Need help with CA UCC statement filing - debtor name format issues

Yes I thought I was being exact but maybe there's something I'm missing. The LLC name has 'LLC' at the end but I'm wondering if the state records have it as 'L.L.C.' or something like that.

That's exactly the kind of thing that trips people up. Run a business entity search on the CA SOS website first to see the exact format they have on file.

Ugh that's so frustrating. I'll go through character by character. Did you have to refile or were you able to amend it somehow?

Had to refile completely. The amendment process would have taken longer than just doing a new UCC-1 with the correct name format.

This is why I always triple check everything before submitting. One tiny mistake and you're back to square one.

Never heard of that but sounds like exactly what I need right now. Is it easy to use?

Super simple - just upload the PDFs and it does the comparison automatically. Catches things like extra spaces, different punctuation, abbreviation variations that you might miss manually.

Interesting, I've been doing manual comparisons forever. Might be worth trying if it catches stuff I'm missing.

Tell me about it. I've had rejections for formatting issues that weren't even mentioned in their filing guide.

Right?? And then you have to start over and hope you guessed right about what they actually want.

Filing online. What kind of characters cause problems? The company name is pretty straightforward but maybe there's something I'm not thinking of.

Things like ampersands, certain punctuation marks, sometimes even apostrophes can cause issues. The system is pretty finicky.

I had an issue with a company that had an ampersand in the name. Had to spell out 'and' instead of using the & symbol.

Good point. I did check the entity number to make sure but I should double check that I have the right one. There could be multiple LLCs with similar names.

Yeah I've seen that happen. Always verify the entity number matches what's in your loan documents.

That's a good idea. I should probably just call them tomorrow morning. Do you know if they're helpful or do they just tell you to figure it out yourself?

Hit or miss honestly. Some clerks are really helpful and will walk you through it, others just say to check the website. Worth a try though.

I've had good luck calling early in the morning. They seem more patient before they get overwhelmed with calls.

Oh wow, that's something I wouldn't have thought to check. How did you find out about the amendment?

Had to do a full entity search with history. Showed all the filings including the name change amendment from a few months ago.

This is why I always do a fresh entity search right before filing, even if I think I have current info. Things change and you don't always know about it.

I don't have a recent good standing certificate but that's a good idea. I could probably get one from the client or pull it myself from the SOS website.

Good standing certificates usually have the most up-to-date name format. Worth the extra step.

Awesome! Glad that worked out for you. Those tiny punctuation differences are so easy to miss but they'll kill your filing every time.

Great outcome! I'm definitely going to check out that verification tool. Sounds like it could save a lot of headaches.

Nice! Those little details make all the difference. Glad you got it sorted before your deadline.

This thread was super helpful. I'm bookmarking it for future reference. The name matching stuff is always tricky.