UCC look up showing wrong debtor info - need help verifying records
Running into a major headache with a UCC look up that's not matching what I expected. Did a search for one of our borrowers last week and the results are showing a completely different debtor name than what's on our loan docs. The UCC-1 we filed 6 months ago used the exact legal name from their articles of incorporation, but now when I do a UCC look up on the SOS website, it's pulling up filings under a slightly different version of the company name. I'm worried we might have a perfection issue here. Has anyone else run into problems where the UCC look up results don't match what you thought you filed? This is for a $280K equipment loan and I really need to make sure our lien position is solid before we close on the next advance.
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Freya Collins
This happens more often than you'd think. The UCC look up systems are pretty literal about exact name matches. Even something as small as 'Inc.' vs 'Incorporated' or missing a comma can cause issues. What exactly are the differences you're seeing between your loan docs and the UCC look up results?
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Lucas Schmidt
•The loan docs show 'Midwest Manufacturing Solutions, LLC' but the UCC look up is showing 'Midwest Manufacturing Solutions LLC' without the comma. Also seeing some old filings under 'Midwest Mfg Solutions LLC' that might be the same company.
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Freya Collins
•That comma difference could definitely be an issue. You'll want to verify which version is actually correct according to their current state registration. The SOS business entity search should show the exact legal name.
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LongPeri
I've been dealing with UCC look up discrepancies for years and it's always a pain. The key is making sure you're searching under every possible variation of the debtor name. Sometimes companies change their names slightly or have DBA's that confuse things.
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Lucas Schmidt
•Good point about the variations. I did try a few different searches but maybe I missed some. This is stressing me out because I need to be 100% sure our filing is good.
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Oscar O'Neil
•Don't panic yet. Name variations are super common and there are ways to verify everything lines up properly. Have you tried using any document verification tools?
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Oscar O'Neil
Actually, I just went through something similar last month. I was doing UCC look ups that weren't matching our paperwork and getting really frustrated trying to manually cross-check everything. Ended up trying this tool called Certana.ai that lets you upload your charter documents and UCC filings as PDFs and it automatically checks if the debtor names match up properly. Saved me hours of manual verification and caught a discrepancy I would have missed.
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Lucas Schmidt
•That sounds helpful. How does it work exactly? I'm drowning in paperwork trying to verify all these name variations.
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Oscar O'Neil
•Super easy - you just upload the PDFs and it runs the comparison automatically. It caught that our UCC-1 had a slightly different name format than what was on the articles of incorporation. Would have been a real problem if we hadn't caught it.
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Sara Hellquiem
•I've heard of that tool but haven't tried it. Does it handle all the different name variation rules properly?
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Sara Hellquiem
The UCC look up systems can be tricky because they don't always cross-reference business name changes automatically. If your borrower changed their name at some point, you might need to search under both the old and new names to get a complete picture.
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Lucas Schmidt
•That's a good point. I should probably pull their complete corporate history to see if there have been any name changes I don't know about.
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Charlee Coleman
•Definitely do that. I've seen situations where companies had multiple name changes and the UCC look up only showed filings under one version. Nearly caused a major lien priority issue.
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Charlee Coleman
One thing to check - are you doing your UCC look up in the right state? If the company was incorporated in Delaware but doing business in your state, there might be filings in multiple jurisdictions that don't show up in a single search.
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Lucas Schmidt
•Good catch. They're incorporated in Delaware but operating here in Ohio. I only searched Ohio so far.
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Charlee Coleman
•Yeah, you'll want to search Delaware too. The UCC look up results might be different in each state depending on where filings were made.
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Liv Park
•This is exactly why I hate multi-state deals. The UCC look up process becomes such a nightmare when you have to check multiple jurisdictions.
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Liv Park
UGH the UCC look up systems are so frustrating!! I swear they make it as difficult as possible to find what you're looking for. And don't even get me started on the search interfaces - they're all different and half of them don't work properly.
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Lucas Schmidt
•I know right? I've been trying different search terms for hours and getting inconsistent results. It's making me question everything about our filing.
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Liv Park
•Exactly! And then you spend all this time second-guessing yourself when it's probably just the system being finicky. At least you're being thorough though.
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Leeann Blackstein
Have you tried contacting the SOS office directly? Sometimes they can help clarify UCC look up results that seem inconsistent. They might be able to explain why you're seeing different name variations.
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Lucas Schmidt
•That's not a bad idea. I've been trying to figure this out on my own but maybe a quick call would clear things up.
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Leeann Blackstein
•Yeah, their filing staff usually knows the common issues that cause UCC look up confusion. Might save you a lot of time.
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Ryder Greene
•I've called them before for similar issues and they were actually pretty helpful. Just be prepared to wait on hold for a while.
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Ryder Greene
Something similar happened to me last year. The UCC look up was showing filings under a name that was close but not exact. Turned out the borrower had filed a name change with the state but hadn't updated us on their loan paperwork. Always worth double-checking their current registration status.
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Lucas Schmidt
•Oh wow, that could definitely be what's happening here. I'll check their current state registration to see if there have been any recent changes.
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Ryder Greene
•Yeah, it's a common oversight. Companies change names for various reasons but don't always think to notify their lenders immediately.
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Carmella Fromis
Quick question - when you do the UCC look up, are you searching by debtor name or by filing number? Sometimes searching by the actual UCC filing number gives you more accurate results than name searches.
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Lucas Schmidt
•I've been searching by name mostly. I do have our filing number though so I should try that approach.
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Carmella Fromis
•Definitely try the filing number search. It should pull up the exact record you filed, and then you can see exactly how the debtor name appears in the system.
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Theodore Nelson
•This is good advice. The filing number search eliminates all the name variation issues and shows you exactly what's on file.
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Theodore Nelson
I deal with UCC look ups daily and name discrepancies are probably the most common issue. The important thing is making sure your original filing used the correct legal name at the time it was filed. If the company has since changed names, your original filing is still valid.
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Lucas Schmidt
•That's reassuring. So even if they've changed names since we filed, our UCC-1 should still be good as long as we used the right name when we filed it?
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Theodore Nelson
•Exactly. The UCC look up might show filings under different names if the company has evolved, but each filing is valid based on the legal name at the time it was made.
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Oscar O'Neil
•This is why I really like that Certana tool I mentioned earlier - it helps verify that your documents all align properly so you don't have to worry about these kinds of issues.
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AaliyahAli
Just a heads up - sometimes the UCC look up results can lag behind recent filings or changes. If you filed recently, it might take a few days to show up properly in the search results.
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Lucas Schmidt
•Our filing was 6 months ago so it should definitely be showing up by now. But good to know about the lag time for future reference.
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AaliyahAli
•Yeah, 6 months should be plenty of time. The lag is usually just a few days at most for most states.
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Ellie Simpson
Hope you get this sorted out! UCC look up issues are so stressful, especially when there's a big loan amount involved. Keep us posted on what you find out.
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Lucas Schmidt
•Thanks, I will! Going to try the filing number search and check their current state registration first. Really appreciate all the advice everyone.
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Ellie Simpson
•No problem! We've all been there with confusing UCC look up results. You'll get it figured out.
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