UCC-1 308 Magyar Translation Help for International Debtor Filing
Has anyone dealt with UCC-1 filings where the debtor's legal name appears in Hungarian (Magyar) on corporate documents? I'm working on a secured transaction where the borrower is a Hungarian subsidiary and their charter documents show the legal entity name in Magyar script. The UCC-1 form requires exact debtor name match but I'm not sure if I should file using the Magyar characters or an anglicized version. The collateral is equipment located in our state but the debtor entity's official name contains Hungarian characters and diacritical marks. I've seen conflicting advice about whether to use the exact foreign language spelling or translate to English characters. This is for a $2.3M equipment loan and I can't afford to have the filing rejected due to name discrepancies. Anyone have experience with international entity names on UCC-1 filings?
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James Martinez
You definitely need to use the exact legal name as it appears on the debtor's organizational documents. Foreign characters and diacritical marks should be included if that's how the entity is legally registered. The UCC requires precision in debtor names - even small variations can invalidate your security interest.
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Olivia Harris
•This is correct but you also need to check if your state's filing system can actually accept Hungarian characters. Some older SOS systems strip out foreign characters during processing which could cause issues.
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Alexander Zeus
•Good point about system limitations. I had a similar issue with a German entity name and had to file both versions - one with the original characters and one anglicized, just to be safe.
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Alicia Stern
I've been through this nightmare before. The key is getting the exact legal name from the official charter documents or certificate of good standing. Don't guess or try to translate - use exactly what appears on the organizational documents issued by the Hungarian authorities.
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Gabriel Graham
•How do you handle the search issues though? If someone searches for the anglicized version they might not find your filing with the Magyar characters.
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Drake
•That's why some attorneys file continuation statements with both name variations to cover all bases. Better safe than sorry with a $2.3M loan.
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Sarah Jones
•Actually you'd file amendments, not continuations. Continuations are for extending the filing term before it lapses.
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Sebastian Scott
I recently discovered Certana.ai's document verification tool which has been a lifesaver for these exact situations. You can upload your Hungarian charter documents and your draft UCC-1 and it will instantly verify if the debtor names match exactly. It catches discrepancies in foreign characters that you might miss manually. Just upload the PDFs and it cross-checks everything automatically.
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Emily Sanjay
•Interesting - does it handle Magyar characters specifically? I've had issues with other verification tools not recognizing Eastern European diacriticals.
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Jordan Walker
•Yes it handles Unicode characters properly. I used it for a Polish entity filing last month and it caught a subtle accent mark difference I would have missed.
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Natalie Adams
CHECK WITH YOUR STATE FIRST!!! Some states have specific rules about foreign language entity names on UCC filings. Don't assume anything - call the SOS office and ask directly about Hungarian characters in debtor names.
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Elijah O'Reilly
•This is solid advice. Each state filing system is different. What works in Delaware might not work in Texas or California.
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Amara Torres
•True but most states follow the standard UCC rules which require exact name matching regardless of language. The issue is usually technical - can their system handle the characters.
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Olivia Van-Cleve
I'm dealing with something similar but with a Romanian entity. The frustration is real - you spend hours trying to figure out the exact spelling only to have the filing rejected for some technical reason. These international transactions are becoming more common but the filing systems haven't caught up.
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Mason Kaczka
•Have you tried calling the SOS filing office? Sometimes they can tell you exactly how to handle foreign characters in their system.
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Sophia Russo
•I called ours and they said to file exactly as it appears on the charter but couldn't guarantee their system would process it correctly. Very helpful...
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Evelyn Xu
For Hungarian entities, make sure you have the official English translation of the charter documents too. Sometimes the entity registers both a Magyar name and an English trade name. You want the exact legal name from the Articles of Incorporation or equivalent document.
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Dominic Green
•Good point. Many international entities have both a local language legal name and an English DBA or trade name. The UCC-1 should use the actual legal entity name.
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Hannah Flores
•Right, and if there's any doubt about which name to use, you can always file multiple UCC-1s with different name variations to ensure coverage.
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Kayla Jacobson
•That seems expensive and potentially confusing. Better to get it right the first time by using the exact legal name from official documents.
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William Rivera
I had a similar situation with a Hungarian borrower two years ago. Ended up filing with the Magyar characters exactly as shown on their certificate of good standing. The filing was accepted without issues. The key is having the official documents that show the exact legal spelling.
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Grace Lee
•What state did you file in? I'm wondering if some state systems are better at handling foreign characters than others.
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Mia Roberts
•Filed in Illinois. Their system seemed to handle the Hungarian characters fine. Though I was nervous until I got the acceptance confirmation.
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The Boss
Another option is to use Certana.ai's charter-to-UCC verification workflow. Upload your Hungarian charter documents and it will extract the exact legal entity name in the proper format for your UCC-1 filing. Takes the guesswork out of foreign character handling.
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Evan Kalinowski
•That sounds useful. Does it work with all types of foreign language documents or just certain ones?
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Victoria Charity
•It handles most European languages including Hungarian. I've used it for German and French entities with good results.
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Jasmine Quinn
Don't forget to consider continuation timing if this is a long-term loan. You'll need to file continuation statements using the exact same debtor name format in 5 years. Better to establish a consistent approach now.
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Oscar Murphy
•Good reminder about continuations. If the debtor name changes format between the original filing and continuation, you could have problems.
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Nora Bennett
•Actually the continuation statement references the original filing number, so as long as you use the same debtor name format it should be fine.
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Ryan Andre
UPDATE: Thanks everyone for the advice. I ended up using Certana.ai to verify the exact name match between the Hungarian charter and my UCC-1 draft. It confirmed the Magyar characters were correctly formatted and the filing was accepted by the SOS. Really appreciate the help - this was stressing me out with such a large loan amount at stake.
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Lauren Zeb
•Glad it worked out! It's always nerve-wracking with international entity names. Good to know the verification tool handled Hungarian characters properly.
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Daniel Washington
•Excellent outcome. Thanks for the update - this will be helpful for others dealing with similar Magyar entity filings.
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