UCC fixture filing termination - equipment removal confusion
Really stuck here and hoping someone can help. We financed some manufacturing equipment last year that got bolted down to concrete floors, so our lender filed a UCC fixture filing. Now the loan's paid off and we need to remove the equipment to sell it, but I'm getting conflicting info about the termination process. The equipment finance company says they'll handle the UCC-3 termination but our attorney is saying we need special fixture termination procedures? The machinery is definitely attached to the real estate but it's not like HVAC systems or anything permanently integrated. Do fixture filings need different termination steps than regular UCC-1 filings? I'm worried about screwing this up since we have a buyer lined up and they want clean title. Anyone dealt with fixture filing termination before?
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Beatrice Marshall
Fixture filings do have some special considerations for termination. The main thing is making sure the UCC-3 termination gets filed in the right place - usually needs to go to both the central filing office AND the local real estate records where the original fixture filing was recorded. Your lender should know this but double-check they're filing in both locations.
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Mae Bennett
•That's exactly what I was worried about. The finance company only mentioned filing with the Secretary of State, nothing about local records. I'll push them on this.
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Melina Haruko
•Yeah you definitely want both. I've seen deals fall apart because someone only filed the termination centrally and the fixture filing stayed on the real estate records.
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Dallas Villalobos
Wait, I thought fixture filings were just regular UCC-1s with a checkbox? Why would termination be different?
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Beatrice Marshall
•Common misconception. Fixture filings are UCC-1s but they get dual filing - central UCC records AND local real estate records. So termination needs to clear both places.
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Dallas Villalobos
•Oh wow, I had no idea about the dual filing thing. Good to know!
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Reina Salazar
Had this exact situation with some bottling equipment we financed. The termination was a nightmare because our original lender got acquired and the new servicer didn't understand fixture filings. Took three months to get proper termination statements filed in both locations. Make sure you get written confirmation from both filing offices that the termination was recorded.
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Mae Bennett
•Three months?! That would kill our sale timeline. Did you have any leverage to speed things up?
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Reina Salazar
•We had to threaten legal action honestly. The new servicer kept insisting they only needed to file centrally. Documentation is key - keep everything in writing.
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Saanvi Krishnaswami
•This is why I always verify fixture filing locations before we even make the loan. Saves so much headache on the back end.
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Demi Lagos
You know what saved me tons of time on a similar fixture termination issue? I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your original fixture filing and the proposed UCC-3 termination to make sure everything matches up properly - debtor names, filing numbers, collateral descriptions. It caught an inconsistency in our termination that would have caused problems later. Really simple to use, just upload the PDFs and it does the cross-checking automatically.
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Mae Bennett
•That sounds helpful. Did it verify the dual filing requirements too or just the document consistency?
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Demi Lagos
•It focuses on document consistency - matching debtor names, filing numbers, making sure the termination properly references the original filing. But it definitely helped us avoid the kind of name mismatches that can invalidate terminations.
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Mason Lopez
Just went through this last month with some packaging equipment. One thing nobody mentions is timing - if your buyer is doing due diligence, they might want to see the termination actually recorded before closing. Don't just rely on the lender saying they'll file it, get proof of filing from both offices.
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Mae Bennett
•Good point about the buyer's due diligence. How long did the actual filing take once you submitted everything?
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Mason Lopez
•Central filing was same day electronic, but the county recorder took about a week. Plan accordingly.
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Vera Visnjic
•A week seems fast for county recording. Ours usually takes 2-3 weeks depending on how backed up they are.
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Jake Sinclair
This whole dual filing thing for fixtures is such a pain. Why can't they just streamline it to one location like regular UCC filings?
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Beatrice Marshall
•It's because fixtures affect real estate title. Potential buyers of the property need to know about fixture liens, so they have to be recorded where real estate records are kept.
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Jake Sinclair
•I guess that makes sense, just adds complexity.
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Brielle Johnson
One more thing to watch out for - make sure the collateral description in your termination matches EXACTLY what was in the original fixture filing. I've seen terminations rejected because someone tried to simplify the description and it didn't match.
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Mae Bennett
•That's a great point. I'll pull our original filing to compare the exact language.
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Honorah King
•Yes! Word-for-word matching is critical. Even punctuation differences can cause problems.
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Oliver Brown
•This is where having good document management really pays off. Always keep copies of original filings for exactly this reason.
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Mary Bates
Am I the only one who thinks fixture filings are way more complicated than they need to be? Between the dual filing and special termination requirements, it's like they designed it to be confusing.
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Beatrice Marshall
•The complexity comes from trying to protect both secured creditors and real estate interests. It's not perfect but there are good reasons for the dual system.
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Mary Bates
•I suppose, just wish it was more straightforward for equipment that's obviously removable.
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Clay blendedgen
Quick question - when you say the equipment is 'bolted down to concrete floors,' are you sure it qualifies as a fixture? Just being attached doesn't automatically make something a fixture under UCC law. The intent and degree of attachment both matter.
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Mae Bennett
•The lender definitely treated it as fixtures when they made the loan. It's industrial machinery that required concrete anchoring, so I assume they made the right call.
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Clay blendedgen
•Fair enough. If they filed it as fixtures originally, you're stuck dealing with fixture termination procedures regardless.
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Ayla Kumar
•Yeah, you can't really change the filing type at termination. Have to work with what was originally filed.
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Lorenzo McCormick
Just make sure your attorney knows about fixture filing requirements. Some general practice lawyers don't deal with UCC fixtures very often and might not catch the dual filing issue.
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Mae Bennett
•Good advice. I'll specifically ask about the dual filing requirements when I talk to him again.
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Carmella Popescu
•Or find an attorney who specializes in secured transactions. Worth the extra cost for fixture filing issues.
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Kai Santiago
Update us when you get this resolved! Always good to hear how these situations turn out for future reference.
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Mae Bennett
•Will do. This thread has been really helpful in understanding what I need to push for. Thanks everyone!
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Lim Wong
•Agreed, fixture terminations come up more often than you'd think. Good discussion here.
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Kayla Morgan
One thing that might help speed up your process - get your lender to provide you with a draft of the UCC-3 termination before they file it. That way you can verify it matches your original fixture filing exactly and confirm they're planning to file in both the central UCC office and the local real estate records. I learned this the hard way when a lender filed a termination with a slightly different debtor name that didn't exactly match our original filing. Caught it early because I insisted on seeing the draft first, but it would have been a mess if it had gone through incorrectly.
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Yuki Watanabe
•That's excellent advice about reviewing the draft first! I'm definitely going to ask for that. Better to catch any discrepancies before filing rather than having to fix them later. Did you run into any pushback from the lender when you asked to see the draft, or were they pretty accommodating?
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Kaylee Cook
•Most lenders are pretty reasonable about showing you the draft, especially if you explain that you want to avoid any filing errors that could delay the termination process. In my experience, they'd rather spend a few minutes letting you review it upfront than deal with correction filings later. Just frame it as wanting to help ensure accuracy rather than questioning their competence - makes the conversation go much smoother.
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