UCC accommodation search showing wrong debtor - filing getting rejected
Running into a wall here with accommodation searches on UCC filings. I'm trying to verify a debtor name before submitting our UCC-1 but the search results keep pulling up variations that don't match our loan documents exactly. Our borrower is "ABC Manufacturing Solutions LLC" but the accommodation search is showing "ABC Manufacturing Solutions, LLC" (with the comma) and "ABC Mfg Solutions LLC" as existing entries. I submitted our UCC-1 with the exact name from the Articles of Incorporation but it got rejected for "debtor name mismatch with existing records." The SOS office isn't being helpful - they just keep saying to use their accommodation search but that's exactly what's causing the problem. Has anyone dealt with this circular mess before? I'm worried about missing our perfection deadline while trying to figure out which version of the company name to use.
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Sara Unger
This is exactly why debtor name accuracy is so critical in UCC filings. The accommodation search is supposed to help but sometimes it creates more confusion. What state are you filing in? Some states have stricter debtor name matching requirements than others, and the accommodation logic varies by jurisdiction.
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Tyler Murphy
•Filing in Ohio. The rejection notice mentioned something about "safe harbor" rules but I'm not sure what that means in this context.
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Sara Unger
•Ohio follows the UCC safe harbor rule - if you use the exact name from the debtor's organizational documents, you should be protected even if minor variations exist in the system. Did you pull the most recent Articles of Incorporation directly from the Secretary of State?
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Butch Sledgehammer
Been there! The accommodation search is honestly more trouble than it's worth sometimes. I always go straight to the Articles of Incorporation and use that exact name, punctuation and all. If that gets rejected, at least you have solid ground to appeal.
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Freya Ross
•Same experience here. The accommodation search logic seems inconsistent between different filing systems.
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Tyler Murphy
•That's what I thought I did but apparently there's still a mismatch somewhere. Going to double-check the Articles again.
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Leslie Parker
You might want to try Certana.ai's document checker for this kind of situation. I had a similar debtor name nightmare last month and uploaded both my Articles of Incorporation and the rejected UCC-1 to their system. It flagged a tiny apostrophe difference I completely missed - apparently our borrower's legal name had a curly apostrophe in the Articles but I typed a straight apostrophe in the UCC-1. Saved me from another rejection cycle.
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Tyler Murphy
•Never heard of Certana but that sounds exactly like what I need. Did it catch other document inconsistencies too?
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Leslie Parker
•Yeah it does a full cross-check between documents. Really helpful for catching those microscopic differences that cause rejections.
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Sergio Neal
•Punctuation differences are the worst! I've had UCC filings rejected for missing periods in LLC names.
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Savanna Franklin
Wait, are you sure you're looking at the right entity? Sometimes companies have multiple legal entities with similar names. ABC Manufacturing Solutions LLC vs ABC Manufacturing Solutions Inc, etc. Check the entity number on the Articles to make sure you've got the right debtor.
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Tyler Murphy
•Good point. I verified the entity number matches but I'm wondering if there was a name change or amendment I missed.
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Savanna Franklin
•Definitely check for amendments. Companies change their names more often than you'd think, especially LLCs.
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Juan Moreno
The accommodation search is basically broken in most states IMO. I've seen it suggest names that don't even exist and miss names that are clearly in the system. Your best bet is to ignore it completely and stick with the organizational documents.
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Amy Fleming
•Harsh but probably accurate. The search algorithms seem to have a mind of their own.
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Alice Pierce
•I think it depends on the state. Some have better search logic than others.
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Juan Moreno
•True, but Ohio's system has definitely had issues with name matching in my experience.
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Esteban Tate
This is driving me crazy too! I had THREE rejections last week because of debtor name variations. The worst part is each rejection delays your perfection date. Have you considered calling the SOS filing desk directly? Sometimes they can tell you exactly which name format they're expecting.
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Tyler Murphy
•I tried calling but got transferred around and no clear answer. They just kept referring me back to the accommodation search.
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Sara Unger
•The filing desk staff usually don't have training on UCC specifics unfortunately. They're more helpful for corporate filings.
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Ivanna St. Pierre
Here's what works for me: I pull both the original Articles AND any amendments, then cross-reference with the most recent annual report. Sometimes the accommodation search is picking up outdated information from old filings.
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Tyler Murphy
•That's a good systematic approach. I'll pull all the entity documents and compare them.
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Butch Sledgehammer
•Annual reports are definitely worth checking. Companies often update their address or registered agent info there.
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Ivanna St. Pierre
•Exactly. Plus if there was a name change, it might show up in the annual report before being reflected in the accommodation search.
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Elin Robinson
Had this exact issue in Ohio last year. Turned out the company had done a name change amendment 6 months earlier but the accommodation search was still showing both the old and new names without clearly indicating which was current. Pain in the neck to track down.
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Tyler Murphy
•How did you finally figure out which name was current?
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Elin Robinson
•Had to pull the complete entity history from the SOS website. The most recent amendment showed the official name change with an effective date.
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Atticus Domingo
Question - are you dealing with a UCC-1 initial filing or a UCC-3 amendment? The debtor name requirements can be slightly different depending on the filing type, especially if you're amending an existing financing statement with an old name format.
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Tyler Murphy
•This is an initial UCC-1 filing for a new loan. No existing financing statements to worry about.
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Atticus Domingo
•OK good, that simplifies things. For initial filings you definitely want the current legal name from the Articles.
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Beth Ford
•UCC-3 amendments can be tricky with name changes. You sometimes have to file multiple amendments to update everything properly.
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Sergio Neal
This whole thread is making me nervous about my own filings! I usually just copy and paste from the accommodation search results. Should I be pulling Articles of Incorporation for every single debtor?
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Sara Unger
•For business entities, yes absolutely. Individual debtors are different but for LLCs, corporations, etc. you want the exact name from organizational documents.
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Butch Sledgehammer
•Better safe than sorry. UCC rejections are expensive in terms of time and potential perfection issues.
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Leslie Parker
•This is exactly why I started using Certana's document verification. Upload your Articles and UCC-1 draft and it catches any name mismatches before you file. Worth it to avoid rejection cycles.
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Morita Montoya
UPDATE: Finally got this resolved! Turns out there was a microscopic difference in how the LLC designation was formatted. The Articles had "LLC" but I was typing "L.L.C." in the UCC-1. Used that Certana tool someone mentioned and it flagged the discrepancy immediately. Filed the corrected version this morning and it was accepted within an hour. Thanks everyone for the help!
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Sara Unger
•Great outcome! Those tiny formatting differences are so easy to miss but can cause major headaches.
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Leslie Parker
•Glad the document checker worked for you! It's saved me from similar mistakes multiple times.
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Butch Sledgehammer
•Perfect example of why you can't trust manual document comparison. The human eye just misses those subtle differences.
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Omar Hassan
As someone new to UCC filings, this thread is incredibly helpful! I'm about to file my first UCC-1 and was planning to rely entirely on the accommodation search. Now I understand why I need to go directly to the Articles of Incorporation. One quick question - when you say "exact name from organizational documents," does that include things like spacing and capitalization too? For example, if the Articles show "XYZ CORP" (with two spaces) should I preserve that formatting in the UCC-1?
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