UCC purchase money security interest filing confusion - equipment financing

The 20-day rule is crucial for maintaining PMSI priority, but it's 20 days from when the debtor receives possession of the collateral, not from when you sign the paperwork. Since your equipment hasn't been delivered yet, you actually have some breathing room. Filing before delivery is perfectly fine and often recommended. For the collateral description, you want to be specific enough to identify the equipment but not so detailed that minor variations could cause problems. Something like "Manufacturing equipment consisting of [specific machine types] as more particularly described in attached Schedule A" usually works well.

Your debtor name concern is absolutely valid - that's probably the #1 reason for UCC rejections. You need to match the exact legal name from your state filing records. If you're incorporated, it should match your articles of incorporation exactly, including any commas, periods, or abbreviations. I've seen filings rejected for something as simple as "Inc." vs "Incorporated" or missing a comma. Double-check your corporate records with the Secretary of State before filing.

Since you mentioned other general liens already on file, you definitely want to make sure your PMSI filing clearly identifies the purchase money nature of the security interest. While it's not always required to specifically state "purchase money" in the financing statement, having clear documentation of the PMSI status in your loan documents is important for priority disputes. Also make sure your financing statement includes all the equipment being financed in this transaction - don't accidentally leave something out that could lose PMSI protection.

I'm going through something similar with a $320,000 equipment purchase. One thing that helped me was creating a timeline with all the critical dates - purchase agreement date, expected delivery date, and the 20-day deadline. That way I could make sure everything was filed with time to spare. Also consider whether you need to file fixture filings if any of the equipment will be attached to real estate. That's a whole separate issue but worth considering upfront.

Just want to echo the importance of getting this right the first time. PMSI priority can be worth a lot in bankruptcy situations, so it's worth investing the time upfront to make sure your filing is perfect. Have you considered having your attorney review the UCC-1 before filing? For a half-million dollar transaction, the cost of legal review is probably worth the peace of mind.

One more thing to consider - make sure you're filing in the correct state. For equipment, you typically file where the debtor is located (not where the equipment is located), but if you're dealing with fixture filings that could change the analysis. Also verify that your lender has given you the correct filing fee amount. Some states have updated their fees recently and using the wrong amount will cause a rejection.

Update: I ended up using that Certana.ai verification tool someone mentioned and it was actually really helpful. Found two issues - a slight variation in our corporate name (we had "LLC" instead of "L.L.C.") and the collateral description was missing a serial number that was in our purchase agreement. Got everything corrected and filed yesterday, well ahead of the equipment delivery. Thanks everyone for the advice!

As a newcomer to UCC filings, this thread has been incredibly educational! I'm curious about something - when you mention the 20-day grace period for PMSI priority, does this apply in all states or are there variations? Also, for someone just starting to handle these types of filings, are there any reliable resources or training programs you'd recommend to get up to speed on UCC requirements? I want to make sure I understand all the nuances before I'm in a situation like Raúl's where timing and accuracy are critical.