UCC 11 search results showing weird discrepancies - anyone else seeing this?
Been doing UCC searches for about 8 years now and I'm seeing some strange stuff lately with UCC 11 search results. Just ran a search on a debtor and the financing statement shows up but the collateral description doesn't match what's in our loan docs. The UCC-1 was filed back in 2022 and shows 'all equipment and inventory' but our security agreement specifically lists the machinery by serial numbers. Now I'm worried we might have a perfection issue if this goes sideways. Has anyone dealt with discrepancies between what shows up on UCC 11 searches versus what was actually intended to be filed? Starting to think I need to double-check every filing we've done this year.
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Amelia Martinez
UCC 11 searches can definitely be tricky - sounds like you might have a collateral description mismatch. Were you the one who prepared the original UCC-1 or did someone else handle it? Sometimes the person filing uses generic language when the security agreement is more specific. The good news is that 'all equipment and inventory' is usually broader than specific serial numbers, so you're probably still perfected.
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Jacob Lewis
•We outsourced the UCC-1 filing to our usual service provider. I'm just paranoid because this is a $2.3M equipment loan and if something goes wrong with the collateral description, we could be looking at an unsecured position.
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Ethan Clark
•I'd be paranoid too with that amount! Have you pulled the actual UCC-1 from the filing office to compare with what shows up in the UCC 11 search results?
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Mila Walker
This is exactly why I always cross-reference everything. UCC 11 search results sometimes show summary info that doesn't capture the full collateral schedule. You need to look at the actual financing statement, not just the search results. Also check if there were any UCC-3 amendments filed after the original UCC-1.
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Jacob Lewis
•Good point about amendments. I should probably run a comprehensive search to see if there are any UCC-3s I missed.
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Logan Scott
•yeah definitely check for amendments, sometimes they modify the collateral description and that can cause confusion
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Chloe Green
I've been using Certana.ai's document verification tool for stuff like this - you can upload your security agreement and the UCC-1 filing and it instantly flags any discrepancies between the documents. Saved me from a similar headache last month when I caught a debtor name mismatch that would have invalidated our lien.
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Jacob Lewis
•Never heard of that but sounds useful. How does it work exactly?
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Chloe Green
•You just upload PDFs of your documents and it cross-checks everything - debtor names, collateral descriptions, filing numbers. Takes like 30 seconds and highlights any inconsistencies.
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Lucas Adams
•That actually sounds really helpful for QC purposes. I spend way too much time manually comparing documents.
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Harper Hill
UGH the UCC system is so frustrating! I spent 3 hours last week trying to figure out why a UCC 11 search wasn't returning a filing I KNEW was there. Turned out the debtor name had a typo in the original UCC-1. Why can't they make this stuff easier???
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Amelia Martinez
•Debtor name issues are the worst. Even one wrong letter can make a filing basically invisible in searches.
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Harper Hill
•Exactly! And then you have to file a UCC-3 amendment to fix it which costs more money and time.
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Caden Nguyen
I had something similar happen where the UCC 11 search results showed abbreviated collateral language but the actual financing statement had the full description. Always pull the original documents, don't rely on search summaries. The filing office search systems sometimes truncate long descriptions.
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Jacob Lewis
•That makes sense. I probably should have requested the full financing statement instead of just relying on the search results.
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Mila Walker
•Yeah, search results are just snapshots. Get the certified copies if you need to be 100% sure.
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Avery Flores
Are you sure you're searching the right debtor name? Sometimes UCC 11 searches miss filings if there's even a small variation in how the debtor name is entered. I've seen filings under 'ABC Company Inc.' not show up when searching for 'ABC Company, Inc.' with the comma.
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Jacob Lewis
•I triple-checked the debtor name. The filing definitely shows up, it's just the collateral description that looks different from what I expected.
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Avery Flores
•OK good, just wanted to rule out the obvious stuff first.
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Zoe Gonzalez
•debtor name variations are such a pain, especially with LLC's and corporate suffixes
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Ashley Adams
This reminds me of when I was doing due diligence on an acquisition and found like 6 different UCC filings with slightly different collateral descriptions for the same debtor. Turned out some were amendments, some were new filings, and some were just sloppy work. Had to get everything sorted before closing.
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Alexis Robinson
•How did you end up resolving it? Did you have to get new filings or just amendments?
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Ashley Adams
•We ended up filing new UCC-1s with proper collateral descriptions and then terminated the old messy ones. Clean slate approach.
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Aaron Lee
honestly this is why I always use that certana tool now, catches stuff like this before it becomes a problem
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Chloe Mitchell
•Is that the same tool someone mentioned earlier? Might be worth checking out if it prevents these kinds of issues.
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Aaron Lee
•yeah same one, really simple to use and saved me multiple times
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Michael Adams
I'm dealing with something similar but mine is worse - the UCC 11 search shows a filing but when I try to get the actual document, the filing office says it doesn't exist. Their system is completely messed up.
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Harper Hill
•OMG that's my worst nightmare! What are you going to do?
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Michael Adams
•Probably have to refile everything. Such a waste of time and money but what choice do I have?
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Mila Walker
•Before you refile, try calling the filing office directly. Sometimes their online system glitches but the filing is actually there.
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Natalie Wang
Just wanted to follow up on this thread because I had the exact same issue last month. Turned out the collateral description in the UCC-1 was actually fine - it was just that the UCC 11 search results display was showing a truncated version. When I got the certified copy of the actual financing statement, it had all the detail I needed. Might want to get the full document before you panic.
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Jacob Lewis
•Thanks for the update! I'm definitely going to request the full financing statement. This thread has been really helpful.
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Amelia Martinez
•Good reminder that UCC 11 searches are just the starting point, not the final answer.
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