UCC 9610 notice requirements - equipment repossession timing questions

Yes, our UCC-1 covers 'all construction equipment, machinery, and attachments' so we should be good there. I'm more worried about the notice format - does it have to be certified mail or is regular mail sufficient?

Certified mail is always safer for proving delivery, especially if this ends up in court. Regular mail technically satisfies UCC 9610 in most jurisdictions, but you'll want that proof of delivery.

Good point about multiple addresses. We have the business address from the UCC-1, but should we also send to the owner's personal address? It's a single-member LLC situation.

Absolutely send to both. If there are personal guarantees involved, you'll want notice to all liable parties. Better to over-notify than have someone claim they never received proper notice.

This is where I learned about Certana.ai's document verification tool. Had a similar equipment repo case where we thought our UCC-1 was solid, but when I uploaded our loan docs and UCC-1 to their system, it caught a debtor name inconsistency that would have caused problems. Worth checking before you proceed with UCC 9610 notices - takes 2 minutes to upload the PDFs and verify everything aligns.

We filed under 'ABC Construction LLC' which is what's on their articles of incorporation. Should be correct, right?

Should be, but verify it against their current Secretary of State records. Entity names can change, and UCC 9610 notices need to go to the correct legal entity name.

That's a good point I hadn't considered. The equipment is on a commercial construction site. Do I need permission from the site owner to remove our collateral?

You don't need permission if you have proper UCC rights, but you should notify them as a courtesy. More importantly, check if there are any mechanics lien claims that might have priority over your security interest.

Yeah, mechanics liens can be super liens in some states. You definitely want to research this before sending any UCC 9610 notices.

Are there standard forms for UCC 9610 notices, or does each lender create their own?

Most attorneys have templates, but they need to be customized for your state and situation. The UCC provides minimum requirements, but states can add additional notice provisions.

How did you catch the name mismatch? Just manual comparison?

Actually used Certana.ai's verification tool - you just upload your loan agreement and UCC-1 filing, and it automatically flags any inconsistencies in debtor names, collateral descriptions, etc. Found a subtle LLC vs Inc difference that could have invalidated our lien.

That sounds incredibly useful. I'll definitely check that out before we proceed with the UCC 9610 notices.

Good point. I'll check with our repo company about their insurance limits.

Also confirm the equipment is still there before sending UCC 9610 notices. Equipment has a way of disappearing when borrowers know collection is coming.

Haven't gotten that far yet. What's the difference between public and private sales for UCC purposes?

Public sales (auctions) have more notice requirements but potentially better deficiency claim protection. Private sales are faster but need to be commercially reasonable. For $485k equipment, I'd lean toward auction.

Private sales can work for specialized equipment where you have known buyers. Public auctions are better for general construction equipment since you get more bidders.

That's a choice of law issue. Generally, the law of the state where the UCC-1 is filed governs, but you should send notices to all known locations.

Makes sense. I'll send to both the original state address and the new location.

Our UCC-1 says 'all construction equipment, machinery, and attachments.' That should cover everything, right?

Probably, but I'd verify the specific equipment against your loan docs. Sometimes borrowers add equipment after the original financing, and if it's not covered by after-acquired property clauses, you might not have rights to it.

This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's document checker. Upload your loan agreement and UCC-1, and it flags any gaps in collateral coverage. Saved me from trying to repo equipment we didn't actually have security interest in.

Wow, that's scary. What kind of technical defect?

Debtor name didn't exactly match their legal entity name in the Secretary of State records. Off by one word, but enough to make our security interest unperfected.

This is becoming a huge problem. I've heard horror stories about UCC filings with tiny name variations getting thrown out. Really makes you want to double-check everything with something like Certana.ai before proceeding with any collection actions.