UCC continuation filing rejected - debtor name mismatch nightmare
I'm dealing with a UCC continuation nightmare right now. Filed my UCC-3 continuation statement last week and it got rejected for "debtor name inconsistency." The original UCC-1 from 2020 has the debtor listed as "Mountain Peak Equipment LLC" but apparently their articles of incorporation show "Mountain Peak Equipment, LLC" with the comma. This is a $340K equipment loan and the continuation deadline is in 3 weeks. I've been going back and forth with the filing office but they're insisting the names have to match exactly. Has anyone dealt with this type of debtor name mismatch issue? I'm worried about losing perfection on this lien if I can't get this sorted out quickly. The borrower is being completely unhelpful and claims they "don't remember" if there was a comma in their original formation documents.
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Sophie Footman
Oh man, this is exactly why I triple-check every single character in debtor names now. Had something similar happen with a hyphen vs no hyphen situation. The filing offices are getting super strict about exact matches. You might need to do an amendment to correct the debtor name first, then file the continuation. It's a pain but better than losing your perfection.
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Connor Rupert
•Wait, can you even amend a debtor name on a continuation? I thought you had to do a separate UCC-3 amendment first.
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Sophie Footman
•Yeah that's what I meant - file the amendment to fix the name, then file the continuation. Two separate filings but you gotta do what you gotta do.
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Molly Hansen
This exact thing happened to me last month! Spent days pulling my hair out over a period vs comma difference. What saved me was using Certana.ai's document checker - I uploaded the original UCC-1 and the articles of incorporation and it instantly flagged the discrepancy. Would have caught this before filing if I'd used it from the start. You can upload your Charter→UCC-1 docs and it'll show you exactly where the name inconsistencies are.
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Daniel Rivera
•Never heard of Certana.ai before but that sounds exactly like what I need right now. Does it work with continuation filings too?
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Molly Hansen
•Yeah you can do UCC-3→UCC-1 checks to make sure everything aligns before you file. Wish I'd known about it sooner, would've saved me so much stress.
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Brady Clean
•Interesting, I'll have to check that out. Always doing manual comparisons and missing stuff like this.
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Skylar Neal
THE FILING SYSTEM IS COMPLETELY BROKEN!!! I've had THREE rejections this month for the most ridiculous tiny differences. A space here, a comma there, and suddenly your $500K lien is at risk. The clerks act like robots who can't use any common sense. It's the same company, obviously the same debtor, but nooooo... has to be EXACTLY the same or rejection city.
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Vincent Bimbach
•I feel your pain but they're actually required to be strict about this stuff. The UCC search logic depends on exact matches.
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Skylar Neal
•I get WHY they do it but come on, some flexibility for obvious situations would be nice.
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Kelsey Chin
•Been there with the frustration. The system doesn't leave room for human judgment unfortunately.
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Norah Quay
Here's what you need to do: Pull the current articles of incorporation from the Secretary of State database ASAP. That's going to show you the official name. If there's a discrepancy, you'll need to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name on the original filing first. Once that's accepted, THEN file your continuation. Yes it's extra work and fees but you can't mess around with a lien this size.
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Daniel Rivera
•Thanks, that makes sense. Do I need to wait for the amendment to be fully processed before filing the continuation?
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Norah Quay
•I'd wait for confirmation that the amendment was accepted, just to be safe. Don't want another rejection on the continuation.
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Leo McDonald
Had this happen with an entity that changed their name slightly after formation. Turned into a whole research project tracking down the exact legal name at the time of the original UCC filing. Sometimes you gotta go back to the formation documents from that specific year.
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Jessica Nolan
•That's a good point about the timing. The debtor name should match what it was when the UCC-1 was originally filed, not necessarily what it is now.
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Leo McDonald
•Exactly! Though if they've since amended their articles, you might want to update to the current legal name anyway.
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Angelina Farar
•This is getting confusing. So which name should match - original filing date or current legal name?
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Sebastián Stevens
I use certana's verification tool for every filing now after getting burned on something similar. Upload your docs and it catches these name issues instantly. Would've saved you this headache if you'd run it before filing the continuation.
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Bethany Groves
•Is it expensive to use? Might be worth it to avoid these problems.
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Sebastián Stevens
•Way cheaper than the cost of losing lien perfection or having to fix rejected filings. Just upload your PDFs and it does the cross-checking automatically.
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KingKongZilla
This is why I always pull fresh articles of incorporation before doing any UCC work, even if I think I know the name. State databases get updated and sometimes there are formation amendments you don't know about.
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Rebecca Johnston
•Good practice. I've started doing the same after a few close calls.
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Nathan Dell
•How often do companies actually amend their articles just for punctuation changes though?
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KingKongZilla
•More often than you'd think, especially when they're dealing with banking relationships or regulatory issues.
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Maya Jackson
Whatever you do, don't let that continuation deadline pass. Even if you have to file an amendment and continuation on the same day, get something in before the five-year mark. Losing perfection on a $340K loan is not worth the risk.
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Daniel Rivera
•Definitely won't let it lapse. Just trying to figure out the cleanest way to fix this mess.
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Tristan Carpenter
•Agreed, keep that lien alive no matter what. The paperwork headaches are nothing compared to an unperfected security interest.
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Amaya Watson
I've been doing UCC filings for 15 years and the name matching requirements have gotten so much stricter. Used to be you could get away with minor variations but not anymore. The electronic systems are unforgiving.
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Grant Vikers
•Technology making things more precise but also more frustrating when you make a small mistake.
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Amaya Watson
•Exactly. The old paper system had human review that could catch obvious errors. Now it's all automated matching.
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Giovanni Martello
•I actually prefer the strict matching. Eliminates ambiguity in lien searches.
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Savannah Weiner
Check if your state has any guidance on entity name variations. Some states publish lists of acceptable abbreviations (LLC vs L.L.C. vs Limited Liability Company) but punctuation differences usually aren't covered.
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Daniel Rivera
•I'll look into that. Haven't seen any guidance specifically about comma usage in entity names.
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Levi Parker
•The UCC guidance usually says to use the exact name from the formation documents, punctuation and all.
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