UCC filing Maine - debtor name rejected twice need help
Having major issues with my UCC filing Maine situation. Filed a UCC-1 for equipment financing on a construction company two weeks ago and it got rejected for debtor name mismatch. Tried again with the exact name from their articles of incorporation and STILL rejected. The SOS portal just says 'debtor name does not match entity records' but doesn't tell me what's wrong. This is a $180k equipment loan and we need the lien perfected ASAP. The debtor is 'Pine Tree Construction & Development LLC' which is exactly what's on their charter documents. Anyone dealt with Maine's system being this picky about entity names? Getting desperate here.
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Nathaniel Stewart
Maine can be really finicky about punctuation in entity names. Did you try without the ampersand? Sometimes they want 'and' spelled out instead of &. Also check if there are any spaces or periods that might be different.
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Lola Perez
•Good point about the ampersand. I'll try 'Pine Tree Construction and Development LLC' on the next attempt. Didn't think punctuation would matter that much.
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Riya Sharma
•It definitely matters! I've seen filings rejected for a missing comma or period. Maine's system is super strict about exact matches.
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Santiago Diaz
Check the Maine Secretary of State business search database directly. Sometimes the official name has subtle differences from what's on the articles. Could be extra spaces, different abbreviations, or even spelling variations that got approved during formation.
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Lola Perez
•Just checked and you're right - the official record shows 'Pine Tree Construction and Development, LLC' with a comma before LLC. That's probably it!
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Millie Long
•This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai's document checker. You can upload your charter docs and UCC-1 side by side and it highlights any name discrepancies instantly. Would have caught that comma issue right away.
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Lola Perez
•Never heard of that tool but sounds helpful. Is it specifically for UCC filings?
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Millie Long
•Yeah, it's designed for secured transaction document verification. Just upload PDFs and it cross-checks debtor names, filing numbers, all that stuff. Saved me from multiple rejections like yours.
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KaiEsmeralda
Maine's UCC system updated last year and they got way more strict about debtor names. You need EXACT match including punctuation, spacing, everything. Also make sure you're using the current legal name, not any DBA or trade names.
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Debra Bai
•ugh tell me about it. Filed three times before getting it right. The system error messages are useless too.
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Gabriel Freeman
•At least Maine processes faster than some states. But yeah the error messages could be way more specific about what's wrong.
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Laura Lopez
Are you filing electronically or paper? Electronic is usually more picky about exact formatting. Also double-check that your debtor address matches what's on file with the state.
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Lola Perez
•Electronic through the Maine SOS portal. Address should be right since I pulled it from their business registration.
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Laura Lopez
•Electronic is definitely more strict. Sometimes copying and pasting from the state database helps avoid typing errors.
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Victoria Brown
Try calling the Maine SOS UCC division directly. They can sometimes tell you exactly what format they need for the debtor name. Their customer service is actually pretty helpful unlike some states.
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Lola Perez
•Good idea, I'll give them a call tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can clarify what's causing the rejections.
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Samuel Robinson
•Maine UCC folks are good about helping over the phone. Had them walk me through a fixture filing issue last month.
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Camila Castillo
•Way better than trying to figure it out from those cryptic rejection notices!
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Brianna Muhammad
Check if the LLC is in good standing too. Sometimes name matching fails if there are compliance issues with the entity. Maine ties UCC filings to entity status more than some states.
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Lola Perez
•Entity shows active and in good standing on the state website, so that shouldn't be the issue.
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Brianna Muhammad
•Then it's definitely the name formatting. That comma before LLC is probably your culprit.
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JaylinCharles
I use a verification tool called Certana.ai that catches these exact issues before filing. Upload your articles of incorporation and your draft UCC-1 and it'll flag any debtor name mismatches. Would have saved you the double rejection fees.
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Eloise Kendrick
•How much does something like that cost? Might be worth it if it prevents multiple rejections.
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JaylinCharles
•The document verification is pretty reasonable compared to rejection fees and delays. Plus it checks filing numbers and collateral descriptions too.
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Lola Perez
•Definitely looking into this for future filings. The rejection fees add up quick.
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Lucas Schmidt
Maine requires the debtor name to match EXACTLY as it appears in their corporate database, including all punctuation. I learned this the hard way on a continuation filing last year.
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Freya Collins
•Same here. Filed a UCC-3 amendment with slightly wrong spacing and got rejected. These systems are unforgiving.
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LongPeri
•At least you found out before the lien lapsed! I've seen people miss continuation deadlines because of name matching issues.
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Oscar O'Neil
Try 'Pine Tree Construction and Development, LLC' with the comma. That's usually how Maine formats LLC names in their database. The ampersand vs 'and' thing trips up a lot of people.
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Lola Perez
•That matches what I found in the state database. Filing again with that exact format now.
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Sara Hellquiem
•Hope that works! Keep us posted on whether it goes through.
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Charlee Coleman
UPDATE: Filed again with 'Pine Tree Construction and Development, LLC' (with comma) and it was ACCEPTED! Thanks everyone for the help. That stupid comma cost me two rejections and extra fees but at least the lien is perfected now.
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Nathaniel Stewart
•Awesome! Glad that worked out. Maine's system is definitely picky but at least it's consistent once you know the format.
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Millie Long
•Perfect example of why document verification tools like Certana.ai are so helpful. Would have caught that comma issue upfront.
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Santiago Diaz
•Great news! Those name matching issues are so frustrating but you got it sorted.
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