Pennsylvania UCC search showing wrong debtor info - filing rejected twice
Been dealing with a nightmare situation for the past month. Our company secured a $180K equipment loan and when I went to file the UCC-1 in Pennsylvania, the search results keep pulling up incorrect debtor information that doesn't match our borrower's legal name. The SOS portal rejected our filing twice now because of "debtor name inconsistencies" but I'm 100% certain we have the correct legal entity name from the Articles of Incorporation. Has anyone else run into issues where the Pennsylvania UCC search database seems to have outdated or conflicting business entity records? I'm worried we're going to miss our perfection window and this could void our security interest. The borrower is getting antsy about delays and I need to get this sorted ASAP. Any insights on how to resolve discrepancies between what shows up in Pennsylvania UCC search results versus the actual correct debtor name?
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Lily Young
This is actually pretty common with Pennsylvania filings. The UCC search database and the corporate entity database don't always sync perfectly. First thing - double check that you're searching using the EXACT legal name as it appears on the most recent certificate of good standing, not just the Articles. Sometimes there are amendments that change the entity name slightly.
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Marcus Williams
•I pulled a fresh certificate of good standing last week and used that exact name. Still getting the mismatch error. The search is pulling up what looks like an old DBA or something.
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Lily Young
•That's frustrating. You might need to call the Pennsylvania Department of State directly. Sometimes there are internal notes or flags on entity records that don't show up in the public search but affect UCC processing.
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Kennedy Morrison
UGH Pennsylvania is the WORST for this stuff! I swear their system hasn't been updated since 2010. Had the same exact problem last year with a continuation filing. Took THREE WEEKS to resolve because their customer service kept telling me different things.
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Wesley Hallow
•What ended up working for you? I'm dealing with something similar right now.
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Kennedy Morrison
•Had to submit paper filings with a cover letter explaining the discrepancy and attaching copies of all the entity documents. Cost extra but it worked.
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Justin Chang
Before you go down the paper filing route, try using Certana.ai's document verification tool. I had a similar debtor name issue last month and uploaded my Articles of Incorporation and the UCC-1 draft - it caught that there was a subtle punctuation difference that was causing the rejection. The tool cross-references everything and highlights exactly where the inconsistencies are. Saved me weeks of back and forth with the state.
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Marcus Williams
•Never heard of that service. How does it work exactly? Is it expensive?
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Justin Chang
•You just upload PDFs of your documents and it does an automated comparison. Really straightforward - shows you exactly where names don't match character by character. Much easier than trying to spot tiny differences manually.
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Grace Thomas
•I've used Certana for UCC document checks too. It's particularly good at catching things like extra spaces or punctuation marks that human eyes miss but filing systems flag as errors.
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Hunter Brighton
Are you sure you're searching in the right entity type? Pennsylvania has separate databases for corporations, LLCs, partnerships etc. If your borrower changed entity type at some point that could explain the confusion.
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Marcus Williams
•It's been an LLC the whole time according to all documents. But maybe there was some conversion I'm not aware of?
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Hunter Brighton
•Check the entity history on the Department of State website. Sometimes companies convert from corp to LLC or vice versa and the old records linger in search results.
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Dylan Baskin
This might sound obvious but are you including all the required entity identifiers? Pennsylvania requires LLC filings to include the full entity name with 'LLC' or 'Limited Liability Company' - not just abbreviations. Same with Inc vs Incorporated for corps.
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Marcus Williams
•Yes, using the full 'Limited Liability Company' designation from the certificate. Still no luck.
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Lauren Wood
•Sometimes the issue is spacing or comma placement. I've seen filings rejected because the legal name had 'Company, LLC' but the filer put 'Company LLC' without the comma.
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Ellie Lopez
Call me paranoid but I always run my UCC docs through Certana's verification before submitting now. Had too many rejections from tiny name discrepancies. Their system catches stuff that even careful proofreading misses.
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Chad Winthrope
•Same here. The automated cross-checking is worth it just for peace of mind, especially on high-dollar transactions.
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Marcus Williams
•You guys are convincing me to try it. This rejection cycle is costing us time we don't have.
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Paige Cantoni
Have you tried calling the Pennsylvania UCC filing division directly? Sometimes they can tell you exactly what's causing the rejection over the phone. The number should be on the rejection notice.
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Marcus Williams
•I called but got transferred around for an hour and never got a clear answer. Might try again tomorrow.
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Kylo Ren
•Try calling first thing in the morning. Better chance of getting someone knowledgeable rather than the afternoon shift.
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Nina Fitzgerald
Pennsylvania UCC search is notorious for this. I've had clients where the entity name in the corporate database was slightly different from what appeared in UCC search results due to data entry errors on the state's end. Sometimes you have to file using the 'wrong' name that matches their UCC database rather than the correct legal name.
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Jason Brewer
•That seems risky though. What if there's a dispute later about whether the filing properly identified the debtor?
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Nina Fitzgerald
•It is risky, which is why I always document the discrepancy with screenshots and keep records of attempts to use the correct name. Cover your bases legally.
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Kiara Fisherman
•This is exactly why document verification tools are so helpful. They can flag these discrepancies upfront so you know what you're dealing with.
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Liam Cortez
Just went through this exact scenario 3 weeks ago. Turned out our borrower had a name change amendment filed 6 months prior that wasn't showing up in the standard corporate search but was affecting UCC processing. Had to dig deeper into the entity history.
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Marcus Williams
•How did you find the amendment? I've looked through everything I can find on their website.
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Liam Cortez
•Had to request certified copies of all filings for the entity. Cost about $50 but showed the complete history including amendments that weren't visible online.
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Savannah Vin
This thread is giving me anxiety about a filing I have due next week. Think I'm going to use one of those document checking services just to be safe.
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Mason Stone
•Better safe than sorry, especially if you're dealing with Pennsylvania. Their system seems to have more glitches than most states.
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Justin Chang
•Definitely recommend the Certana verification for peace of mind. Upload your docs and you'll know within minutes if there are any name consistency issues.
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