Texas UCC-1 Filing Rejected - Debtor Name Format Issue
Just had my Texas UCC-1 filing rejected by the SOS office and I'm trying to figure out what went wrong. The rejection notice mentions 'debtor name format does not comply with standard format' but doesn't give specifics. The debtor is an LLC and I used the exact name from their Articles of Organization including the comma after 'LLC'. Has anyone dealt with this particular rejection reason in Texas? I've filed dozens of UCC-1s before but this is my first rejection for name formatting. The collateral description and filing fee were both correct, so it's definitely the debtor name causing the issue. Any insights on Texas-specific naming requirements would be appreciated.
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Camila Jordan
Texas can be really picky about debtor names, especially with LLCs. Did you include any punctuation like periods or commas in the name field? Sometimes they want the name exactly as it appears on the certificate of formation but without certain punctuation marks. Also check if there are any extra spaces or characters that might have gotten copied over.
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Alexis Renard
•I did include the comma after LLC because that's how it appears on their formation documents. Should I try resubmitting without the comma? The name is something like 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' - maybe the comma is the issue?
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Camila Jordan
•Yeah, try removing the comma. Texas filing system sometimes treats punctuation differently than what's on the formation docs. I've seen this happen with periods after 'Inc' too.
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Tyler Lefleur
I had the exact same rejection reason last month on a Texas filing. Turned out the issue was extra spaces in the debtor name field. The SOS system is super sensitive to formatting - even an extra space at the beginning or end of the name will cause a rejection. Try copying the name fresh from the Articles without any copy/paste formatting issues.
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Alexis Renard
•That's a good point about the spaces. I did copy/paste from the PDF of their Articles. I'll type it manually this time to avoid any hidden characters.
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Madeline Blaze
•This is why I always type debtor names manually now instead of copy/paste. PDF text can have weird encoding issues that don't show up visually but cause filing rejections.
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Max Knight
•Had this happen to me too! The PDF had some invisible character that made the filing fail. Manual typing fixed it immediately.
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Emma Swift
Actually ran into something similar and found this tool called Certana.ai that helps catch these kinds of name inconsistencies before filing. You can upload your Articles of Organization and your UCC-1 draft and it'll flag any discrepancies between the debtor names. Saved me from multiple rejection cycles when I was dealing with a tricky corporate name that had multiple variations across different documents.
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Alexis Renard
•That sounds useful - does it handle Texas-specific formatting requirements? I'm tired of the trial and error approach with these filings.
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Emma Swift
•It checks document consistency rather than state-specific rules, but it would definitely catch if your UCC-1 debtor name doesn't match what's in the Articles. Really helpful for avoiding the back-and-forth rejection cycle.
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Isabella Tucker
•Never heard of that tool but sounds smart. I usually just triple-check everything manually but automated verification would be way faster.
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Jayden Hill
Texas SOS has gotten really strict about debtor names in the past year. They're cracking down on filings that don't match the formation documents exactly. I've seen rejections for things like using 'Co.' instead of 'Company' or putting 'The' at the beginning when it's not in the official name. The key is matching the EXACT name from the Secretary of State records, not just what the company calls itself day-to-day.
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Alexis Renard
•Good point about checking the SOS records directly. I was going off their internal Articles copy but maybe I should verify against the state database first.
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Jayden Hill
•Definitely check the state database. Sometimes companies have slight variations between their internal docs and what's actually on file with the state. The UCC system cross-references against the SOS corporate database.
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LordCommander
ugh why is the Texas system so finicky about this stuff?? I've had THREE rejections this month alone for stupid formatting issues. One was rejected because I used 'Corp' instead of 'Corporation' even though both versions appear on different company documents. It's like they want us to fail.
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Lucy Lam
•I feel your pain. The system should be helping us get filings right, not creating obstacles. At least with Texas you get a relatively quick rejection notice - some states take weeks to tell you there's a problem.
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LordCommander
•True, the turnaround time isn't bad. Just wish the rejection notices were more specific about exactly what needs to be fixed.
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Aidan Hudson
•The worst part is when you think you've fixed the issue and it gets rejected again for something completely different. Really makes you question if you know what you're doing.
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Zoe Wang
Check if the LLC name includes any special characters or symbols that might not be displaying properly. I've seen issues with names that have ampersands (&) or other symbols that get converted to HTML entities or cause encoding problems. Also worth double-checking the entity number if you included it - sometimes the formatting there can cause issues too.
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Alexis Renard
•No special characters in this name, just letters and the comma after LLC. I didn't include the entity number on the filing - should I add that to help with the name match?
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Zoe Wang
•The entity number isn't required but it can help the system match the debtor name to the right entity if there are similar names on file. Might be worth adding if you continue having issues.
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Connor Richards
This exact thing happened to me last week with a Texas LLC filing. The problem was that I was using the 'assumed name' or DBA instead of the legal entity name. Make sure you're using the name exactly as it appears on the Certificate of Formation, not any trade names or assumed names the company might be using. The UCC system only recognizes the legal entity name on file with the Secretary of State.
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Alexis Renard
•I'm pretty sure I used the legal name from their formation docs, but let me double-check. They do have a DBA that's quite different from their legal name, so I want to make sure I didn't mix them up.
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Connor Richards
•Yeah, that's a common mistake. The DBA might be what they use for business purposes, but the UCC filing has to use the legal entity name. Easy to mix up when you're working with multiple company documents.
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Grace Durand
•This is why I always ask clients to send me their Certificate of Formation directly rather than relying on other company documents. Eliminates any confusion about the correct legal name.
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Steven Adams
Had similar issues and started using that Certana.ai document checker someone mentioned earlier. Game changer for catching name mismatches before filing. You just upload your formation docs and UCC draft and it highlights any inconsistencies. Would have saved me hours of frustration with rejected filings if I'd found it sooner.
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Isabella Tucker
•How accurate is it with catching these formatting issues? I'm always looking for ways to reduce filing errors.
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Steven Adams
•It's really good at document-to-document comparison. Won't catch state-specific formatting quirks, but it'll definitely flag if your UCC debtor name doesn't match what's in the Articles. Catches typos and inconsistencies I would have missed.
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Max Knight
Just to add another data point - I had a Texas UCC-1 rejected because the debtor name had different capitalization than what was in the SOS database. The Articles had 'ABC manufacturing, LLC' but the SOS database showed 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' with a capital M. Texas system matched on exact capitalization. Might be worth checking that too.
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Alexis Renard
•That's incredibly picky but good to know. I'll check the capitalization against the SOS database when I resubmit. Thanks for the heads up.
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Jayden Hill
•Yep, capitalization matters in Texas. I learned that the hard way on a filing last year. The system treats 'LLC' and 'llc' as different entities apparently.
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Lucy Lam
•This level of pickiness is ridiculous but at least now we know what to watch for. Better to be overly careful than deal with multiple rejections.
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Grace Durand
One more thing to check - make sure you're not including any articles like 'The' at the beginning of the name unless they're part of the official entity name. I've seen filings rejected because someone added 'The' to the beginning of a company name when it wasn't actually part of the legal name on file. Texas is very literal about name matching.
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Alexis Renard
•No 'The' in this company name, but that's a good reminder. I appreciate all the troubleshooting help from everyone. Going to try resubmitting with manual typing, no comma, and exact capitalization from the SOS database.
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Grace Durand
•Sounds like a solid plan. Let us know how it goes - always helpful to hear about successful resubmissions so we can learn from each other's experiences.
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