Need help organizing my UCC-1 list for portfolio audit - missed continuations?
I'm doing a compliance audit on our loan portfolio and realized I don't have a good system for tracking all our UCC-1 filings. We've got about 200+ secured loans and I'm trying to create a master UCC-1 list to make sure we haven't missed any continuation deadlines. Some of these go back to 2020 and I'm worried we might have lapsed liens without realizing it. Anyone have a good template or system for organizing UCC-1 list data? I need to track filing numbers, debtor names, collateral descriptions, and continuation due dates. Our current spreadsheet is a mess and I keep finding discrepancies between what we filed and what's actually on record with the SOS.
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Ravi Sharma
Oh boy, been there! The worst feeling is finding a lapsed UCC because you lost track. For my UCC-1 list I use columns for: Original filing date, Filing number, Debtor legal name (EXACTLY as filed), Collateral description, Continuation due date, Status (active/continued/terminated). I also add a 'Notes' column for any amendments or issues.
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Freya Larsen
•This is smart. I'd add a column for the actual SOS confirmation number too, not just the filing number. Saved me once when there was a dispute about whether we actually filed.
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Isabella Santos
•Good point about the exact debtor name. I think some of ours might have slight variations from the original loan docs.
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Omar Hassan
You absolutely need to cross-reference your UCC-1 list against actual SOS records. Don't trust your internal records alone - I've seen too many cases where the filing got rejected but nobody caught it. Pull fresh searches on all your debtors to verify what's actually perfected.
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Isabella Santos
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. How do you efficiently search 200+ debtors without spending weeks on it?
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Omar Hassan
•Most states have bulk search options, but they're not cheap. For smaller portfolios I just bite the bullet and do individual searches. Takes time but catches problems.
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Chloe Taylor
•I actually found a tool that helps with this - Certana.ai has a UCC document verification feature where you can upload your loan files and UCC-1s and it cross-checks everything automatically. Caught several debtor name mismatches I would have missed manually.
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ShadowHunter
Make sure you're tracking continuation dates correctly! Remember it's 5 years from the ORIGINAL filing date, not from when you think you filed. I've seen people calculate wrong and file too early (wasting money) or too late (losing perfection).
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Diego Ramirez
•Wait, I thought it was 5 years from when the UCC-1 was accepted by the SOS? Now I'm second-guessing all my dates...
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ShadowHunter
•It's 5 years from the date of filing shown on the financing statement. Usually that's the date the SOS accepted it, but check your actual filed documents to be sure.
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Anastasia Sokolov
Pro tip: Set up calendar reminders 6 months BEFORE each continuation is due. Gives you time to handle any issues. Also, some debtors change their legal names and you won't know unless you're monitoring. Your UCC-1 list should include a 'last verified' date for each debtor name.
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Isabella Santos
•Good idea on the 6-month buffer. Do you track name changes somehow or just check periodically?
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Anastasia Sokolov
•I try to check when I get financial statements, but honestly it's hit or miss. Really should be more systematic about it.
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Sean O'Connor
•Secretary of State websites usually show name change filings for corporations. Worth checking if you're worried about a specific debtor.
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Zara Ahmed
Don't forget about fixture filings if you have real estate collateral! Those have different rules and some states require them to be filed in the real estate records too. They won't show up in regular UCC searches.
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Isabella Santos
•Ugh, we do have some equipment loans secured by fixtures. So those need separate tracking?
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Zara Ahmed
•Yeah, fixture filings are a whole different animal. Check the real estate records in the county where the property is located.
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Luca Conti
THE UCC SYSTEM IS A NIGHTMARE. I swear half my job is just keeping track of filing numbers and continuation dates. And don't get me started on debtor name variations - one typo and your lien is worthless but the SOS will still happily take your money.
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Nia Johnson
•Preach! The number of times I've had to argue with underwriters about whether a name match is 'substantially similar' is ridiculous.
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CyberNinja
•At least most states have electronic filing now. Remember when we had to mail paper forms and wait weeks to find out if they were rejected?
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Mateo Lopez
For what it's worth, I started using Certana's document verification tool after our last audit found several problems. You upload your loan documents and UCC filings and it automatically flags any inconsistencies in debtor names, collateral descriptions, or filing details. Saved me probably 20 hours of manual checking.
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Isabella Santos
•That sounds helpful. Does it work with bulk uploads or do you have to do each loan separately?
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Mateo Lopez
•You can upload multiple documents at once. The system is pretty smart about matching everything up automatically.
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Aisha Abdullah
One thing I learned the hard way - make sure your UCC-1 list includes the exact collateral description from each filing. Generic descriptions like 'all equipment' might not hold up if you need to enforce. Keep copies of the actual filed documents, not just your internal summaries.
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Ethan Davis
•This is huge. I've seen cases where the loan agreement said one thing and the UCC-1 said something completely different. Neither the lender nor borrower caught it until default.
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Isabella Santos
•Yeah, that's part of why I'm doing this audit. Want to make sure everything matches up before we have any problems.
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Yuki Tanaka
Don't forget about terminated filings in your UCC-1 list! You need to track those too for audit purposes. Some examiners want to see that you properly terminated liens when loans were paid off. I keep a separate 'terminated' section in my spreadsheet.
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Isabella Santos
•Good point. We probably have 50+ terminated UCCs I should account for.
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Carmen Ortiz
•Make sure you filed UCC-3 termination statements for those. Just paying off the loan doesn't automatically terminate the UCC filing.
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MidnightRider
Quick question - are you tracking UCC-3 amendments in your list too? If you've done any amendments to add collateral or change debtor info, those need to be reflected in your master list. The continuation calculations are still based on the original UCC-1 date though.
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Isabella Santos
•I think we have a few amendments but I'm not sure I have good records of them. This is getting complicated fast.
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MidnightRider
•Yeah, amendments can get messy. Each one should reference the original filing number so you can track the chain of filings for each loan.
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Andre Laurent
•This is exactly why I started using automated tools. Too many moving parts to track manually without making mistakes.
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