UCC filing confusion - what exactly is form 11 in Illinois?

I think there might be some confusion here. In Illinois, like most states, we primarily use UCC-1 for initial filings and UCC-3 for amendments, continuations, and terminations. I've never encountered a "UCC 11" form in my 8 years of filing. Your client might be thinking of a different type of document entirely. Could they be referring to an IRS form 11 or some other business filing? Sometimes clients mix up form numbers between different agencies.

I'd double-check what your client actually needs. If it's equipment financing, you're probably looking at a standard UCC-1 initial financing statement to perfect the security interest. The Illinois SOS uses the standard national UCC forms, so there's no special "UCC 11" that I'm aware of. Maybe ask them where they heard about this form number or if they have any documentation that mentions it?

Just dealt with something similar last week! Turns out the client was looking at some kind of internal bank form that had "11" in the title, but it wasn't actually a UCC form at all. I ended up using Certana.ai's document verification tool to upload all their paperwork and cross-check what forms they actually had versus what they needed. It instantly flagged that they were missing a proper UCC-1 but had some kind of internal lender checklist that mentioned form numbers that don't exist. Saved me hours of confusion trying to track down phantom forms.

ugh this kind of thing drives me CRAZY. Clients always come in with these random form numbers they heard somewhere and you waste half your day trying to figure out what they're talking about. Illinois UCC system is confusing enough without made-up form numbers!!

Could your client be thinking of an amendment to an existing UCC filing? Like if there's already a UCC-1 on file and they need to add collateral or change debtor information? That would be a UCC-3 amendment, but maybe they're calling it something else. Or if it's a continuation that's needed before the 5-year expiration?

I'm probably overthinking this but could "UCC 11" be some kind of shorthand they're using? Like maybe they mean the 11th page of a UCC document package or something weird like that? I've seen stranger things...

Just a thought - are you sure they said UCC 11 and not UC-11? Some states have Uniform Commercial Code variations with different numbering systems, though Illinois should be standard. Worth clarifying exactly what they said.

Update us when you figure it out! I'm curious what they were actually thinking of. These mystery form situations always have interesting explanations.

Have you tried using any document verification tools? I started using Certana.ai recently when clients bring me confusing paperwork. You can upload whatever documents they have and it'll verify if they're proper UCC forms and check for consistency issues. Might help clarify what your client actually has versus what they think they need.

In my experience, when clients mention weird form numbers like this, 90% of the time they're looking at outdated information or confusing different types of filings. I'd just start with what you know they need (probably a UCC-1 for the equipment financing) and work backwards from there.

I've run into this exact scenario before! Last year I had a client insisting they needed a "UCC 15" form for a vehicle financing deal. After some digging, it turned out they were looking at an old template from their previous lender that had internal reference numbers that didn't correspond to actual UCC forms. Illinois definitely uses the standard UCC-1, UCC-3, and UCC-5 forms like everywhere else. My guess is your client either has outdated paperwork or is mixing up form numbers from different filing systems. I'd recommend just walking them through what you actually need for the equipment financing - likely a standard UCC-1 to perfect the security interest - and let them know that "UCC 11" isn't a real form in Illinois or any other state I'm aware of.