UCC financing statement amendment new york - debtor name change complications
Running into serious issues with a UCC-3 amendment filing in New York and could really use some guidance. We have a borrower who legally changed their business name about 6 months ago (LLC restructuring), and now I'm trying to file an amendment to update the debtor name on our original UCC-1 from 2022. The NY Secretary of State portal keeps rejecting our UCC-3 amendment with error code 'debtor name mismatch' even though I'm providing both the old name (as it appears on the original filing) and the new legal name with supporting documentation. Has anyone dealt with NY's specific requirements for name change amendments? The original UCC-1 was for equipment financing on construction machinery, and we're coming up on some critical covenant review dates where this needs to be properly perfected. I've tried calling the SOS office but keep getting transferred around. Really worried about our security interest getting compromised if we can't get this amendment processed correctly.
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AstroAdventurer
NY can be tricky with name changes on UCC amendments. Are you using the exact debtor name format from the original UCC-1? Even spacing and punctuation has to match perfectly in the 'old name' field before they'll accept the new name.
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Jamal Carter
•Yes I double-checked the spacing and even copied it directly from the original filing record. Still getting the rejection. Starting to think there might be some other issue with how I'm formatting the UCC-3.
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Mei Liu
•Sometimes the issue is with the supporting docs - NY wants very specific documentation for LLC name changes. Did you include the articles of amendment filed with the state?
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Liam O'Sullivan
ugh NY filing system is the WORST. I've had UCC-3 amendments sit in 'pending review' for weeks just because of tiny formatting issues. Their error messages are completely useless too.
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Amara Chukwu
•Tell me about it! Last month I had three amendments rejected for 'insufficient documentation' with zero explanation of what was actually missing.
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Jamal Carter
•Exactly! The error codes don't explain anything helpful. Just says 'debtor name mismatch' but doesn't specify which part is wrong.
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Giovanni Conti
Had a similar nightmare with a debtor name amendment last year. What finally worked was using one of those document verification tools before submitting. I think it was Certana.ai - you upload your original UCC-1 and the new UCC-3 amendment and it automatically checks if everything matches up properly. Caught like 3 small discrepancies I never would have noticed.
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Jamal Carter
•Never heard of that but willing to try anything at this point. How does it work exactly?
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Giovanni Conti
•Super simple - just upload both PDF files and it cross-checks debtor names, filing numbers, collateral descriptions, everything. Shows you exactly what doesn't match before you submit to the state.
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AstroAdventurer
•That actually sounds really useful for avoiding these rejection loops. NY charges fees even for rejected amendments which adds up fast.
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Fatima Al-Hashimi
For NY specifically, make sure you're not just updating the debtor name but also confirming the organizational type didn't change. If they went from an LLC to a different entity type during the restructuring, that's a whole different process.
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Jamal Carter
•Good point - they stayed as an LLC but I should double-check if the state of organization changed. The restructuring involved some Delaware components.
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Fatima Al-Hashimi
•Definitely check that. If the state of organization changed, you might need to file a new UCC-1 in the new state and terminate the old one rather than just amending.
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NeonNova
Are you filing the amendment within the proper timeframe? NY has some specific rules about when name change amendments need to be filed after the legal name change occurs.
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Jamal Carter
•The name change happened 6 months ago. Is that too long? I thought we had more time than that.
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NeonNova
•Generally you want to file within 4 months of a name change to avoid any perfection gaps. 6 months might be pushing it depending on your security agreement terms.
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Dylan Campbell
•Wait, I thought it was 4 months for continuation but name changes were different? Now I'm confused about the timing requirements.
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Sofia Hernandez
This is why I hate dealing with amendments... terminatins are bad enough but at least theyre straightforward. name changes always seem to have some weird edge case.
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Dmitry Kuznetsov
•Same here. I try to avoid name change amendments whenever possible. Sometimes it's easier to just file a new UCC-1 and terminate the old one.
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Ava Thompson
Have you tried reaching out to the NY Division of Corporations directly instead of the general SOS number? They have a separate filing assistance line that's usually more helpful for UCC issues.
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Jamal Carter
•No I didn't know they had a separate line. Do you have that number by any chance?
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Ava Thompson
•I don't have it memorized but it should be on their website under UCC services. Much better than the main SOS line.
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Miguel Ramos
•The UCC help desk is definitely better but they're still pretty backed up. Expect to wait on hold for a while.
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Zainab Ibrahim
One thing that's saved me multiple times is double-checking the exact legal name format in the state's business entity database before filing the amendment. Sometimes there are subtle differences between what you think the name is and what's actually registered.
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Jamal Carter
•That's a great idea. I'll check the NY business entity search to make sure I have the exact registered name format.
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StarSailor
•Yes! The entity database is your friend. I've seen names that look identical but have different punctuation or abbreviations in the official record.
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Connor O'Brien
Just curious - are you working with the borrower's attorney on this or handling it internally? Sometimes having their counsel involved helps with the documentation requirements.
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Jamal Carter
•We're handling it internally but the borrower's attorney prepared the name change documents. Maybe I should loop them in for the UCC amendment process.
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Yara Sabbagh
Update us when you get it figured out! These NY amendment issues seem to come up a lot and it would be helpful to know what ultimately worked.
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Jamal Carter
•Will do. Going to try the entity database check and that document verification tool someone mentioned. Really appreciate all the suggestions.
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Keisha Johnson
•Good luck! NY amendments can be a pain but once you get the format right they usually process pretty quickly.
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Paolo Rizzo
Actually had success with Certana.ai recently for a similar situation. The document checker caught that my collateral description had a tiny formatting difference between the original UCC-1 and amendment that was causing rejections. Saved me probably 2-3 more rejection cycles.
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Jamal Carter
•That's exactly the kind of thing I'm worried about missing. Going to give it a try before my next filing attempt.
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QuantumQuest
•Does it work for other states too or just NY? I've been having similar issues with amendments in PA.
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Paolo Rizzo
•Works for any state since it's just comparing your documents for consistency. The state-specific rules still apply but at least you know your paperwork matches up.
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