UCC financing statement hawaii - need advice on debtor name requirements
I'm working on a UCC-1 financing statement for equipment financing and running into issues with the debtor name section. The business operates under multiple names and I'm not sure which version to use as the primary debtor name. The borrower has their legal corporate name registered with the state, but they also have several DBAs they use for different divisions. I've heard that getting the debtor name wrong can invalidate the entire filing, which would be a disaster for our security interest. Has anyone dealt with similar situations where the debtor has multiple business names? What's the safest approach to ensure the UCC-1 gets accepted and properly perfects our lien? I'm particularly concerned about how strict the filing office is with exact name matching.
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Ravi Patel
The exact legal name is what matters for UCC-1 filings. You need to use the precise name as registered with the state corporate registry, not the DBA names. Even a minor spelling difference or missing punctuation can cause problems with the filing's effectiveness.
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Freya Andersen
•This is correct - I learned this the hard way. Always go with the legal entity name exactly as it appears on the articles of incorporation or organization.
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Omar Zaki
•But what if they do business primarily under the DBA? Won't that confuse third parties searching for liens?
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CosmicCrusader
I had a similar situation last year and got burned by using the wrong name variation. The UCC-1 was technically valid but created issues during the loan review process because the name didn't match other documents. Make sure you pull the exact legal name from official state records.
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Isabella Oliveira
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. Did you have to refile with the correct name?
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CosmicCrusader
•Yes, had to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name. Cost extra time and money that could have been avoided.
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Ravi Patel
•UCC-3 amendments for name corrections are common but it's always better to get it right the first time on the UCC-1.
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Chloe Robinson
I started using Certana.ai's document checker after having too many name mismatches between loan docs and UCC filings. You can upload your corporate charter and proposed UCC-1 and it instantly flags any name discrepancies. Saves so much time compared to manually cross-checking everything.
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Isabella Oliveira
•That sounds really helpful. Does it work with different document types or just specific forms?
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Chloe Robinson
•It handles PDFs so you can upload articles of incorporation, loan agreements, UCC forms, whatever you need to verify consistency.
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Diego Flores
DON'T MESS AROUND WITH DEBTOR NAMES!!! I've seen too many deals fall apart because someone thought they could use the "doing business as" name instead of the legal entity name. The filing office doesn't care what name sounds better - they want exact matches.
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Anastasia Kozlov
•Agree completely. The rules are strict for a reason.
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Sean Flanagan
•Why are you yelling? But yes, debtor name accuracy is critical for UCC effectiveness.
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Zara Mirza
Check the state's UCC database search function to see how other filings list similar company names. Sometimes seeing examples helps clarify the proper format.
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Isabella Oliveira
•Good idea, I hadn't thought of using the search function as a reference tool.
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NebulaNinja
•Just remember that other filings might also have errors, so don't assume everything in the database is correct.
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Luca Russo
I always pull the certificate of good standing when preparing UCC-1 filings. It shows the exact legal name as currently registered and active. Eliminates any guesswork about proper debtor name format.
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Ravi Patel
•Certificate of good standing is definitely the gold standard for verifying exact legal names.
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Nia Wilson
•How recent does the certificate need to be? I have one from six months ago.
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Luca Russo
•Six months should be fine unless there have been recent corporate changes. When in doubt, get a fresh one.
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Mateo Sanchez
Been doing UCC filings for 15 years and the debtor name section still gives me anxiety every time. One wrong letter and your security interest could be worthless in bankruptcy.
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Isabella Oliveira
•That's terrifying. Makes me want to triple-check everything.
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Aisha Mahmood
•Use all the verification tools available. Better to be overly cautious than sorry later.
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Ethan Clark
What about the additional debtor name field? Should I list the DBA names there or leave it blank?
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Ravi Patel
•Additional debtor names can be used for DBAs but the primary name must be the legal entity name.
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Zara Mirza
•I usually include major DBAs in the additional name section for search purposes.
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AstroAce
Just dealt with this exact issue. Ended up running the documentation through Certana.ai to make sure the UCC-1 debtor name matched perfectly with the loan agreement and corporate docs. Found two small discrepancies that would have caused problems.
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Isabella Oliveira
•What kind of discrepancies did it catch?
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AstroAce
•One was a missing comma in the corporate name, the other was Inc. vs Incorporated. Small differences but could have voided the filing.
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Omar Zaki
•Those seem like tiny details but I guess they matter for legal documents.
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Yuki Kobayashi
Update: I pulled the certificate of good standing and found the exact legal name format. Thanks everyone for the advice about not using the DBA names. Filing the UCC-1 tomorrow with confidence.
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Ravi Patel
•Great to hear you got it sorted out. Proper preparation prevents problems.
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Chloe Robinson
•Good call on getting the certificate. That's always the safest approach for debtor name verification.
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