Personal property UCC-1 filing rejected - debtor name formatting issue
Got my UCC-1 personal property filing kicked back from the SOS office yesterday and I'm scratching my head over this one. The rejection notice says 'debtor name does not match organizational documents' but I triple-checked everything against the LLC's articles of incorporation. This is for a $180K equipment loan on manufacturing machinery - grinders, lathes, the whole shop setup. The collateral description covers 'all equipment, machinery, and fixtures located at 1425 Industrial Blvd' plus a detailed schedule attachment. Here's what's driving me nuts: I used 'ABC Manufacturing Solutions LLC' exactly as it appears on their state filing, but the rejection notice suggests there might be punctuation or spacing issues. Has anyone run into this kind of personal property filing rejection before? The continuation deadline is coming up in 8 months and I really need to get this initial filing sorted out first. The debtor swears their legal name hasn't changed since incorporation in 2019, and I've done probably 50+ personal property UCC filings without this kind of pushback. Starting to wonder if there's some new formatting requirement I missed.
35 comments


Alice Fleming
Ugh, name rejections are the absolute worst! I had something similar happen last month with a personal property filing. Turned out the SOS system was being super picky about periods after 'LLC' - some states want it, others don't. Have you tried checking if there's a comma or period difference between your filing and their charter docs?
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Steven Adams
•That's a good point about punctuation. I used 'ABC Manufacturing Solutions LLC' without any periods, but maybe I should double-check the exact formatting on their original charter. The rejection notice wasn't very specific about what exactly didn't match.
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Hassan Khoury
•This is exactly why I always request certified copies of organizational docs before any personal property UCC filing. The formatting has to be EXACT or you're wasting time and money on rejections.
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Victoria Stark
I've seen this before with personal property filings. Sometimes the issue isn't the debtor name itself but how it appears in the SOS database vs. what you're using. Try searching their business entity database first to see the exact formatting they have on file. That usually reveals spacing or punctuation differences that cause rejections.
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Steven Adams
•Good suggestion. I'll check their online business entity search tool. Didn't think to verify the exact database formatting before filing. Should have done that step first.
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Benjamin Kim
•Yes! The entity search is crucial. I learned this the hard way after getting three rejections in a row for personal property filings. The database format is what they use for matching, not necessarily what's on the physical documents.
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Samantha Howard
•Been there! One of my personal property UCC-1s got rejected because I used 'Corp.' instead of 'Corporation' - even though both appeared on different company documents. The SOS database had the full word, so that's what they expected.
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Megan D'Acosta
Have you considered using one of those document verification tools? I recently started using Certana.ai for my UCC filings - you just upload the charter documents and your UCC-1 draft, and it instantly flags any name discrepancies before you file. Saved me from at least two rejections this quarter on personal property deals.
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Steven Adams
•Haven't heard of Certana.ai before. Does it actually catch formatting differences like punctuation and spacing? That sounds like it could prevent exactly this kind of rejection.
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Megan D'Acosta
•Yeah, it's pretty thorough. It compares the exact text from your documents and highlights any differences - even stuff like extra spaces or missing periods. Really helpful for personal property filings where you need everything perfect.
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Sarah Ali
•Interesting... I might have to check that out. Getting tired of these name mismatch rejections eating into my filing timeline.
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Ryan Vasquez
Personal property UCC rejections for name issues are becoming more common. The filing offices are getting stricter about exact matches. For your situation, I'd recommend calling the SOS office directly - sometimes they can tell you exactly what name format they have on file for that entity.
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Steven Adams
•That's not a bad idea. Worth a phone call to save another rejection and filing fee. Do you know if they typically give out that information over the phone?
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Ryan Vasquez
•Most states will confirm the exact legal name format if you provide the entity number. They won't give you the full charter info, but they'll verify the name spelling and punctuation.
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Avery Saint
This is SO frustrating! I swear the filing offices make up new rules every month. Last year I had a personal property filing rejected because they said the debtor name was 'incomplete' - turned out they wanted the full 'Limited Liability Company' instead of just 'LLC'. No consistency between states at all.
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Taylor Chen
•Tell me about it! I've had personal property UCC-1s accepted with 'LLC' in one state and rejected in another for the exact same company. The lack of standardization is maddening.
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Steven Adams
•Yeah, it's definitely inconsistent. This is the first time I've had this issue in this particular state though, so maybe they changed their matching criteria recently.
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Avery Saint
•Wouldn't surprise me if they updated their system and made it more strict. These database upgrades always seem to cause more problems than they solve.
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Keith Davidson
For personal property UCC filings, I always do a test search in the UCC database first using different name variations. If 'ABC Manufacturing Solutions LLC' doesn't pull up results, try 'ABC Manufacturing Solutions, LLC' (with comma) or other punctuation combinations. The search function usually mirrors their matching criteria.
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Steven Adams
•Smart approach. I should have done that before filing. Will definitely try the UCC search with different punctuation variations to see what format works.
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Keith Davidson
•Exactly. If the search function accepts a particular format, the filing system usually will too. It's like a preview of their matching algorithm.
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Ezra Bates
Had this exact issue with a personal property filing last month. Rejection notice said name mismatch, but it was actually a spacing problem - I had 'ABC Manufacturing' (two spaces) instead of 'ABC Manufacturing' (one space). Super frustrating when you're dealing with equipment loans and tight deadlines.
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Steven Adams
•Wow, they rejected for double spacing? That's incredibly picky. I'll have to be more careful about hidden formatting issues like that.
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Ana Erdoğan
•The electronic filing systems can be really sensitive to spacing. I've started copying entity names directly from official documents to avoid typing errors that introduce extra spaces.
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Sophia Carson
Quick question - are you sure the LLC hasn't filed any amendments since 2019? Sometimes companies change their name slightly (like adding 'Solutions' or dropping 'Inc.') and don't update all their documentation. Might be worth checking for any amendments to their charter.
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Steven Adams
•Good point. I assumed no changes since they said nothing changed, but I should verify that independently. Will check for any amendments or name changes in their corporate filing history.
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Sophia Carson
•Yeah, companies don't always remember minor name tweaks, especially if they happened a few years ago. The amendment search might reveal the current official name format.
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Elijah Knight
•This happens more than you'd think. I had a client swear their name was unchanged, but they'd actually filed an amendment in 2021 to add 'Holdings' to their name. Always verify independently.
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Brooklyn Foley
Update: Called the SOS office this morning and you were all right about the formatting issue. Their database shows 'ABC Manufacturing Solutions, LLC' with a comma before LLC, but I filed it without the comma. Going to refile today with the correct punctuation. Thanks for all the suggestions - definitely learned to verify the exact database format first!
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Victoria Stark
•Great to hear you got it sorted out! The comma issue trips up a lot of people. Glad the SOS office was helpful in confirming the exact format.
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Megan D'Acosta
•Perfect example of why document verification tools are so helpful. That comma difference would have been flagged immediately before filing.
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Steven Adams
•Definitely going to be more careful about punctuation matching going forward. And probably going to look into that Certana.ai tool for future filings to catch these issues upfront.
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Jay Lincoln
Glad you got it resolved! For anyone else reading this - personal property UCC filings are super sensitive to exact name matches. Always double-check against the state's business entity database before submitting. It'll save you time and rejection fees.
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Jessica Suarez
•Absolutely. The entity database search should be step one for any personal property UCC filing. It's the authoritative source for how they expect the name formatted.
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Marcus Williams
•This thread should be required reading for anyone doing personal property UCC work. So many good tips about avoiding name mismatch rejections.
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