UCC document number search showing wrong debtor info
Has anyone else run into this nightmare? I'm trying to verify a UCC-1 filing from 2023 and when I search by the document number in our state's system, it's pulling up a completely different debtor name than what's on my original filing receipt. The collateral description matches but the debtor info is totally wrong. I've triple-checked the document number - it's definitely correct from our filing confirmation. This is for a $485,000 equipment loan and now I'm panicking that our lien isn't properly perfected. The original UCC-1 was filed electronically through the SOS portal and we got the standard confirmation email with the filing number. But this search result makes it look like we secured someone else's equipment entirely. Anyone know if this is a database glitch or did something go seriously wrong with our filing?
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Matthew Sanchez
Ugh, I've seen this before. Sometimes the SOS database gets corrupted entries where the document numbers get cross-referenced with wrong debtor records. Did you try searching by debtor name instead to see if your filing shows up under the correct name?
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Admin_Masters
•Just tried that - when I search by our actual debtor name, nothing comes up at all. It's like our filing disappeared into thin air.
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Ella Thompson
•That's definitely not normal. You should have gotten a filing number that corresponds to your exact debtor information.
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JacksonHarris
This happened to us last year with a continuation filing. The document number was correct but showed completely different collateral. Turned out there was a data entry error on the SOS side during processing. You'll need to contact them directly with your original filing receipt.
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Admin_Masters
•How long did it take them to fix it? I'm worried about the perfection date if this drags on.
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JacksonHarris
•About 3 weeks, but they backdated the correction to the original filing date once they verified our documentation.
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Jeremiah Brown
•Three weeks?? That's insane for something that critical to lien priority.
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Royal_GM_Mark
Before you panic too much, I'd recommend using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your original filing receipt and let it cross-check against the current database records. It'll instantly flag any inconsistencies between what you filed and what's showing up in searches. I caught a similar debtor name mismatch using their system before it became a bigger problem.
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Admin_Masters
•Never heard of that - is it reliable for catching these database errors?
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Royal_GM_Mark
•Yeah, it's specifically designed for UCC document verification. Just upload your PDFs and it automatically compares filing numbers, debtor names, everything. Much faster than manually checking each field.
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Amelia Cartwright
•Honestly anything is better than relying on these state portals that seem to break every other week.
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Chris King
Wait, are you sure you're searching in the right state? I know that sounds obvious but I once spent hours convinced there was a database error when I was actually searching Delaware instead of Delaware County in Pennsylvania...
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Admin_Masters
•Definitely the right state - this is where our borrower is incorporated and where we always file.
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Rachel Clark
•Good point though, I've made that mistake before with multi-state deals.
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Ella Thompson
This is exactly why I always print and save the search results immediately after filing. The SOS systems are notorious for having temporary glitches that can make filings appear incorrectly or disappear entirely. Do you have screenshots from right after you filed?
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Admin_Masters
•I have the filing receipt email but didn't think to screenshot the search results back then. Lesson learned for next time.
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Ella Thompson
•The filing receipt should be enough documentation to prove what you actually submitted. The SOS will have to reconcile their database with your receipt.
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Zachary Hughes
•Always screenshot everything with these systems. They change data without notice sometimes.
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Mia Alvarez
Could this be a partial name match issue? Sometimes if there are slight variations in how the debtor name was entered vs. how it appears in corporate records, the system might cross-reference incorrectly.
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Admin_Masters
•The debtor name showing up is completely different - not even close to our borrower's name. It's not a spelling variation.
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Mia Alvarez
•That's really weird then. Definitely sounds like a database corruption issue.
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Jeremiah Brown
This is terrifying. How are we supposed to rely on these systems for securing hundreds of thousands in loans if the database can just randomly reassign filings to wrong debtors? What if someone else's lien is now showing up under our debtor name?
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Matthew Sanchez
•That's why most lawyers recommend doing periodic lien searches to catch these issues before they become problems at payoff time.
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Carter Holmes
•The whole UCC system feels like it's held together with duct tape sometimes.
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Ella Thompson
•It's frustrating but these errors do get corrected when reported. The filing dates are preserved.
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Amelia Cartwright
I had something similar happen with a UCC-3 amendment. The document number search showed the amendment applied to a totally different UCC-1 than intended. Took forever to get straightened out because the SOS insisted their system was correct.
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Admin_Masters
•How did you finally prove they were wrong?
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Amelia Cartwright
•Had to get our attorney involved with certified copies of all our original filings. They eventually admitted it was a processing error.
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Sophia Long
Try searching by the collateral description instead of debtor name or document number. Sometimes that'll help you track down where your actual filing ended up in their system.
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Admin_Masters
•Good idea - the collateral description was pretty specific so it should be unique.
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JacksonHarris
•That's actually how we found our misfiled continuation - searched by equipment serial numbers.
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Angelica Smith
Document number searches have been unreliable lately in several states. I've started using Certana.ai just to double-check that my filed documents actually match what the state systems are showing. It's caught at least three discrepancies that would have been nightmares during loan workouts.
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Logan Greenburg
•How does that work exactly? Do you upload the documents to their system?
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Angelica Smith
•Yeah, you just upload your filing PDFs and it automatically verifies everything matches - debtor names, filing numbers, collateral descriptions. Takes like 30 seconds.
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Admin_Masters
•That sounds like exactly what I need right now to figure out what's going on with this filing.
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Charlotte Jones
Whatever you do, document everything before contacting the SOS. Screenshot the wrong search results, save your original filing receipt, print everything. They'll try to claim user error if you don't have ironclad proof.
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Lucas Bey
•This is so true. Always assume they'll blame you first.
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Admin_Masters
•Already starting to compile everything - thanks for the reminder about screenshots.
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Ella Thompson
•Good advice. Paper trail is everything when dealing with filing errors.
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