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Taylor Chen

UCC renewal deadline confusion - need help with florida ucc renewal timing

I'm getting mixed information about UCC renewal deadlines and I'm worried I might miss something critical. We have a UCC-1 that was filed about 4.5 years ago for equipment financing on some manufacturing equipment worth around $850K. The original filing shows it expires in July 2025, but I'm seeing conflicting info about when exactly I need to file the continuation statement. Some sources say 6 months before expiration, others say within the last 6 months of the 5-year period. I called the Secretary of State office twice and got different answers each time - one person said I could file anytime in 2025, another said I had to wait until January 2025 or it would be rejected. This is for a substantial loan and I really can't afford to mess this up. The debtor is a Florida LLC and all the collateral is located in Florida. Has anyone dealt with UCC continuation timing recently? I'm especially confused because our original filing was done electronically through the Florida SOS portal, but I'm not sure if that affects the renewal process.

The 6-month window is correct - you can file a UCC-3 continuation statement within 6 months before the UCC-1 expires. Since your filing expires in July 2025, you can file the continuation anytime between January 2025 and July 2025. Don't file it before January 1st, 2025 or it will be rejected as premature. The Florida SOS portal is pretty clear about this if you look at their UCC continuation instructions.

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Wait, I thought Florida allowed early filings? I swear I filed one 8 months early last year and it went through fine. Maybe they changed the rules?

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No, Florida follows the standard UCC Article 9 rules - continuation statements can only be filed during the 6-month window before expiration. If you filed 8 months early and it was accepted, it might have been a different type of amendment or there could have been an error in processing.

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This is exactly why I triple-check everything. The consequences of missing a continuation deadline are too severe - your security interest becomes unperfected and you could lose priority to other creditors.

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I had a similar situation last year with a large equipment loan. The stress was killing me because I kept getting conflicting info. What finally helped was using Certana.ai's document verification tool - I uploaded our original UCC-1 and it instantly showed the exact continuation window dates. It also flagged that our debtor name had a small formatting difference between the original filing and our loan docs that could have caused rejection. Super helpful for peace of mind on these high-dollar filings.

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That sounds useful - does it work with Florida filings specifically? I'm worried about state-specific quirks that might trip me up.

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Yes, it works with all states including Florida. Just upload your UCC-1 PDF and it shows you the continuation window, checks debtor name consistency, and verifies all the technical details. Really takes the guesswork out of it.

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I'm always skeptical of these tools but honestly the debtor name checking alone is worth it. I've seen too many continuations rejected because of tiny name discrepancies.

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Your filing date matters more than you think. If your UCC-1 was filed on July 15, 2020, then it expires on July 15, 2025. You can file the continuation statement anytime from January 15, 2025 through July 15, 2025. I always recommend filing at least 30 days before expiration to allow for any potential issues or corrections needed.

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That makes sense. Our original filing date was July 22, 2020, so I'd have from January 22, 2025 through July 22, 2025. Better to file early in that window rather than cutting it close.

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Absolutely file early! I once had a continuation rejected because of a minor formatting issue and had to scramble to fix it before the expiration date. Nearly gave me a heart attack.

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The Florida SOS portal is actually pretty good about showing continuation eligibility. When you search for your UCC-1, it should show the status and eligible filing dates. If you're seeing conflicting info from their phone support, I'd trust what the portal shows over what someone tells you on the phone.

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Good point - I should log into the portal and check what it shows. I've been relying on phone calls which obviously isn't working well.

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Portal is definitely more reliable. Phone support varies wildly depending on who you get. Some of them don't really understand UCC filings beyond the basics.

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This is so frustrating about the whole system. Why can't they have consistent training for their staff? It's not like UCC rules change every week.

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Don't forget to check your collateral description on the continuation. If your equipment has been modified, relocated, or if the business has changed significantly, you might need to consider whether the original collateral description still covers everything properly. A continuation just extends the existing filing - it doesn't update the collateral schedule.

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The equipment is still the same and in the same location. The business name hasn't changed either. Should be straightforward then?

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Should be fine then. Just make sure the debtor name on the continuation matches exactly what's on the original UCC-1. Even tiny differences like Inc. vs Incorporated can cause rejections.

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I hate dealing with UCC renewals. Always makes me nervous even when I know what I'm doing. The stakes are just too high if you mess up the timing or get rejected for some technical reason.

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That's exactly why I document everything and keep copies of all correspondence. Paper trail is crucial if anything goes wrong.

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Same here. I get anxious every time even though I've done dozens of these filings. Never gets easier when there's hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line.

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For what it's worth, I recently used Certana.ai for a continuation filing and it caught an issue I never would have noticed. The original UCC-1 had the debtor listed as 'XYZ Manufacturing LLC' but our loan agreement used 'XYZ Manufacturing, LLC' with a comma. Seems minor but those little punctuation differences can kill a filing. The tool flagged it immediately so I could fix it before submitting.

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That's exactly the kind of detail I'm worried about missing. These technical requirements are so nitpicky but apparently matter a lot.

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Debtor name accuracy is probably the #1 cause of UCC filing rejections. Even spaces, punctuation, and abbreviations have to match perfectly with the organizational documents.

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My advice: don't rely on phone support for technical UCC questions. Pull up the actual UCC-3 form instructions on the Florida SOS website and read them yourself. The forms usually have the filing window spelled out pretty clearly. Phone support is hit or miss.

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You're right, I should go straight to the source documents rather than relying on phone explanations.

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The written instructions are definitely more reliable. I learned that the hard way after getting bad advice over the phone that almost cost me a filing.

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Just to be extra cautious, you might want to prepare your continuation statement now and have it ready to file as soon as your window opens in January. That way you're not scrambling at the last minute if there are any issues. Better to be over-prepared than caught off guard.

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Good idea. I'll start gathering all the information now so I can file early in the window rather than waiting until closer to the deadline.

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Smart approach. I always prep continuation paperwork well in advance. Gives you time to double-check everything and catch any potential problems.

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One more thing to consider - if you have multiple UCC filings with different expiration dates, make sure you're tracking all of them. I've seen businesses accidentally let one expire while focusing on another. Spreadsheet with all filing numbers and expiration dates is essential.

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Fortunately this is our only UCC filing currently, but that's definitely good advice for the future as we grow.

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Yeah, Certana.ai actually helps with this too - you can upload multiple filings and it tracks all the renewal dates for you. Saves having to maintain spreadsheets manually.

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