UCC continuation filing rejected by secretary of state - debtor name mismatch issues
Need urgent help with a UCC continuation that got rejected yesterday. We're 6 months out from the 5-year lapse date on a $2.8M equipment loan, and the filing came back with 'debtor name does not match original UCC-1'. The borrower changed their legal name last year from 'Pacific Coast Manufacturing LLC' to 'Pacific Coast Manufacturing & Distribution LLC' but we filed an amendment (UCC-3) for the name change back in March. Now they're saying our continuation references the old name somehow? This makes no sense because I pulled the original UCC-1 and the amendment from the system before preparing the continuation. Has anyone dealt with this kind of circular rejection before? The loan docs specifically require continuous perfection and we can't afford to let this lapse. What am I missing here?
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Lucas Schmidt
This is frustrating but I've seen it before. When you filed the UCC-3 amendment for the name change, did you check that it actually got indexed correctly in the system? Sometimes the amendment gets accepted but doesn't properly update the master record. Pull a fresh UCC search on both the old and new names to see what's actually showing up in the index.
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Eloise Kendrick
•Just ran searches on both names. The original UCC-1 still shows under the old name, and the UCC-3 amendment shows as a separate record. Looks like they're not linked properly in the system somehow.
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Lucas Schmidt
•That's your problem right there. The continuation needs to reference the exact debtor name as it appears on the current effective record. If the amendment didn't properly update the master UCC-1, you might need to file the continuation using the original name.
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Freya Collins
Oh man, I had almost the exact same thing happen with a client last month! The secretary of state systems can be really finicky about how name changes get processed. What you probably need to do is file a corrective UCC-3 to fix the continuation, but make sure you reference the filing number from the original UCC-1, not the amendment.
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Eloise Kendrick
•Wait, so I should file a correction to the continuation that already got rejected? How does that work exactly?
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Freya Collins
•Yeah, you can file a UCC-3 correction to fix the rejected continuation. Use the original UCC-1 filing number and make sure the debtor name matches exactly what's on that record. The correction should reference your rejected continuation filing number in the additional info section.
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LongPeri
•Actually, I think you might want to just start over with a fresh continuation instead of trying to correct a rejected one. Less messy and clearer paper trail.
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Oscar O'Neil
This kind of document inconsistency nightmare is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's UCC verification tool. You just upload your UCC-1 and any amendments as PDFs, and it instantly cross-checks all the debtor names, filing numbers, and document details to catch mismatches before you file. Would have caught this name indexing issue immediately.
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Eloise Kendrick
•Never heard of that service. Does it actually connect to the secretary of state systems or just compare your documents?
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Oscar O'Neil
•It analyzes the documents you upload - so if you pull your current UCC search results and your draft continuation, it'll flag any inconsistencies between them. Super quick way to verify everything aligns before submitting.
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Sara Hellquiem
BEEN THERE. The indexing system is garbage and half the time amendments don't properly link to the original filings. I've had continuations rejected for the stupidest reasons - wrong punctuation in the debtor name, extra spaces, you name it. The whole system needs an overhaul.
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Charlee Coleman
•Totally agree, the system is so picky about exact name matches. Even a missing comma can cause rejections.
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Liv Park
•At least your state gives you decent rejection reasons. Some states just say 'filing rejected' with no explanation.
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Leeann Blackstein
Quick question - when you say you're 6 months out from lapse, that's plenty of time. You can file a continuation up to 6 months before the 5-year expiration. Why not just refile with the correct debtor name formatting?
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Eloise Kendrick
•That's what I'm planning to do, but I want to make sure I get the name exactly right this time. The loan agreement has strict language about maintaining perfection.
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Leeann Blackstein
•Smart approach. Pull the most recent UCC search and use whatever debtor name format appears there, character for character.
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Ryder Greene
Ugh, name change amendments are the worst. Half the time the UCC-3 gets filed but doesn't actually update the searchable record properly. It's like the amendment exists in limbo.
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Eloise Kendrick
•That seems to be exactly what happened here. The amendment shows up in searches but didn't update the master record.
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Carmella Fromis
•I've seen this with entity mergers too - the amendment gets accepted but the original filing never gets updated to reflect the new entity name.
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Theodore Nelson
Pro tip: always do a test search after filing any UCC-3 amendment to make sure it actually updated the record properly. Don't assume acceptance means it worked correctly in the system.
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Eloise Kendrick
•Definitely learned that lesson the hard way. Should have verified the amendment took effect properly.
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Theodore Nelson
•We all learn it eventually. The filing systems aren't as automated as they seem - lots of manual processing still happens behind the scenes.
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AaliyahAli
•This is why I always wait at least 2-3 business days after an amendment before filing any follow-up documents. Gives the indexing time to catch up.
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Ellie Simpson
Just curious - did the rejection notice give you a specific error code or just a generic message? Sometimes the error codes help pinpoint exactly what field is causing the mismatch.
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Eloise Kendrick
•The rejection just said 'debtor name does not match original UCC-1 record' with no specific code. Pretty generic unfortunately.
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Ellie Simpson
•Typical. They could make troubleshooting so much easier with better error messages.
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Arjun Kurti
I had a similar situation last year and ended up calling the UCC division directly. They were actually pretty helpful in explaining exactly what name format they had on file versus what I was submitting. Might be worth a phone call before refiling.
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Eloise Kendrick
•Good idea. I'll try calling them tomorrow morning to get clarification on the exact name format they have indexed.
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Arjun Kurti
•They're usually busiest mid-morning, so try calling right when they open or later in the afternoon.
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Raúl Mora
Before you refile anything, I'd suggest running all your documents through a verification check. I started using Certana.ai after a similar debtor name disaster and it's saved me multiple times. You just upload your UCC-1, the amendment, and your draft continuation as PDFs and it flags any inconsistencies immediately. Would have caught this indexing issue before you filed.
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Eloise Kendrick
•That sounds really useful. Does it work with documents from different time periods or just current filings?
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Raúl Mora
•Works with any UCC documents you upload. Really helpful for catching those subtle name differences that cause rejections.
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