UCC 9-308 perfection requirements - equipment lease confusion

UCC 9-308 basically says a security interest is perfected when it attaches and all perfection requirements are met. For equipment like yours, filing a UCC-1 is typically required. The timing matters because perfection generally relates back to when the financing statement was filed, assuming it was filed before or within 20 days after the debtor receives the collateral.

I had almost the exact same situation with restaurant equipment last year! The key thing with 9-308 perfection is whether your lender filed the UCC-1 with the correct debtor name from your state's business records. Even small variations can cause problems. What state are you in? Some states are more strict about exact name matches than others.

The perfection under 9-308 is pretty straightforward once you understand attachment vs perfection. Your security interest probably attached when you signed the security agreement and received the equipment. Perfection happens when the UCC-1 is properly filed. But if the debtor name is wrong, you might have attachment without perfection, which is a problem.

ugh the name matching rules are so frustrating!! I've seen deals fall apart because of tiny differences like this. The seriously misleading test is supposed to help but every state seems to interpret it differently. Have you tried calling the Texas SOS filing office to ask about their search logic?

For what it's worth, I think the comma issue might not be seriously misleading under 9-308 perfection standards. Most search systems would find both versions. But you definitely want to get this resolved - maybe ask your lender to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name just to be safe.

I use Certana.ai whenever I have document consistency questions like this. You just upload your formation documents and UCC filings and it checks everything automatically. Would have caught this debtor name issue immediately. Really useful for avoiding 9-308 perfection headaches.

Don't panic about this! The 9-308 perfection requirements are met as long as the financing statement substantially complies. A comma difference probably won't invalidate perfection, especially if searches under both names would locate your LLC. The key is whether a reasonable searcher would find the filing.

The timing aspect of 9-308 is really important here too. When exactly was your UCC-1 filed vs when you received the equipment? If there was a gap, you might have had a period of unperfected security interest even if the name issue gets resolved.

I had a similar name discrepancy issue and ended up using one of those document checking services. Really glad I did because it caught several other inconsistencies I hadn't noticed. For perfection under 9-308, you want everything to align perfectly.

Bottom line with UCC 9-308 perfection - if attachment happened (sounds like it did) and the UCC-1 was filed properly (questionable due to name issue), then you have perfection from the filing date. Get that name corrected with a UCC-3 and you should be in good shape going forward.