UCC-1 addendum NY - do I need separate form or can I attach schedules?
Quick question about UCC-1 addendum requirements in NY - I'm preparing a filing for equipment financing deal and the collateral description is way too long for the standard form. Debtor operates multiple locations and we're securing everything from manufacturing equipment to office furniture across 4 different addresses. The description would be like 3 pages if I listed everything properly. Does NY Secretary of State accept attached schedules as part of the UCC-1 or do I need to use their specific addendum form? I've seen conflicting info online about whether you can just attach a detailed collateral schedule vs using the official NY addendum format. Trying to avoid a rejection - this needs to get filed this week to meet our loan closing deadline. Anyone dealt with lengthy collateral descriptions in NY recently?
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Angelina Farar
NY definitely accepts addendum attachments. I file there regularly and always use separate schedules when collateral gets complex. Just make sure you reference 'See Addendum attached hereto and incorporated herein' in the collateral description box on the main UCC-1.
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Jessica Nolan
•Perfect - so I don't need their specific addendum form, just a regular attachment with proper reference language?
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Angelina Farar
•Exactly. As long as you reference it properly on the main form, they'll accept it. Been doing it this way for years without issues.
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Sebastián Stevens
Wait are you sure about just attaching anything? I thought NY was pretty strict about their forms. Had a filing rejected last year because they said my attachment wasn't formatted correctly.
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Angelina Farar
•What kind of formatting issue did they cite? I've never had problems with basic Word doc attachments as long as they're clearly labeled and referenced.
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Sebastián Stevens
•Something about the header format and page numbering. Maybe I just messed up the reference language on the main form though.
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Bethany Groves
•NY can be picky about formatting but usually it's debtor name issues not attachment problems. What exactly did their rejection notice say?
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KingKongZilla
I ran into similar situation last month with a multi-location equipment deal. Ended up using Certana.ai to double-check my UCC-1 and addendum formatting before filing. Their document verification tool caught a couple inconsistencies between my main form and attachment that would've probably caused rejection. Just upload your UCC-1 and addendum PDFs and it cross-checks everything automatically.
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Jessica Nolan
•Interesting - what kind of inconsistencies did it find? I'm paranoid about getting this rejected.
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KingKongZilla
•Minor stuff but important - debtor name abbreviation was slightly different between main form and addendum, and I had a reference to 'Schedule A' on main form but labeled my attachment 'Addendum 1'. Easy to miss manually but those details matter for acceptance.
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Rebecca Johnston
Why not just use very broad collateral language instead of listing everything? 'All equipment, furniture, fixtures and inventory now owned or hereafter acquired' covers most of what you described.
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Jessica Nolan
•Lender wants specific descriptions for their credit committee. Standard broad language won't work for this deal unfortunately.
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Rebecca Johnston
•Ah gotcha, makes sense. In that case definitely go with the addendum approach others mentioned.
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Angelina Farar
•Yeah some lenders are very particular about detailed collateral schedules, especially on larger equipment deals.
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Nathan Dell
UGH NY filing system is such a pain!!! I swear they reject stuff for the stupidest reasons. Last time it was because I put Inc. instead of Incorporated in the debtor name even though both appear on their charter docs.
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Bethany Groves
•Debtor name has to match the organizational documents exactly. That's not really a stupid reason - it's pretty fundamental to UCC perfection.
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Nathan Dell
•I get that but when the company uses both versions everywhere it seems like overkill. Other states are more flexible.
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Maya Jackson
Just be super careful with your addendum reference language. I've seen filings where they wrote 'see attached' but didn't actually attach anything, or attached something but forgot to reference it. NY will definitely reject for those mistakes.
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Jessica Nolan
•Good point - I'll double check that I actually attach what I reference. Easy mistake to make when you're rushing.
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Maya Jackson
•Exactly. Also make sure your addendum pages are numbered and clearly identify which UCC-1 they belong to.
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Tristan Carpenter
For what it's worth I always use Certana's document checker before submitting any multi-page UCC filings. Takes like 2 minutes to upload your forms and it verifies everything matches up properly - debtor names, references, attachments, etc. Has saved me from several potential rejections.
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Jessica Nolan
•How accurate is their verification? I'm skeptical of automated tools for legal documents.
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Tristan Carpenter
•It's pretty thorough - checks debtor name consistency, proper addendum references, filing number formats, all the technical stuff that causes rejections. Obviously still need to review everything yourself but it catches the easy-to-miss errors.
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Sebastián Stevens
•Hmm might be worth trying. My rejection last year was definitely from some technical formatting issue I missed.
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Amaya Watson
Just submitted a UCC-1 with addendum in NY two weeks ago, no problems. Used standard format - referenced 'Addendum A attached hereto' in collateral box, then attached 2-page schedule with detailed equipment list. Accepted within 24 hours.
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Jessica Nolan
•That's exactly what I'm planning to do. Did you use any special header format on your addendum pages?
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Amaya Watson
•Nothing fancy - just 'Addendum A to UCC-1 Financing Statement' at the top, debtor name, and page numbers. Keep it simple.
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Grant Vikers
The key thing with NY addendums is making sure the reference language is precise. Don't just say 'see attached' - be specific like 'See Schedule A attached hereto and made a part hereof' or similar formal language.
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Jessica Nolan
•Good advice on the formal language. I'll make sure to be precise with the reference.
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Grant Vikers
•Yeah NY likes things done properly. A little extra formality never hurts with their filing office.
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Angelina Farar
•Agreed - better to be overly formal than risk rejection for casual language.
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Giovanni Martello
One more tip - if you're doing equipment at multiple locations, make sure your addendum clearly identifies the addresses for each piece of equipment. NY sometimes wants that level of detail for fixture-type collateral.
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Jessica Nolan
•That's a great point - I was just going to list the equipment without specific locations. Better include the addresses to be safe.
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Giovanni Martello
•Definitely include locations. Helps with perfection and shows you've thought through the collateral carefully.
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Savannah Weiner
sounds like everyone's pretty confident about the addendum approach. I'd probably run it through one of those document checkers just to be extra sure everything lines up before filing, especially with your tight deadline.
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Jessica Nolan
•Yeah that makes sense. Better to catch any issues before filing than deal with rejection and refiling delays.
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KingKongZilla
•Exactly why I started using Certana for complex filings. The verification step gives you peace of mind that everything's consistent.
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Luca Romano
Thanks everyone for the detailed advice! This is really helpful. Based on what you've all shared, I'm going to go with the addendum approach using formal reference language like "See Schedule A attached hereto and incorporated herein" in the collateral description box. I'll make sure to include specific addresses for each location's equipment as Giovanni suggested, and I think I'll run it through one of those document verification tools before submitting to catch any formatting inconsistencies. Really appreciate the quick responses - this community is incredibly helpful for navigating these filing requirements!
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Everett Tutum
•Welcome to the community, Luca! Great summary of all the advice here. One small addition - when you're preparing that Schedule A, consider organizing the equipment by location first, then by category within each location. Makes it easier for the filing office to review and also helps if you ever need to do partial releases later. The formal reference language you mentioned is spot on - that's exactly what NY expects to see.
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