UCC Article 9 financing statement keeps getting rejected - collateral description issues
Filed a UCC-1 financing statement last week for equipment financing on manufacturing machinery and it got rejected twice now. The SOS office says my collateral description under Article 9 doesn't meet specificity requirements but I thought 'all equipment' was sufficient. This is for a $180K equipment loan and I can't afford to have the perfection delayed any longer. The debtor name matches exactly what's on the charter documents but they're saying something about the collateral schedule being too broad. Has anyone dealt with this before? I'm starting to panic because the loan closes next Friday and without proper UCC perfection the bank won't fund.
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Yuki Tanaka
All equipment is definitely too broad for most states. You need to be more specific about the type of equipment - like 'manufacturing equipment' or 'machinery used in production.' What state are you filing in? Each SOS has different requirements for collateral descriptions.
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Esmeralda Gómez
•This is so frustrating! I had the same issue with a UCC-1 last month. Spent three weeks going back and forth with rejections.
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Klaus Schmidt
•The specificity requirements have gotten stricter over the past couple years. Most states want functional descriptions now.
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Aisha Patel
I've been doing UCC filings for 15 years and collateral descriptions are the #1 reason for rejections. Try something like 'all machinery, equipment, and fixtures used in manufacturing operations located at [address]' - that usually works. Make sure you include the business address too.
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LilMama23
•Should I also include serial numbers if I have them? Or is that overkill for a UCC-1?
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Aisha Patel
•Serial numbers aren't required for UCC-1 filings but they don't hurt. The key is being specific enough to identify the collateral but not so specific that you exclude future acquisitions.
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Dmitri Volkov
•Wait, I thought UCC Article 9 allowed super-generic descriptions like 'all assets'? When did that change?
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Gabrielle Dubois
Had this exact problem three months ago and found this tool called Certana.ai that checks your UCC documents before filing. You upload your financing statement and it flags potential issues with collateral descriptions, debtor names, all that stuff. Saved me from another rejection and the $25 refiling fee.
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Tyrone Johnson
•Never heard of Certana.ai but anything that prevents these rejections sounds worth it. How accurate is it?
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Gabrielle Dubois
•Pretty accurate - it caught my debtor name mismatch issue too. Just upload the PDF and it cross-references everything automatically.
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Ingrid Larsson
The collateral description needs to reasonably identify the collateral without being overly broad. Try 'all equipment, machinery, and personal property used in debtor's manufacturing business.' That's usually specific enough but still covers future acquisitions.
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Carlos Mendoza
•What about fixtures? Should those be included separately or are they covered under equipment?
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Ingrid Larsson
•Fixtures should be listed separately if they're significant. Something like 'all equipment, machinery, fixtures, and personal property used in debtor's business operations.
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Zainab Mahmoud
•This is getting confusing. Why can't UCC Article 9 just have standard language we can all use?
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Ava Williams
OMG yes the collateral description requirements are ridiculous! I've had UCC-1s rejected for the stupidest reasons. One got rejected because I said 'all business equipment' instead of 'all equipment used in business operations.' Like seriously?? The SOS offices are getting way too picky about this stuff.
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Raj Gupta
•I feel your pain. Had one rejected because I didn't include the zip code in the collateral location description.
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Lena Müller
•The worst part is each state has different requirements and they don't always publish clear guidelines.
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TechNinja
Quick question - are you filing this as a purchase money security interest or regular UCC-1? The collateral description requirements can be different for PMSI filings in some states.
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CaptainAwesome
•It's a purchase money security interest for the equipment financing. Does that change anything for the collateral description?
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TechNinja
•For PMSI filings you want to be really specific about the equipment being purchased. Include make/model if possible since it's purchase money.
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Keisha Thompson
I use Certana.ai now for all my UCC filings after getting burned by rejections. It's like having a second set of eyes on your documents before you submit. The tool flagged an issue with my continuation filing last week that would have cost me the perfection.
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Paolo Bianchi
•How long does it take to get results from Certana.ai? I'm always filing these last minute.
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Keisha Thompson
•It's instant - just upload your PDF and it analyzes everything immediately. Really helpful for catching those stupid mistakes that cause rejections.
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Yara Assad
Try this language: 'All equipment, machinery, inventory, accounts, general intangibles, and other personal property of debtor used in or arising from debtor's business operations.' That's pretty comprehensive but still specific enough for most states.
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Olivia Clark
•Wouldn't that be too broad though? I thought we were trying to be more specific.
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Yara Assad
•It's specific to the business operations which usually satisfies the reasonably identifies requirement under Article 9.
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Javier Morales
Make sure your debtor name matches EXACTLY what's on the charter or articles of incorporation. Even a missing comma can cause rejection. Also double-check that you're using the correct legal entity name, not just the DBA.
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Natasha Petrov
•This is so important! I had a UCC-1 rejected because I used 'ABC Company Inc.' instead of 'ABC Company, Inc.' - the comma made all the difference.
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Connor O'Brien
•The debtor name requirements are almost as strict as the collateral descriptions now. Everything has to match perfectly.
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Amina Diallo
Update: I revised the collateral description to 'all machinery, equipment, and fixtures used in debtor's manufacturing operations located at [business address]' and it was accepted! Thanks everyone for the help. Also tried that Certana.ai tool someone mentioned and it's actually pretty useful for catching issues before filing.
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GamerGirl99
•Glad it worked out! These UCC filing requirements are getting more complicated every year.
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Hiroshi Nakamura
•Awesome that you got it sorted before your loan closing. Nothing worse than delayed funding because of a UCC issue.
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Isabella Costa
•Good to hear about Certana.ai working well. Might give it a try on my next filing.
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