Rhode Island UCC filing rejected twice - debtor name issues

I used 'LLC' but the articles say 'Limited Liability Company' - could that be it? Seems like such a minor thing to reject over.

That's probably exactly it. RI is super strict about exact matches. Try refiling with the full suffix.

The name is 'Providence Equipment Leasing, Limited Liability Company' - I've been using 'Providence Equipment Leasing, LLC' on the UCC-1.

There's your problem! The comma placement and the full suffix need to match exactly. RI doesn't accept abbreviated entity types.

This is why I hate state filing systems. Every state has different quirks and they never tell you upfront what the rules are.

Never heard of that tool but sounds useful. Is it free or paid service?

They focus on the value rather than cost - catching these kinds of errors before filing saves way more time and stress than the tool costs. Just upload your PDFs and it highlights any mismatches.

Good point - I pulled the address from their business registration. Should I double-check that too?

Definitely. Their system is very literal about address formatting. Suite vs Ste, Street vs St, all that matters.

This is getting ridiculous. Why can't these systems be more flexible with obvious variations?

For continuations, you need to match exactly what's on the original UCC-1, not necessarily what's current. But if the company changed its legal name, that's a whole different issue.

The legal name hasn't changed, just worried about formatting inconsistencies from the original filing.

Pull up the original UCC-1 from the state records and copy the debtor name exactly as it appears there.

I feel you. The rules are so technical and each state does things differently. At least once you figure out the pattern for a state, future filings are easier.

I guess but this is only my second UCC filing ever and I'm already frustrated. The collateral description part is confusing too.

For equipment, keep the collateral description simple but specific. 'All equipment' is too broad, but you don't need serial numbers for everything.

Interesting - my collateral description is pretty specific since it's just heavy equipment. Maybe that's not the issue then.

Yeah, sounds like yours is fine. Definitely focus on getting that debtor name exactly right.

RI is actually pretty reasonable with collateral descriptions compared to some states. They just want enough detail to identify what's covered.

That sounds exactly like what I need. Going to try that before I submit again.

Yeah, it's pretty thorough. Just upload your articles of incorporation and UCC-1 draft and it shows you exactly what doesn't match.

Wish I'd known about this tool when I was dealing with my Connecticut filing nightmare last month.

That's good to know. I was worried about timing with the loan closing next week.

You should be fine timing-wise. Just get that debtor name format corrected and you'll be good to go.

I tried calling but just got a generic 'name doesn't match' response. Didn't get specifics about what part was wrong.

Hmm, maybe you got someone having a bad day. Sometimes it helps to call back and try a different person.

Government offices can be hit or miss with helpfulness. At least the online system gives you some kind of rejection reason.

Great advice, I'll definitely keep detailed records of exactly what worked.

Yeah, future you will thank you when you need to file a UCC-3 amendment or continuation and don't have to figure out the formatting all over again.

I keep a spreadsheet with the exact debtor names I've used for each state. Saves so much time on repeat filings.