UCC business search showing confusing results - need help interpreting debtor name variations

Absolutely agree on searching variations. Also check if the company has done any name changes or restructuring over the years - that could explain some of the different formats.

Wait, so the comma placement actually matters in UCC searches? I thought the system would catch obvious variations like that automatically.

This sounds incredibly tedious. Isn't there a way to do wildcard searches or something to catch all the variations at once?

Some states allow partial matching but it's not reliable enough for due diligence work. You really need to be thorough with individual searches.

I learned this the hard way when I missed a lien because of a single comma difference. Now I'm paranoid about every punctuation mark.

That sounds promising. Does it work with documents from different states? Some of these filings are in neighboring states where the company has operations.

Yes, it handles multi-state filings. Just upload all the documents and it shows you any inconsistencies across the whole set.

Good point about DBAs. Also worth checking if they've had any subsidiary relationships that might show up in the filings.

UGH yes! I spent three days last month trying to track down all the name variations for a target company. The system is so antiquated.

It's gotten better with electronic filing but the legacy issues with older filings still create problems.

Good suggestion. Some of the filings do include what looks like state registration numbers but they're not always consistent either.

The org ID approach works sometimes but not all lenders include that information in their filings unfortunately.

This is crucial advice. I've seen cases where liens showed as terminated in the search results but the actual termination paperwork had errors.

How do I get copies of the termination statements? Is that through the same search system?

Usually yes, but some states charge additional fees for document copies. Worth the cost for due diligence though.

Professional services are expensive though. For smaller deals it might not be cost-effective.

Depends on the deal size but missing a major lien could cost way more than the search fee.

How accurate is the automated checking? I'm always worried about missing something important.

It's been very reliable in my experience. Shows you exactly what doesn't match and why, so you can investigate further.

Good point. A couple of the active filings are from 2019 so they'd be coming up on the 5-year mark soon.

Yeah, if they lapse before your deal closes, that could change the whole security position.

Exactly. Worth flagging for the lenders involved in your acquisition financing too.

The company does have some manufacturing equipment that might be fixtures. How would I identify those in the search results?

Look for filings that mention real estate records or have different filing locations. Fixture filings are often dual-filed.

That sounds like exactly what I need. Thanks for the recommendation - I'll give it a try.

Glad to see tools like this becoming available. The manual process is so error-prone.