UCC goods defined - collateral description rejected for equipment financing
Our equipment financing deal just got rejected because the filing officer said our collateral description for 'goods' was too vague. We're securing industrial printing equipment worth about $180K and the UCC-1 just listed 'all goods' in the collateral field. Bank is furious and wants this refiled immediately. The debtor company manufactures custom packaging materials so there's tons of equipment involved - printing presses, binding machines, cutting equipment, etc. I thought 'all goods' was standard language but apparently not specific enough? Has anyone dealt with goods defined UCC issues like this? The continuation deadline is coming up in 8 months and now we're scrambling to get this right. What's the proper way to describe goods in UCC filings when you have mixed equipment types?
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Ravi Choudhury
Yeah this happens more than you'd think. 'All goods' is way too broad for most filing offices now. You need to be more specific about the types of goods - like 'printing equipment, binding machinery, cutting tools' or whatever. The UCC defines goods as movable personal property but filing officers want to see actual categories listed.
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Freya Andersen
Exactly right. Generic descriptions get rejected all the time now.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorSo I need to list out every type of equipment individually? That seems like it could get really long.
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Ravi Choudhury
No not every single piece, just the main categories. Like 'printing equipment, binding equipment, cutting equipment, and all other machinery used in packaging production' covers your bases.
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Omar Farouk
I had a similar issue last year with manufacturing equipment. The problem is UCC Article 9 defines goods as tangible movable property, but that doesn't help with collateral descriptions. You want to be specific enough to identify the collateral but broad enough to cover future acquisitions. Try something like 'all printing presses, binding machines, cutting equipment, and other machinery and equipment used in debtor's packaging manufacturing business.
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CosmicCadet
This is good advice. The key is balancing specificity with comprehensiveness.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorThat makes sense. Should I also include the serial numbers or model numbers?
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Omar Farouk
Serial numbers aren't required for UCC-1 filings, but they can help if there are priority disputes later. I usually include them in a separate equipment schedule attached to the security agreement but not necessarily in the UCC filing itself.
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Chloe Harris
Been through this exact situation. Actually ended up using Certana.ai's document checker to make sure our collateral description matched across all the loan docs. Uploaded the security agreement and UCC-1 draft and it flagged the mismatch immediately - saved us from the same rejection you just got. The tool shows you exactly where descriptions don't align between documents.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorInteresting, I hadn't heard of that tool. Does it check the UCC definitions too?
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Chloe Harris
It checks for consistency between your documents mainly. So if your security agreement says 'printing equipment' but UCC says 'all goods' it flags that. Really helpful for catching these issues before filing.
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Diego Mendoza
How accurate is it? Some of these AI tools miss important details.
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Chloe Harris
Pretty solid in my experience. Obviously you still need to know the UCC rules but it catches the obvious mismatches that cause rejections.
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Anastasia Popova
UCC-1 collateral descriptions are such a pain. I always wonder why they can't just standardize this stuff. Every filing office seems to have different standards for what's 'sufficient' description of goods.
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Sean Flanagan
Right? Some states are super picky, others accept almost anything.
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Anastasia Popova
Makes you want to just list every single item to avoid problems but then the description gets crazy long.
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Zara Shah
For manufacturing equipment I usually go with something like 'all machinery, equipment, tools, and fixtures used in debtor's [specific business type] operations, including but not limited to [list 3-4 main categories], together with all attachments, accessories, and replacements thereof.' Covers current and future property without being too generic.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorThat's really helpful language. Do you think 'packaging manufacturing operations' would work for our situation?
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Zara Shah
Yeah that should work. Just make sure it matches what's in your security agreement exactly.
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NebulaNomad
The 'including but not limited to' language is key for future acquisitions.
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Luca Ferrari
What state are you filing in? Some states are notorious for rejecting broad descriptions while others are more lenient with goods defined UCC language.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorThis is in Ohio. They seem pretty strict based on this rejection.
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Luca Ferrari
Ohio's gotten tougher lately. Used to be you could get away with 'all assets' but not anymore.
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Nia Wilson
Had the same issue with restaurant equipment last month. Filing office rejected 'all equipment' and wanted us to specify kitchen equipment, dining furniture, POS systems, etc. Ended up having to amend the filing which was a hassle. Now I always break down goods into specific categories upfront.
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Mateo Martinez
Restaurant equipment is tricky because there's so many different types.
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Nia Wilson
Exactly. Learned to group them logically - kitchen equipment, dining equipment, office equipment, etc.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorGood point about grouping logically. I think I'll organize by function - printing equipment, finishing equipment, material handling equipment.
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Aisha Hussain
Just a thought but have you checked if your security agreement has a detailed equipment schedule? Sometimes the UCC collateral description can reference an attached schedule instead of listing everything in the filing itself.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorThe security agreement does have a detailed schedule. Can I reference that in the UCC-1?
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Aisha Hussain
You can try something like 'equipment described in Schedule A to Security Agreement dated [date]' but some filing offices don't like references to external documents. Safer to include the main categories directly in the UCC.
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Ethan Clark
THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING! Why can't they just tell us exactly what format they want instead of rejecting filings and making us guess? 'All goods' should be perfectly fine under UCC Article 9 but apparently every filing office has their own interpretation.
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StarStrider
I feel your pain. The inconsistency between states is maddening.
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Ethan Clark
And then you have to pay amendment fees just to fix their pickiness about descriptions!
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Yuki Sato
For what it's worth, I've started using Certana.ai whenever I have complex collateral descriptions. Upload your security agreement and draft UCC-1 and it'll show you if the collateral descriptions match properly. Would have caught this 'all goods' vs specific equipment issue before you filed.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorSecond mention of this tool. Might be worth trying before I refile.
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Yuki Sato
Yeah it's saved me from several rejections. The document comparison feature is really handy for making sure everything aligns.
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Carmen Ruiz
Update us when you get the refiling done! I'm dealing with similar equipment financing and want to see what description language works.
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Isabella Silva
AuthorWill do. Planning to refile with 'printing equipment, binding machinery, cutting equipment, and other machinery used in packaging manufacturing operations' based on the advice here.
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Ravi Choudhury
That should work. Much better than 'all goods' anyway.
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