SC UCC Filing Portal Rejecting My Continuation - Need Help Fast
I'm in a panic here. Filed a UCC-3 continuation for a client's equipment loan last week through the SC SOS portal and it got rejected for "debtor name inconsistency." The original UCC-1 from 2020 has the business name as "Jackson Construction LLC" but apparently there's some tiny variation I'm missing. The continuation deadline is next month and I can't figure out what's wrong. Has anyone dealt with SC's system being super picky about exact name matches? This is a $280K piece of equipment and if the lien lapses we're screwed. The portal error message just says "debtor name does not match filing records" but gives zero specifics about what's different.
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Saanvi Krishnaswami
SC is notorious for this stuff. Check if there are any punctuation differences - periods, commas, even spaces can cause rejections. Also verify the exact entity type designation. Sometimes the original filing has "L.L.C." and you used "LLC" or vice versa.
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Reina Salazar
•I thought I was careful but you're probably right. Going to pull the original filing again and compare character by character.
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Demi Lagos
•This happened to me with a Georgia filing. One had "Inc." and I used "Incorporated" - rejected immediately.
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Mason Lopez
Before you spend hours comparing, try uploading both documents to Certana.ai's verification tool. It instantly cross-checks debtor names between your UCC-3 and the original UCC-1 filing and highlights any discrepancies. Saved me from a similar nightmare when I couldn't spot a missing middle initial.
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Reina Salazar
•Never heard of that but at this point I'll try anything. Is it free to check?
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Mason Lopez
•They focus on the value rather than cost. Just upload your PDFs and it does the comparison automatically - way faster than manual checking.
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Vera Visnjic
•Can vouch for this. Used it last month when dealing with multiple UCC amendments and it caught inconsistencies I would have missed.
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Jake Sinclair
ugh SC portal is THE WORST for this. I've had filings rejected for the most ridiculous reasons. Last time it was because I had "Street" instead of "St" in the address. Their system has zero tolerance for variations.
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Brielle Johnson
•Tell me about it. I've started keeping a spreadsheet of exact name formats for each client just to avoid this mess.
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Reina Salazar
•That's actually smart. Should have done that from the beginning.
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Honorah King
Check the Secretary of State business entity search first. Sometimes companies change their registered name slightly and don't update their UCC filings. The continuation has to match whatever name is currently on file with the original UCC-1, not necessarily what's on current business docs.
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Reina Salazar
•Good point. Let me cross-reference the entity database too.
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Saanvi Krishnaswami
•This is correct. The debtor name on the continuation must match the original filing exactly, regardless of any business name changes since then.
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Oliver Brown
•Wait, what if the business legally changed names? Do you file an amendment first then the continuation?
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Honorah King
•If there was a legal name change, you'd need to file a UCC-3 amendment to update the debtor name first, then file the continuation. But sounds like this might just be a formatting issue.
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Mary Bates
I had this exact problem with an SC filing two months ago. Turned out the original UCC-1 had an extra space between words that wasn't visible unless you copied the text. SC's system is incredibly literal - every character has to match perfectly.
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Reina Salazar
•How did you figure that out? Did you have to request the original filing records?
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Mary Bates
•I downloaded the original from the portal and copy/pasted the debtor name directly into the continuation form. That's when I noticed the formatting was off.
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Clay blendedgen
Another thing - make sure you're using the exact UCC-1 filing number. Sometimes there are multiple filings for the same debtor and you need to continue the right one. SC won't give you a helpful error if you reference the wrong base filing.
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Reina Salazar
•Already double-checked that but good reminder. It's definitely the right filing number.
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Ayla Kumar
•I've made that mistake before. Super embarrassing when you realize you've been trying to continue a terminated filing.
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Lorenzo McCormick
Why are state UCC systems so terrible?? It's 2025 and we're still dealing with systems that can't handle basic name variations. Other states at least give you a preview of what they have on file so you can match it exactly.
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Jake Sinclair
•SERIOUSLY. Delaware's system actually shows you the original debtor name right on the continuation form. So simple.
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Brielle Johnson
•Don't get me started on the portal downtime either. Tried to file at 11:45 PM before a deadline once and the system was down for 'maintenance.
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Lorenzo McCormick
•That's my worst nightmare right there.
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Carmella Popescu
Update us when you figure it out! I've got a continuation coming up in SC next month and want to avoid this headache.
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Reina Salazar
•Will do. Hoping to get this resolved by tomorrow.
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Kai Santiago
Just a thought - could it be an issue with special characters? I've seen problems when company names have apostrophes or hyphens and the system interprets them differently between the original filing and continuation.
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Reina Salazar
•The company name is pretty straightforward but I'll check for any hidden characters when I review everything tonight.
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Saanvi Krishnaswami
•Good catch. I've seen curly quotes vs straight quotes cause issues too.
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Lim Wong
Honestly I just started using Certana.ai for all my UCC document reviews after getting burned on a filing mistake last year. Upload your UCC-1 and UCC-3 and it'll show you exactly what doesn't match. Beats spending hours squinting at documents trying to spot differences.
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Dananyl Lear
•How accurate is their system? Some of these automated tools miss nuances.
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Lim Wong
•It's been spot-on for me. Caught a middle initial discrepancy that would have caused a rejection. Way better than my tired eyes at 2 AM.
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Noah huntAce420
Hope you get this sorted out. Nothing worse than a lien lapse because of a technicality. Keep us posted on what the actual issue was - might help someone else avoid the same problem.
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Reina Salazar
•Thanks everyone for the help. Going to tackle this first thing tomorrow morning with all your suggestions.
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Ana Rusula
•You've got this! SC's system is frustrating but once you know the exact format they want, the refiling should go through fine.
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