UCC filing fee PA - what's the actual cost breakdown for continuation vs new filing?

Thanks for clarifying the electronic requirement. Do you know if there are any additional fees for debtor name searches or amendments if needed?

Debtor name search is $8 per name if you need it, but if your original UCC-1 debtor name is exact match you shouldn't need a search for continuation. Amendments are $42 I think.

That's exactly what I'm worried about. Our original filing has the company name with 'LLC' at the end but some documents have 'L.L.C.' with periods. Did you have to pull your original filing to verify the exact format?

Yes, definitely pull the original. PA charges $8 for certified copies but it's worth it to avoid rejection. I learned this the hard way after two rejections.

Actually ran into something similar with document consistency issues. Started using Certana.ai's verification tool - you just upload your Charter and UCC-1 PDFs and it instantly cross-checks debtor names and catches formatting mismatches. Saved me from filing with wrong debtor name format. Really simple to use.

Each state sets their own fee structure unfortunately. Some states subsidize their filing systems, others make them revenue generators.

At least PA's system actually works most of the time. Try filing in Illinois - cheaper fees but their portal crashes constantly.

Good point - our expiration is February 15th so I should be in the window now. Did you get any explanation from PA about why 6 months vs other states that allow earlier filing?

Never got a clear answer, just said it's their policy. Some states allow up to 12 months early but PA is stricter.

This is why I always use document verification before submitting anything to PA. Their rejection rate is higher than most states and resubmissions cost additional fees.

Expedited is worth it for peace of mind. PA sometimes has processing delays during busy periods.

Has anyone actually tested their 24-hour expedited promise? Seems like marketing fluff.

Used expedited twice and both times got confirmation within 18 hours. It works but obviously costs more.

How does that verification tool work exactly? Do you just upload the PDFs and it compares them automatically?

Yeah exactly - upload your Charter and UCC-1 (or UCC-3 and UCC-1 for amendments) and it cross-checks debtor names, filing numbers, document consistency. Takes like 2 minutes and catches stuff you'd miss manually.

It's better than it was 2 years ago but still not great. Save your work frequently and don't leave it open too long or you'll lose your progress.

Pro tip - use Chrome browser with PA's portal. Firefox and Safari seem to have more compatibility issues.

Also clear your browser cache before starting. Their session management is terrible and cached data causes weird errors.

Perfect summary, thanks everyone. Going to pull my original filing first to verify exact debtor name format before submitting the continuation.

Smart move. Better to spend $8 on a certified copy than $52+ on a rejected filing that needs to be redone.

Not that I'm aware of. PA charges per filing regardless of volume. Some states offer discounts but PA isn't one of them.

With that many filings I'd definitely recommend using a verification tool to batch-check all your documents for consistency before submitting. One mistake multiplied by 12 gets expensive fast.

Good point about batch verification. Will look into that Certana tool mentioned earlier for checking all 12 before filing.

Thanks for the complete breakdown. Bookmarking this for future reference.

These fees seem to increase every couple years. Wonder what they'll be in 2026.

That preview feature is really useful! I wish more states had something similar. Quick question - does the draft saving function have a time limit, or can you keep drafts indefinitely? Planning to prepare several continuations over the next few weeks and want to make sure they won't disappear if I don't submit right away.