UCC 9 503 debtor name requirements causing filing rejections
Been dealing with multiple UCC-1 rejections and I'm starting to think it's related to UCC 9-503 debtor name requirements. We have a borrower who's an LLC and their exact legal name on the charter is 'Premier Construction Solutions, LLC' but our loan documents sometimes reference them as 'Premier Construction Solutions LLC' (without the comma). The SOS keeps rejecting our filings and I'm wondering if this tiny punctuation difference is what's causing the problem. Has anyone else run into UCC 9 503 issues where the debtor name has to match EXACTLY what's on the organizational documents? We've filed probably 15 UCCs this year and this is the first time we're getting hung up on something this specific. The collateral is standard equipment financing stuff so that's not the issue. Really need to get this perfected before our loan closes next week.
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StellarSurfer
UCC 9-503 is super strict about debtor names for registered organizations. The name has to match exactly what's on the public record with the state. That comma could definitely be the issue. Have you pulled the actual charter documents to see the exact formatting?
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Anastasia Romanov
•Yeah we have the charter but honestly I'm not 100% sure which version is the 'official' one for UCC purposes. The filed articles have the comma but some of the other documents don't.
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Sean Kelly
•For LLCs you need to use whatever name appears on the articles of organization filed with the state. That's the UCC 9-503 standard for registered organizations.
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Zara Malik
This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your charter documents and UCC-1 side by side and it instantly flags any name mismatches. Saved me from so many rejected filings when dealing with UCC 9 503 compliance.
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Luca Greco
•How does that work exactly? Do you just upload PDFs?
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Zara Malik
•Yep, just upload the charter and your UCC-1 draft. It cross-checks debtor names, filing numbers, everything. Catches stuff like missing commas or periods that cause rejections.
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Nia Thompson
•Honestly sounds too good to be true but if it prevents UCC 9 503 headaches maybe worth trying
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Mateo Rodriguez
UGH this happened to us last month!!! The SOS rejected our filing THREE times because of a period vs no period in the debtor name. UCC 9-503 doesn't mess around. We ended up having to get a certified copy of the articles just to be 100% sure of the exact formatting.
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Aisha Hussain
•Three times? That's brutal. How long did that delay your closing?
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Mateo Rodriguez
•Almost two weeks. Client was NOT happy. Now I triple check every single character in debtor names before submitting.
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GalacticGladiator
•This is why I always pull fresh entity searches before every UCC filing. UCC 9 503 leaves no room for error.
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Ethan Brown
Are you filing electronically or paper? Sometimes the electronic system is more forgiving with formatting but UCC 9-503 requirements are the same either way.
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Anastasia Romanov
•Electronic through the state portal. But the rejections are pretty clear about debtor name issues.
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Yuki Yamamoto
•Electronic is usually stricter actually. The system does automatic checks against the state database.
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Carmen Ruiz
Had a similar issue with a corporation where the charter said 'ABC Company, Inc.' but we filed as 'ABC Company Inc.' - rejected immediately. UCC 9 503 is very literal about punctuation and spacing.
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Andre Lefebvre
•Same here. We had 'Smith & Associates, LLC' vs 'Smith and Associates, LLC' - the ampersand vs 'and' killed our filing.
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Zoe Dimitriou
•Wow these UCC 9-503 rules are way more detailed than I realized. Good thing I haven't had to deal with this yet.
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QuantumQuest
•Trust me, you will. Every lender runs into debtor name issues eventually. Best to learn the UCC 9 503 requirements now.
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Jamal Anderson
Quick question - for UCC 9-503 purposes, do you use the name from the original articles of organization or the most recent amended version if they've changed their name?
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Sean Kelly
•Always the current name on file with the state. If they amended their articles to change the name, use the new name.
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Mei Zhang
•But make sure the amendment is actually filed and effective. I've seen people use proposed name changes that weren't official yet.
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Liam McGuire
This thread convinced me to try that Certana.ai tool someone mentioned. Just uploaded our problem filing and it immediately caught the comma issue. Wish I'd known about this before submitting the wrong version 4 times.
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Amara Eze
•Four times?! That's painful. Glad you found a solution though.
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Giovanni Ricci
•Does Certana.ai work for other UCC forms too or just UCC-1s?
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Liam McGuire
•Works for amendments and continuations too. Really helpful for UCC 9 503 compliance across all filing types.
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NeonNomad
Pro tip: always include a copy of the entity search results with your UCC filing. Some states appreciate the documentation showing you checked the UCC 9-503 requirements properly.
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Fatima Al-Hashemi
•Good idea. Shows you did your homework on the debtor name requirements.
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Dylan Mitchell
•Our state doesn't require it but it definitely helps if there are any questions about the filing.
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Sofia Martinez
•Plus it's good CYA documentation if the client ever questions why you used a specific name format.
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Dmitry Volkov
Update: Got the filing accepted! Turns out it was exactly the comma issue. Used the exact name from the articles including the comma and it went through immediately. UCC 9 503 doesn't give you any wiggle room on debtor names.
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Ava Thompson
•Awesome! Glad you got it sorted out. These UCC 9-503 issues can be so frustrating but at least now you know what to watch for.
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CyberSiren
•Congrats on getting it through. Did you make your closing deadline?
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Dmitry Volkov
•Just barely! Had to rush the final loan docs but we made it. Definitely learned my lesson about double-checking debtor names against the charter.
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Miguel Alvarez
This whole thread is a good reminder to be extra careful with UCC 9 503 debtor name requirements. I'm definitely going to start using that document checker tool to avoid these headaches.
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Zainab Yusuf
•Smart move. Prevention is way better than dealing with rejections and delays.
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Connor O'Reilly
•Especially when you have tight closing deadlines. UCC 9-503 compliance issues can really mess up your timeline.
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