UCC 1 - 202 filing requirements causing major headaches
I'm dealing with what seems like a straightforward UCC 1 - 202 situation but it's turning into a nightmare. We have equipment financing on some manufacturing gear and the original UCC-1 was filed back in 2020. Now we're trying to get everything sorted for a refinance but there's confusion about whether our current filing matches the new lender's requirements. The debtor name on our corporate charter has a slight variation from what's on the UCC-1 (we added 'LLC' when we converted from partnership status). The new lender is saying this could void their security interest if we don't get it amended properly. Has anyone dealt with UCC 1 - 202 name discrepancies like this? I'm worried we're going to have gaps in our lien coverage during the transition. The original filing shows the collateral as 'all equipment' but the new lender wants more specific descriptions. Do I need a UCC-3 amendment or should we file a new UCC-1 entirely? Time is critical here because our current loan matures next month.
42 comments


Jamal Anderson
Oh man, name discrepancies are the worst! We went through something similar when our company changed from Inc to LLC. The key thing with UCC 1 - 202 issues is that the debtor name has to match exactly what's on your current corporate documents. Even small differences like adding LLC can create problems. You'll probably need a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name first, then potentially another one to update the collateral description if your new lender requires it.
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Mei Wong
•This is exactly right. The UCC 1 - 202 name matching rules are super strict. I always tell people to check their Secretary of State records first before filing anything.
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QuantumQuasar
•Wait, can you do both name and collateral changes in one UCC-3 amendment? I thought you needed separate filings for different types of changes.
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Jamal Anderson
•You can usually do both in one amendment as long as you're clear about what you're changing. Just make sure to reference the original filing number correctly.
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Liam McGuire
Before you panic about UCC 1 - 202 compliance, check if your state has any safe harbor provisions for minor name variations. Some states are more forgiving than others when it comes to entity designations like LLC vs Inc. That said, if your new lender is being picky about it, you're probably better off just fixing it with an amendment rather than fighting about it.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•I hadn't thought about state-specific variations. We're in Ohio if that makes a difference. The new lender seems pretty rigid about everything matching perfectly.
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Liam McGuire
•Ohio tends to be fairly strict about exact name matches. Given your tight timeline, I'd definitely go with the amendment route to be safe.
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Amara Eze
I ran into a similar UCC 1 - 202 headache last year and honestly, trying to manually cross-check all the documents was a nightmare. Names didn't match, filing numbers were off, collateral descriptions were inconsistent between the UCC-1 and our loan docs. I ended up using Certana.ai's document verification tool - you just upload your PDFs and it instantly checks everything for consistency. It caught three discrepancies I completely missed, including a debtor name variation that would have caused major problems. Super easy to use and saved me weeks of back-and-forth with the lender.
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Giovanni Greco
•How does that work exactly? Do you upload the original UCC-1 and the new loan documents together?
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Amara Eze
•Yeah, you can upload multiple documents and it cross-references everything automatically. It flagged that our corporate charter name didn't match our UCC filing, plus some collateral description issues we never would have caught manually.
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Fatima Al-Farsi
•That sounds too good to be true honestly. Manual review is still the gold standard for UCC 1 - 202 compliance.
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Dylan Wright
UGH the UCC 1 - 202 process is so frustrating!! Why can't they make this simpler? Every time I think I have it figured out, there's some new requirement or technicality. And don't even get me started on how long amendments take to process. By the time you get confirmation, your loan could already be in default!
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Sofia Torres
•I feel your pain. The system definitely needs an overhaul. At least online filing is faster than the old paper days.
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Dylan Wright
•True, but even online filing has its glitches. I've had submissions just disappear into the void.
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GalacticGuardian
Given your timeline constraints with UCC 1 - 202, I'd recommend filing the UCC-3 amendment immediately to fix the debtor name issue. You can always file additional amendments later if needed for collateral descriptions. The most critical thing is maintaining continuous perfection of your security interest. A gap in coverage could be catastrophic if something happens to the collateral. Make sure you have the exact legal name from your current Articles of Organization or corporate charter when you file the amendment.
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Dmitry Smirnov
•This is solid advice. Continuous perfection is everything in secured transactions. Better to over-file than have gaps.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•That makes sense. I'll pull our current charter documents and get the exact name before filing the amendment. Thanks for the practical guidance.
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Ava Rodriguez
•Just make sure your amendment references the correct original filing number. I've seen amendments rejected because of typos in the filing number reference.
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Miguel Diaz
Wait, I'm confused about UCC 1 - 202 requirements. Are we talking about filing amendments or new UCC-1s? And what's the difference between a continuation and an amendment anyway? I have a similar situation but I'm not sure which form to use.
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GalacticGuardian
•UCC-3 is for amendments, changes, and terminations. Continuation is when you extend an existing filing before it lapses. UCC-1 is for new initial filings.
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Miguel Diaz
•Oh okay, so for a name change I definitely want UCC-3. Got it, thanks!
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Mei Wong
•And continuations are only needed every 5 years to keep the filing active. Don't confuse the two or you'll file the wrong paperwork.
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Zainab Ahmed
I've been through the UCC 1 - 202 amendment process dozens of times. One thing that always trips people up is the collateral description requirements. If your new lender wants more specific descriptions, you might need to be strategic about how you word the amendment. Too specific and you might accidentally narrow your coverage. Too broad and the lender might not accept it. Document everything carefully and consider having a UCC attorney review before filing if the loan amount is substantial.
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Connor Gallagher
•Great point about collateral descriptions. I've seen deals fall apart because someone got too creative with the language.
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AstroAlpha
•How specific is too specific? Our lender wants serial numbers for all equipment items.
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Zainab Ahmed
•Serial numbers are fine for equipment, just make sure you don't accidentally exclude anything by being overly narrow. Include catch-all language too.
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Yara Khoury
For UCC 1 - 202 compliance, timing is crucial. File your UCC-3 amendment ASAP to fix the debtor name. Most states process amendments within 1-2 business days if filed electronically. Don't wait until the last minute before your loan maturity. Also, get written confirmation from your new lender that the amendment will satisfy their requirements before you file - you don't want to discover after filing that they wanted something different.
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Keisha Taylor
•Good call on getting lender approval first. I learned that lesson the hard way.
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Paolo Longo
•How do you get written confirmation? Just email them a draft of the amendment?
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Yara Khoury
•Email works, but I prefer to get it in writing as part of the loan commitment or amendment to the existing credit agreement.
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Amina Bah
The whole UCC 1 - 202 system is broken if you ask me. Why should borrowers have to jump through these hoops just because their corporate name evolved? The underlying collateral is the same, the debt is the same, but some minor paperwork difference can invalidate everything. It's ridiculous bureaucracy that serves no one except the filing fee collectors.
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Oliver Becker
•I hear you, but the system does serve a purpose. Clear identification is important for other creditors and buyers who need to know what's encumbered.
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Amina Bah
•Fair point, but there has to be a better way than requiring perfect name matches down to punctuation marks.
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CosmicCowboy
Just wanted to circle back on the Certana.ai tool mentioned earlier - I was skeptical at first but tried it on a complex UCC 1 - 202 refinancing situation. It actually works really well for catching document inconsistencies that could cause filing problems. Uploaded our corporate charter, existing UCC-1, and new loan agreement, and it immediately flagged that our debtor name had changed and showed exactly what needed to be corrected. Much faster than trying to manually compare everything, especially when you're under time pressure like the original poster.
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Natasha Orlova
•That's actually pretty cool. Does it work with all state filing systems or just certain ones?
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CosmicCowboy
•It focuses on the document consistency checking rather than state-specific filing rules, so it should work regardless of which state you're filing in.
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Javier Cruz
Update on our UCC 1 - 202 situation: I filed the UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name yesterday and it was accepted this morning. The key was getting the exact legal name from our current Articles of Organization. Also updated the collateral description to be more specific per the new lender's requirements. The whole process took less than 24 hours online. Thanks everyone for the advice - crisis averted!
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Jamal Anderson
•Awesome! Love hearing success stories. Online filing really does make the process much smoother when everything goes right.
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Zoe Alexopoulos
•That's such a relief to hear. I was getting really stressed about the timeline. Sounds like I should be able to get this sorted quickly too.
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Emma Thompson
•Did you need to notify your current lender about the amendment or just the new one?
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Javier Cruz
•Good question - I notified both just to be safe. Better to over-communicate on UCC 1 - 202 changes than have surprises later.
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Tony Brooks
As someone who's been through multiple UCC 1 - 202 amendments, I can't stress enough how important it is to get ahead of these issues. The name discrepancy problem you're facing is super common - we see it all the time when businesses change entity types or update their legal names. My advice would be to file the UCC-3 amendment for the debtor name correction immediately, don't wait. Ohio's online filing system is pretty efficient, so you should have confirmation within 24-48 hours. For the collateral description issue, you can either include that in the same amendment or file a separate one later if your new lender needs time to finalize their requirements. The most critical thing is maintaining continuous perfection - any gap in coverage could be disastrous. Also, make sure you have copies of all your current corporate documents before filing so the debtor name matches exactly. Good luck with your refinance!
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