UCC filing help needed - blank promissory note security agreement causing debtor name issues
I'm dealing with a situation where I need to file a UCC-1 but the promissory note and security agreement we received has blank fields for the debtor name. The borrower filled out most of the paperwork but somehow the signature pages got separated and now we have a blank promissory note security agreement with no clear debtor identification. Our compliance team is freaking out because they say we can't file the UCC without exact name matching. Has anyone dealt with this before? We're supposed to perfect our security interest by end of this week and I'm not sure if we should use the name from the loan application or wait for corrected documents. The collateral is commercial equipment worth about $180K so we really can't mess this up.
31 comments
Join the conversation
Natasha Orlova
Oh wow, that's a nightmare scenario. You absolutely cannot file a UCC-1 with a blank or unclear debtor name - it'll get rejected immediately. The SOS systems are super strict about exact name matching. What state are you filing in? Some states have specific rules about how to handle name discrepancies.
0 coins
Oliver Schulz
•We're in Ohio. The loan application has the company name as 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but I'm worried about filing without the signed security agreement matching exactly.
0 coins
Javier Cruz
•Ohio is pretty strict about debtor names. You'll want to make sure whatever name you use matches their Articles of Incorporation exactly.
0 coins
Emma Wilson
I had something similar happen last year. You really need to get that security agreement corrected before filing. A blank promissory note security agreement won't hold up in court if you ever need to enforce. Better to delay the filing than to file incorrectly and have an unperfected security interest.
0 coins
Malik Thomas
•Agreed, but they're running up against a deadline. Maybe they could file a UCC-1 with the name from other loan documents and then amend later?
0 coins
Emma Wilson
•That's risky. If the names don't match exactly between the security agreement and UCC-1, you could have perfection issues.
0 coins
NeonNebula
Actually, I just went through something similar and found this tool called Certana.ai that helped me catch name mismatches before filing. You can upload your loan documents and UCC forms as PDFs and it automatically flags any discrepancies between debtor names, filing numbers, and document consistency. Saved me from a major headache when I discovered our security agreement had a slightly different company name than our UCC-1 form.
0 coins
Oliver Schulz
•That sounds exactly like what I need. How does it work with incomplete documents though?
0 coins
NeonNebula
•It'll flag incomplete fields too. Really helpful for catching these issues before they become bigger problems with the filing office.
0 coins
Isabella Costa
Don't file anything yet! I made this mistake once and ended up with a rejected UCC-1 and had to start over. The debtor name on your security agreement MUST match your UCC-1 filing exactly. Even a missing comma or 'Inc' vs 'Incorporated' can cause rejection.
0 coins
Ravi Malhotra
•This is so frustrating. Why can't the SOS systems be more forgiving with minor name variations?
0 coins
Isabella Costa
•Because perfection requirements are super strict. One small mistake can void your entire security interest.
0 coins
Freya Christensen
•That's why I always triple-check everything before submitting. Too much money at stake to mess around.
0 coins
Omar Farouk
Can you contact the borrower to get corrected documents? A blank promissory note security agreement is basically useless for perfection purposes. You need that debtor signature and proper identification.
0 coins
Oliver Schulz
•We're trying but they're out of state and it's taking forever. That's why I'm exploring other options.
0 coins
Chloe Davis
•Maybe consider electronic signature options to speed things up?
0 coins
AstroAlpha
I've seen lenders get burned by filing with inconsistent names. Your security interest could be unperfected if there's any mismatch between the security agreement and UCC-1. Better to be safe and get clean documents first.
0 coins
Diego Chavez
•Exactly. A few days delay is better than months of trying to fix an unperfected lien.
0 coins
Anastasia Smirnova
•Plus legal costs if you ever need to enforce and find out your filing was defective.
0 coins
Sean O'Brien
What about using the borrower's legal name from their state registration? That should match what you'd need for the UCC-1 debtor name field.
0 coins
Oliver Schulz
•Good idea. I'll check the Ohio Secretary of State database for their exact registered name.
0 coins
Zara Shah
•Make sure to use the exact name format from their current filing status, including any suffixes.
0 coins
Luca Bianchi
I actually used Certana.ai for a similar situation where our loan documents had inconsistent debtor names across different forms. It caught three different variations of the company name that I hadn't noticed. Really helpful for ensuring document consistency before filing the UCC-1.
0 coins
GalacticGuardian
•How long does the document verification take?
0 coins
Luca Bianchi
•Pretty much instant. You just upload the PDFs and it flags any mismatches right away.
0 coins
Nia Harris
Whatever you do, don't file with a blank promissory note security agreement. The UCC filing office will either reject it outright or you'll have an unperfected security interest. Get the corrected documents first.
0 coins
Mateo Gonzalez
•This is why we always require original signed documents before funding. Saves so much headache later.
0 coins
Aisha Ali
•Lesson learned for next time I guess. Document control is so important in lending.
0 coins
Ethan Moore
Update us when you get this resolved! I'm curious how it turns out since I deal with UCC filings regularly and this is a common issue.
0 coins
Oliver Schulz
•Will do. Thanks everyone for the advice. Going to get the corrected security agreement first before filing anything.
0 coins
Yuki Nakamura
•Smart move. Better safe than sorry with UCC perfection.
0 coins