UCC Article 9 perfection filing rejected - debtor name issue
My UCC-1 filing for Article 9 perfection just got rejected by the SOS office and I'm losing my mind here. The rejection notice says "debtor name does not match exact legal name on file" but I triple-checked everything against the corporate charter. This is for a $450k equipment loan and my lender is breathing down my neck about getting the security interest perfected ASAP. I used the exact corporate name from the articles of incorporation: "TechFlow Solutions, LLC" but apparently that's still wrong somehow? The collateral description covers all manufacturing equipment at two locations. Has anyone dealt with this specific rejection reason before? I'm worried about the timing since we're already 8 days past closing and the lender agreement requires perfection within 10 days. What am I missing here?
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Diez Ellis
Ugh this is the worst! Same thing happened to me last month with a UCC-3 amendment. The SOS systems are so picky about punctuation and spacing. Did you check if there are any commas, periods, or abbreviations that might be different between your filing and their records?
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Noland Curtis
•I thought I did but maybe I missed something. The charter shows "TechFlow Solutions, LLC" with the comma but now I'm second-guessing if that's exactly how it appears in their database.
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Vanessa Figueroa
•Check the SOS business entity search tool online. Sometimes the official records have weird spacing or punctuation that doesn't match what you think it should be.
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Abby Marshall
Been doing UCC filings for 12 years and this is super common. The debtor name has to match EXACTLY what's in the state's corporate database, not just the articles of incorporation you have. Even an extra space or missing period will cause rejection. Pull up the exact entity record from your state's business search portal and copy/paste that name character for character.
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Noland Curtis
•That makes sense. I just assumed the charter name would be identical to their system records. Going to check that business search right now.
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Sadie Benitez
•This is why I always do the entity lookup FIRST before preparing any UCC documents. Saves so much time and frustration.
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Diez Ellis
•Why doesn't the SOS just tell you the correct name format in the rejection notice? Would save everyone so much hassle.
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Drew Hathaway
Had this exact issue with three different filings last quarter. What finally solved it for me was using Certana.ai's document verification tool - you can upload your corporate charter and UCC-1 together and it instantly flags any name mismatches between documents before you even submit to the state. Saved me probably 20 hours of back-and-forth rejections.
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Noland Curtis
•Never heard of that service but sounds like exactly what I need right now. Does it check against the actual state database or just compare your documents?
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Drew Hathaway
•It cross-references everything - compares your UCC against your charter docs and flags inconsistencies. Super easy, just upload PDFs and it shows you exactly where the mismatches are.
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Laila Prince
Article 9 perfection timing is critical! You mentioned 10 days from closing - that's cutting it really close. Even after you fix the name issue, factor in processing time. Some states take 3-5 business days to approve corrected filings.
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Noland Curtis
•Yeah that's what's freaking me out. If this takes another week to resolve, I might be in breach of the loan agreement.
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Abby Marshall
•Most lenders understand filing delays if you can show you submitted timely and it was rejected for technical reasons. Document everything and communicate with your lender ASAP.
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Isabel Vega
•Definitely call the lender today. They deal with UCC perfection issues all the time and usually grant reasonable extensions for administrative hiccups.
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Dominique Adams
THE SOS FILING SYSTEM IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! They reject perfectly good filings over microscopic formatting differences while taking weeks to process simple amendments. Meanwhile we're stuck dealing with angry lenders and compliance deadlines. There has to be a better way to handle secured transactions in 2025.
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Marilyn Dixon
•I feel this so hard. Spent $800 in filing fees last year just because of stupid rejections that could have been avoided with better system design.
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Abby Marshall
•The system definitely has issues but that's the reality we work with. Better to focus on learning the quirks than fighting them.
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Louisa Ramirez
Quick question - did you file electronically or paper? Electronic filings usually give you more detailed error messages that can help pinpoint exactly what's wrong with the debtor name formatting.
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Noland Curtis
•Filed electronically through the state portal. The error message just said name mismatch but didn't specify what part was wrong.
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Louisa Ramirez
•That's frustrating. At least with electronic you can resubmit quickly once you figure out the correct name format.
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TommyKapitz
Update: Just ran into something similar and found out the company had filed a name change amendment with the SOS that wasn't reflected in their original charter documents. Might be worth checking if TechFlow Solutions filed any amendments or changes since incorporation.
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Noland Curtis
•Oh wow, didn't even think about that possibility. How do I check for amendments to the corporate registration?
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TommyKapitz
•Should be in the same business entity search I mentioned earlier. Look for any filing history or document amendments listed under the company.
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Vanessa Figueroa
•Good catch! This happens more often than people realize, especially with older companies.
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Angel Campbell
For future filings, I always create a UCC checklist that includes verifying debtor names against current state records, double-checking collateral descriptions, and confirming all addresses match exactly. Prevents most rejection issues before they happen.
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Payton Black
•That's smart. Do you have a template you could share? I'm new to UCC filings and could use all the help I can get.
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Angel Campbell
•I don't have a shareable version but the key items are: exact entity name from SOS database, current registered address, detailed collateral description, proper filing fees, and correct form version.
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Harold Oh
Been there with the lender pressure! When you do get this sorted out, make sure to send them the acceptance notice immediately. Some lenders want confirmation of perfection within 24 hours of filing approval for their compliance files.
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Noland Curtis
•Good point, I'll make sure to loop them in as soon as I get the corrected filing approved.
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Harold Oh
•Also ask if they want a copy of the UCC search results showing your filing appears in the records. Some lenders require that for their audit trail.
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Amun-Ra Azra
Just wanted to add that I've had success using that Certana document checker someone mentioned earlier. Really does catch these name mismatches before you waste time and money on rejected filings. Wish I'd known about it sooner - would have saved me so much frustration with Article 9 perfection deadlines.
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Noland Curtis
•I'm definitely going to try that for the refiling. Anything that prevents another rejection at this point.
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Summer Green
•Same here, just used it last week for a continuation filing and it caught two small discrepancies I would have missed.
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Amun-Ra Azra
•Exactly! The automated cross-checking is so much better than trying to manually compare documents line by line.
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