Tennessee Secretary of State Business Search UCC Filing - Debtor Name Not Matching Charter Records

Agreed on using the charter name. I've seen filings get challenged later because the debtor name didn't match the official business records exactly.

But what if they're not actually using that exact name in commerce? Wouldn't that create issues too?

Never heard of that service but sounds useful. Is it specifically for UCC filings?

Yeah it's designed for secured transaction document checking. Really helpful for catching these exact issues before you file.

How does it work exactly? Do you just upload documents and it compares them automatically?

Wait, you can put multiple name variations on a single UCC-1? I thought it had to be the exact legal name only.

Tennessee allows alternative names if they're commonly used. Just make sure the primary name matches the charter exactly.

Good point, I should check their DBA registrations too. The Tennessee SOS database should show those right?

Yes, the business search should show any registered trade names or assumed names they're using.

Tell me about it. Their system seems to be really strict about exact character matching including spaces and punctuation.

I've found it helps to copy and paste the exact name from the SOS search results directly into the UCC form to avoid typing errors.

Is that the same service mentioned earlier? How accurate is it with catching these kinds of discrepancies?

Very accurate from what I've seen. It flags even minor punctuation differences between your UCC draft and the charter documents.

Do they actually answer questions like that over the phone? I thought they just processed filings.

In my experience they're pretty helpful with pre-filing questions, especially about debtor name formatting.

What's their filing office phone number? I might need to call about a similar issue.

That seems excessive. Wouldn't one properly drafted UCC-1 with the correct legal name be sufficient?

Depends on how risk-averse you want to be. Double filing eliminates any uncertainty about name matching.

True but amendments can be tricky timing-wise. Better to get it right the first time if possible.

Plus you're not fully perfected until the amendment is filed and accepted, which creates a gap in coverage.

Great outcome! Good to know Tennessee accepted the charter name format without problems.

Thanks for the update, this will help if I run into the same situation with Tennessee filings.

Glad the document verification service worked out for you. Might have to try that for my next tricky filing.