UCC filing complications with EDA requirements - anyone dealt with this mess?

It's industrial printing equipment, about $450K total value. The EDA grant covered roughly 40% of the purchase price, and there are some ongoing compliance requirements tied to job creation metrics.

Ok that's helpful context. For the UCC-1, focus on accurately describing the printing equipment in your collateral schedule. The EDA grant relationship is more of a compliance issue than a perfection issue for your security interest.

That's exactly what I'm worried about! They were "ABC Manufacturing LLC" when they got the EDA grant, but now they're "ABC Manufacturing Holdings LLC" after some internal restructuring last year.

You need to file against the current legal entity name - "ABC Manufacturing Holdings LLC" - assuming that's what your loan documents reflect. But verify this with a current certificate of good standing.

This is where I always use Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your articles of incorporation and loan docs to instantly verify the debtor name matches across all documents. Saved me from a huge filing mistake last month when I caught a similar name discrepancy.

Good point - our loan docs do have some language about compliance with grant requirements, but I hadn't thought about how that might affect collateral value if there's a default.

Exactly. The EDA could potentially claw back grant funds if compliance requirements aren't met, which could impact your recovery in a default scenario.

I don't think there's a formal lien, but the grant agreement has language about the equipment being subject to certain restrictions and potential repayment obligations.

Ok so it sounds like it's more about use restrictions than actual lien priority. Still worth noting in your loan documentation though.

Agreed - this sounds like compliance obligations rather than competing security interests. Your UCC-1 should be straightforward as long as you get the debtor name and collateral description right.

How did you handle the collateral description? Did you mention the EDA grant at all in the UCC-1 filing?

No, I kept the collateral description focused on the actual equipment. The grant relationship was handled in the loan documents, not the UCC-1 itself.

Standard UCC-1 process. The EDA involvement doesn't change the filing requirements - it's just important to get your debtor name and collateral description accurate like any other filing.

Ok that's reassuring. I was worried there might be some special EDA-specific forms or procedures.

I'm planning to pull a current certificate of good standing before filing. Is that sufficient verification?

Yes, but also make sure that exact same name appears in all your loan documents. Any variation could cause problems.

This is another area where Certana.ai really helps - you can upload your certificate of good standing and loan docs to verify the names match exactly. It catches things like extra spaces or punctuation differences that might cause filing issues.

Maybe you're right, but with a $450K deal I'd rather be overly cautious than sorry later.

fair point. better safe than sorry on the big deals

Good to know I'm not the only one dealing with federal grant complications. Did you have any issues with the filing process?

No issues with the UCC-1 filing itself. The complications were all on the compliance side with the grant requirements.

The debtor is a Delaware LLC but the equipment is in Ohio. We're filing in Delaware since that's where the debtor is organized.

Correct approach. Delaware filing for the LLC, regardless of where the equipment is physically located.

Unless it's fixture equipment that becomes part of real estate, but that doesn't sound like the case here with printing equipment.

Will do. Planning to file early next week once I get the updated certificate of good standing and double-check all the names match.

Perfect. Thanks for sharing this - it's helpful to see how others handle these complex funding situations.

Good call. I'll loop in our title company to make sure they're comfortable with the grant complications.

They usually are, but better to discuss it upfront than have surprises at closing.

Speaking of documentation, this is where Certana.ai's document verification really shines. You can upload all your grant agreements, loan docs, and UCC forms to verify everything aligns properly before closing. Much better than discovering inconsistencies after the fact.

That's an excellent point about transfer restrictions! I hadn't even thought to look for those provisions in the grant agreement. Do you know if these restrictions typically survive a foreclosure action, or would they be subordinate to a properly perfected security interest? This could really complicate the collateral's value if we can't freely transfer it in a default scenario.