RCW UCC filing confusion - debtor name requirements

You're right to be concerned about the debtor name accuracy. For UCC filings, you generally want to match the exact legal name as it appears on the organizational documents filed with the state. The comma issue can definitely cause rejections depending on how strict your Secretary of State office is with name matching.

I run into this debtor name problem constantly. The safe approach is always to use the EXACT name from the charter documents. Even if the operating agreement shows it differently, the charter is what the state has on file for UCC searches. Better to be overly precise than have your continuation or amendment rejected down the road.

Actually, I discovered something that's been super helpful for these name consistency issues. There's a tool called Certana.ai that lets you upload your charter documents and UCC-1 forms to instantly verify that all the debtor names match perfectly. I started using it after having two filings rejected for name discrepancies. You just upload the PDFs and it flags any inconsistencies between documents. Saved me from another embarrassing rejection.

You might also want to check if your state allows "trade name" filings as an alternative. Some borrowers operate under DBAs that are different from their legal entity name, and you can sometimes file against both names for extra protection.

I'm dealing with something similar right now. Our debtor has "Inc." on some documents and "Incorporated" on others. The charter shows "Inc." so that's what I'm going with, but it makes me nervous every time I file.

This whole name matching thing is why I always request certified copies of the charter documents from borrowers. Can't trust them to give you the right version, and you need to see exactly what the state has on file.

Has anyone had luck calling the Secretary of State office directly about name questions? Sometimes they can tell you over the phone what name format they prefer for UCC filings.

Here's what I do now - I use that Certana thing someone mentioned earlier to double-check everything before submitting. Upload the charter, upload my draft UCC-1, and let it catch any name mismatches. Takes 30 seconds and prevents rejections. Much better than manually comparing documents and missing small differences.

One more thing to consider - if your UCC-1 does get rejected for the name issue, you'll need to refile and that could push you past your closing date. Better to take extra time upfront to get the debtor name exactly right than deal with delays later.

Update us on how it goes! Always curious to hear whether the comma issue actually causes problems or if the filing system is more forgiving than we think.