UCC financing statement Maryland debtor name keeps getting rejected - same business different spellings

This is so frustrating! I had the same issue last month with a Delaware entity doing business in Maryland. Spent three days going back and forth with different name variations.

The search function on SDAT is notorious for showing abbreviated versions. You really need to request the certified copy of formation documents to get the exact legal name format.

Good point about annual reports. I've seen cases where the business updated their name format during an annual filing but didn't realize it would affect UCC filings.

Wait, so even if they've been operating under the spaced version for years, if the state records show no space that's what has to go on the UCC-1?

Exactly. The UCC follows the exact name format in the state formation records, regardless of how the business markets itself or what's on their contracts.

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

Yeah, exactly. Upload the charter or LLC articles, then upload your UCC-1, and it cross-checks debtor names, addresses, and other critical fields. Much faster than manual comparison and catches things you might miss.

That sounds really useful. I'm always paranoid about name mismatches voiding our security interest. Manual checking is so error-prone.

That seems expensive and messy though. What if multiple versions get accepted? Then you have to figure out which one is actually valid.

True, but sometimes it's the fastest way to get SOMETHING on file while you sort out the name issue. Better than missing your perfection deadline entirely.

I've tried calling Maryland UCC office before and got transferred around for an hour. Their customer service is hit or miss.

The trick is to call first thing in the morning. After 10am they're swamped and you'll be on hold forever.

Good practice but sometimes clients are in a rush and don't want to wait for certified copies to arrive. Then you're stuck guessing at the exact name format.

You can actually request expedited certified copies online now through SDAT. They email them within 24 hours for an extra fee.

Oh wow, that's another layer of complexity. How do you check for DBAs in Maryland?

DBAs are usually filed at the county level in Maryland, not with the state. Each county has their own database you have to search.

This is getting complicated. So the legal name might be completely different from what they're actually operating under?

Is this like a paid service or free tool? Sounds too good to be true honestly.

It's a verification service but totally worth it when you're dealing with large commercial loans. The cost of a filing rejection and delay is way more than any verification fee.

True, the electronic system is much faster for both submissions and rejections. Usually know within a few hours if there's a problem.

Yeah but the rejection notices are still cryptic. They need to be more specific about exactly what doesn't match.

Will do! I'm going to try the Certana verification tool that a couple people mentioned, and also request the certified formation docs to compare. Hopefully one of those approaches works.

Good luck! Maryland can be tricky but once you get the exact name format down they're actually pretty efficient with processing.