UCC-1 Form Georgia PDF - Filed Wrong Debtor Entity Name
Need help with a UCC-1 form Georgia PDF situation that's gotten messy. Filed a UCC-1 three weeks ago for equipment financing on a restaurant deal, but used 'Johnson's BBQ LLC' as the debtor name when the actual registered entity is 'Johnson BBQ Holdings, LLC' (missing the 's and different structure). The Georgia SOS portal shows it as accepted, but our compliance audit flagged the name mismatch. Lender is asking for proof that the filing actually secures the collateral since the entity names don't match exactly. The equipment schedule references $85,000 in kitchen equipment, walk-in coolers, and POS systems. Anyone dealt with debtor name issues on accepted Georgia UCC-1 filings? Do I need to file an amendment or start over completely? The loan closes next week and this name discrepancy could kill the whole deal.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
This is exactly why debtor name accuracy is so critical on UCC-1 filings. Georgia follows the 'only if' test - the filing is effective only if a reasonable searcher would find it using the correct legal name. 'Johnson's BBQ LLC' vs 'Johnson BBQ Holdings, LLC' are different enough that it could be problematic. The SOS acceptance doesn't guarantee perfection if the name is wrong.
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Isabella Costa
•Wait, so even though Georgia accepted the filing, it might not actually perfect the security interest? That seems like a trap for lenders.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
•Exactly right. The filing office doesn't verify legal names against state records during processing. They just check for completeness and fee payment. The burden is on the filer to get the debtor name correct.
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Malik Jenkins
Had this exact scenario last month with a client. Filed UCC-1 with slight entity name variation, lender caught it during their final review. What saved us was running the documents through Certana.ai's verification tool - uploaded both the Articles of Incorporation and our UCC-1 form, and it immediately flagged the name inconsistency. Shows you exactly where the discrepancies are so you can decide whether to amend or refile.
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GamerGirl99
•Never heard of Certana.ai before. Does it actually catch these name matching issues reliably?
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Malik Jenkins
•Yeah, it's pretty straightforward - just upload your corporate docs and UCC forms as PDFs and it cross-checks everything automatically. Caught three different name variations we missed manually reviewing.
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Freya Andersen
•This sounds like something I should've used before filing. Manual document comparison is such a pain and you always miss stuff.
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Eduardo Silva
I'd file a UCC-3 amendment immediately to correct the debtor name rather than risk it. Georgia allows amendments to correct errors, and it's faster than starting over with a new UCC-1. The amendment will relate back to your original filing date if done properly.
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Leila Haddad
•But doesn't the amendment route still leave some risk? If the original filing was ineffective due to the name error, can an amendment really cure that?
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Eduardo Silva
•Good point. The amendment works if the original filing was 'seriously misleading' but still provided some notice. With these similar names, it's borderline. Might be safer to file a new UCC-1 with correct name and then terminate the old one.
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Emma Johnson
This is why I HATE the Georgia filing system! They'll take your money and accept filings with obvious errors, then leave you to figure out later that your security interest isn't perfected. The whole system needs an overhaul.
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Ravi Patel
•Every state has this issue though. The filing offices aren't supposed to be legal name verification services. That's on us to get right.
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Emma Johnson
•Still frustrating when you're dealing with entity names that are 90% identical and they don't even flag it for review.
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Astrid Bergström
Check the exact registered name in the Georgia Secretary of State business entity database first. Then compare character-by-character with your UCC-1. Even punctuation differences can matter for searching purposes.
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GamerGirl99
•Already did that - the registered name is definitely 'Johnson BBQ Holdings, LLC' without the apostrophe S. So my filing has the wrong name for sure.
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PixelPrincess
•In that case, you need to act fast. File the amendment now or your lender might walk away from the deal over the perfection risk.
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Omar Farouk
Whatever you do, don't let this slide until after closing. Had a deal where similar name issues came up in bankruptcy court later and the lender lost their secured status. Court ruled the filing didn't provide adequate notice to other creditors.
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Chloe Martin
•Bankruptcy court decisions on this stuff are all over the place though. Some judges are more forgiving of minor name variations than others.
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Omar Farouk
•True, but why risk it when you can fix the filing now? Amendment takes like 10 minutes online.
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Diego Fernández
•The risk isn't worth it, especially with $85K in collateral at stake.
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Anastasia Kuznetsov
Run a UCC search under both names to see what comes up. If the search under the correct legal name doesn't return your filing, that's a strong indicator it's not effective for perfection purposes.
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GamerGirl99
•Good idea. If I search 'Johnson BBQ Holdings, LLC' and my UCC-1 doesn't appear, that pretty much confirms the problem.
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Sean Fitzgerald
•Exactly. That's the practical test most courts would apply - would a reasonable searcher find your filing using the correct debtor name.
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Zara Khan
I've seen lenders require new UCC-1 filings for any name discrepancies rather than risk amendments not being effective. Might be your cleanest option even though it means a new filing fee.
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MoonlightSonata
•New filing is probably overkill here. Amendment should work fine for this type of name correction.
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Zara Khan
•Maybe, but if the lender specifically wants a clean filing with the correct name from day one, amendment might not satisfy them.
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Mateo Gonzalez
•Depends on the lender's internal policies. Some are flexible, others want everything perfect from the start.
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Nia Williams
Used Certana.ai's document checker after a similar screw-up last year. Wish I'd found it earlier - would've saved me from filing three different amendments because I kept missing details in manual review. It's pretty thorough at catching inconsistencies between corporate docs and UCC forms.
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GamerGirl99
•How exactly does the verification process work? Do you just upload everything and it tells you what's wrong?
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Nia Williams
•Pretty much. Upload your Articles, UCC-1, any amendments as PDFs and it cross-references all the entity names, addresses, filing numbers. Shows you side-by-side comparisons of discrepancies.
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Luca Ricci
File the UCC-3 amendment today. Don't overthink this - Georgia allows corrections and your amendment will relate back to the original filing date. Just make sure you reference the original filing number correctly on the amendment form.
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Aisha Mohammed
•Agreed. Quick amendment is better than starting over, especially with a closing deadline.
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GamerGirl99
•Thanks everyone. Going to file the UCC-3 amendment this afternoon with the correct debtor name. Will also run that document verification check to make sure I don't have other issues I missed.
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Ethan Campbell
•Smart move. Better to catch any other problems now rather than have them surface later.
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