.
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Zara Malik
NY SOS search function is notoriously glitchy. I always run searches multiple ways - by debtor name, by filing number, by secured party name. Sometimes one method works when others don't. Also try adding wildcard characters if their system supports it.
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Luca Greco
•Good point about multiple search methods. Also OP, did you get a specific filing number for your UCC-3? You should be able to search for that directly.
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Chloe Wilson
•Yes I have the UCC-3 filing number from the acceptance notice. Let me try searching for that specific number instead of relying on it to show up under the debtor search.
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Nia Thompson
This is why I have trust issues with electronic filing systems. You pay your money, get a confirmation, and then the system acts like nothing happened. I always print hard copies of everything because you never know when the database will have 'technical difficulties'.
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Mateo Rodriguez
•Totally agree. The number of times I've had to provide backup documentation because search results were incomplete or wrong... it's ridiculous.
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Aisha Hussain
•At least NY gives you acceptance notices. Some states you file into a black hole and just hope for the best.
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GalacticGladiator
Call NY SOS directly. Sometimes there are processing backlogs or system errors that only get resolved when someone manually looks into it. I had to do this once and they were able to confirm the continuation was properly filed even though search wasn't showing it.
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Chloe Wilson
•Good idea. Do you remember how long it took them to respond? My client is really pushing for resolution.
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GalacticGladiator
•They were actually pretty responsive, got a call back within 2 business days. Make sure you have your filing number and confirmation details ready.
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Ethan Brown
Just throwing this out there - are you sure you searched the right entity? Sometimes companies have multiple entities with similar names and you might be looking at the wrong UCC-1 record entirely.
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Chloe Wilson
•I thought about that but I'm searching using the exact debtor name from our loan documents. There's only one entity with this name showing up.
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Yuki Yamamoto
•Check if there are any subsidiaries or related entities. Parent companies sometimes file UCCs under different but related names.
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Carmen Ruiz
Update: I ran into the same thing last month. Used Certana's UCC verification tool to upload my UCC-1 and UCC-3 docs - found out I had a small punctuation difference in the debtor name. Filed an amendment to fix it and now everything shows up correctly in searches. The tool literally saved me from a lapsed lien situation.
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Andre Lefebvre
•How quickly did the amendment fix show up in search results? Still dealing with timing issues here.
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Carmen Ruiz
•Took about 3-4 business days for the search to reflect the corrected information. Much faster than I expected.
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Zoe Dimitriou
This might sound obvious but double-check that you're searching the current version of the NY SOS website. They updated their search interface a few months ago and some of the old bookmarks lead to an outdated search that doesn't show recent filings.
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Chloe Wilson
•Oh wow, I didn't know they updated it. I've been using the same bookmark for years. Let me make sure I'm on the current site.
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QuantumQuest
•Yeah the new interface is different. Make sure you're on the official .gov site and not some third-party search service.
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Jamal Anderson
Final thought - if the continuation was filed correctly but just not showing in search, you can always provide your client with the official acceptance notice as proof. Most banks will accept that documentation even if their own search doesn't show the continuation yet.
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Chloe Wilson
•That's actually a good point. The acceptance notice should be sufficient legal proof that the lien was continued. I was so focused on making the search work that I forgot the client just needs evidence.
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Mei Zhang
•Exactly. The filing receipt is your proof of perfection. Search glitches don't invalidate properly filed documents.
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Liam McGuire
•Though you still want to get the search issue resolved eventually for future reference checks.
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