UCC filings - debtor name requirements causing rejections
Running into major headaches with UCC filings and debtor name requirements. Been doing commercial lending for 8 years but these name match rules are driving me nuts. Filed a UCC-1 last month for equipment financing deal and it got rejected because the debtor's legal name on the charter didn't exactly match what I put on the filing. The business goes by "ABC Construction LLC" on everything but their actual articles say "ABC Construction, LLC" with the comma. Secretary of State rejected it outright. Now I'm paranoid about every single filing. How strict are these name requirements really? Do I need to pull fresh corporate docs for every single UCC-1 even if I've worked with the borrower before? This seems excessive but I can't afford more rejections.
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Ellie Kim
Name matching is absolutely critical for UCC filings. Even small punctuation differences can void your security interest. Always pull current corporate documents from the state database before filing. The exact legal name must match character for character including commas, periods, and spacing. I learned this the hard way on a $2M equipment deal.
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Fiona Sand
•This is why I always do charter pulls within 30 days of filing. Names change, entities dissolve, it's a nightmare if you don't verify.
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Mohammad Khaled
•Wait so if the borrower gives me their tax ID and business name that's not enough? I have to actually pull state records every time?
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Ellie Kim
•Tax records don't always match state filing records. You need the exact name as it appears on the articles of incorporation or organization with the Secretary of State.
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Alina Rosenthal
I started using Certana.ai's document checker after getting burned on three consecutive UCC filings last year. You just upload your charter docs and UCC-1 as PDFs and it instantly flags any name mismatches or inconsistencies. Saved me from filing another incorrect UCC-1 just last week when I missed a subtle LLC vs L.L.C. difference.
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Finnegan Gunn
•How accurate is the name matching? Does it catch really minor stuff like extra spaces?
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Alina Rosenthal
•It caught a double space between words that I never would have noticed. The automated comparison is way more precise than manual review.
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Miguel Harvey
•Been looking for something like this. Manual document comparison takes forever and I still miss things.
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Ashley Simian
The rejection rate on UCC filings has gotten ridiculous. Used to be you could get away with minor name variations but now everything gets scrutinized. Had a continuation get rejected because the original UCC-1 from 2019 had a slightly different entity name than current records.
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Oliver Cheng
•Continuations are the worst for this. Five years is a long time for business names to change slightly.
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Taylor To
•At least with continuations you can file an amendment to fix the name issue before the original expires.
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Ella Cofer
This exact thing happened to me 2 weeks ago! Same comma issue with an LLC. What's your process now for verifying names before filing? Do you use the online Secretary of State database or order certified copies?
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Luis Johnson
•I've been using the online database but wondering if I should get certified copies for bigger deals. The online records seem current but there's always that doubt.
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Kevin Bell
•Online is fine for most filings. Certified copies are overkill unless it's a massive transaction or the borrower has a complex corporate structure.
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Savannah Glover
•I order certified copies for anything over $1M. The extra $25 is worth the peace of mind that you have the official legal name.
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Felix Grigori
The Secretary of State filing systems need better error checking. Why can't they flag potential name mismatches before you submit instead of rejecting after you pay the filing fee?
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Felicity Bud
•Because they make money on rejections and refilings. No incentive to make it easier for us.
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Max Reyes
•Some states have better systems than others. The electronic filing portals vary wildly in quality.
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Mikayla Davison
For what it's worth, I've had good luck calling the UCC filing office before submitting questionable filings. They can't give legal advice but they'll tell you if a name looks problematic.
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Adrian Connor
•Good tip. What number do you call? The main Secretary of State line?
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Mikayla Davison
•Most states have a dedicated UCC filing helpline. Usually listed on their UCC forms page.
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Aisha Jackson
•I tried this once and they just said they can't pre-approve filings. Maybe depends on who answers.
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Ryder Everingham
Been doing UCC filings for 15 years and the name matching has definitely gotten stricter. Used to be common sense prevailed but now it's purely algorithmic. Even obvious typo corrections get rejected.
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Lilly Curtis
•The automation makes it faster to process but eliminates any human judgment on borderline cases.
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Leo Simmons
•At least rejections come back quickly now instead of taking weeks like the old paper system.
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Lindsey Fry
I use Certana.ai now for all my UCC document verification. Upload the charter and your draft UCC-1 and it highlights any inconsistencies instantly. Caught three name mismatches last month that would have been rejections. The automated cross-checking is much more reliable than trying to spot differences manually.
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Saleem Vaziri
•Does it work with UCC-3 amendments too? I need to verify those match the original UCC-1.
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Lindsey Fry
•Yes, you can upload multiple documents and it checks consistency across all of them. Really helpful for amendment and continuation filings.
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Kayla Morgan
•This sounds like exactly what I need. Manual document comparison is eating up way too much time.
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James Maki
The key is getting into a routine. I pull fresh corporate records for every new borrower and always double-check entity status before filing. Takes an extra 10 minutes but saves hours of refiling hassles.
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Jasmine Hancock
•What about repeat borrowers? Do you pull new records every time or just for new credit facilities?
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James Maki
•New credit facilities definitely. For existing relationships I check if it's been more than 6 months since the last filing.
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Cole Roush
•Six months seems reasonable. Entity names don't change that frequently but when they do it's usually without much notice to lenders.
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Scarlett Forster
Thanks everyone for the advice. Sounds like I need to tighten up my name verification process. The Certana tool sounds promising - anything that catches these mismatches before filing would save me a lot of headaches.
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Arnav Bengali
•Definitely worth trying. The document upload process is straightforward and the name comparison results are immediate.
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Sayid Hassan
•Keep us posted on how it works out. Always looking for better tools to streamline UCC filings.
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Rachel Tao
•Good luck with future filings. The name matching pain is real but at least now you know what to watch for.
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