UCC search Colorado turning up old terminated liens - debtor name variations causing issues?
Running into a weird situation with a UCC search Colorado and need some guidance. We're doing due diligence on a $2.8M equipment acquisition and the UCC search is pulling up what looks like terminated liens from 2019-2020 that should have been cleared. The debtor company changed their registered name slightly in 2021 (added 'LLC' to the end) but I'm seeing filings under both the old name and new name variations. Some show as terminated, others don't have corresponding UCC-3 terminations filed. This is holding up our closing and I'm not sure if these are phantom liens or if there's actually still active security interests. Has anyone dealt with Colorado SOS database showing inconsistent results when debtor names have minor variations? The search results are confusing because some entries show 'TERMINATED' status but others just show the original UCC-1 with no termination date. I need to know if I'm missing something in how Colorado handles name changes or if their search algorithm is just picking up noise.
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Rajan Walker
Colorado's UCC database can be tricky with name variations. When you're doing the search are you using exact name matches or are you doing broader searches? The SOS system there doesn't always catch all the variations automatically. If the company added LLC after 2021 you might need to search under both names separately to get the complete picture.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•I tried both exact matches and broader searches. The problem is some filings show under 'ABC Equipment Leasing' and others under 'ABC Equipment Leasing LLC' but there's no clear pattern to which ones got terminated properly. Some of the older liens from 2019 still show as active even though they should have been paid off.
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Nadia Zaldivar
•This is exactly why I always run multiple search variations. Colorado's system isn't the most intuitive for handling business name changes.
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Lukas Fitzgerald
Ugh, Colorado UCC searches are the worst for this exact reason! I've had deals delayed for weeks because their database doesn't handle name variations consistently. You really need to do exhaustive searches with every possible permutation of the company name. Have you tried searching with and without punctuation too? Sometimes a comma or period can throw off their search algorithm.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•Good point about punctuation. I didn't think to try different punctuation variations. This is getting really complex for what should be a straightforward lien search.
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Rajan Walker
•Yeah the punctuation thing is real. I've seen Colorado miss filings because of a missing comma in the debtor name field.
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Ev Luca
I had a similar nightmare with Colorado UCC searches last year. What ended up saving me was using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your UCC search results as PDFs and it cross-checks everything against the actual filing documents to catch inconsistencies like this. It flagged several terminated liens that weren't showing up properly in the state search results and helped me identify which ones were actually still active.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•That sounds helpful. How does the verification work exactly? Does it connect to the state database or just analyze the documents you upload?
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Ev Luca
•You just upload the PDFs of your search results and any UCC documents you have. It automatically cross-references everything and flags discrepancies like name mismatches or missing terminations. Really saved my deal.
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Avery Davis
•Never heard of Certana.ai but this sounds like exactly what I need for these complex multi-state searches I'm always doing.
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Collins Angel
The issue you're describing sounds like classic Colorado SOS database problems. They've had ongoing issues with their UCC search functionality not properly linking terminated filings to original UCC-1s when there are name variations. You should definitely pull the actual UCC-3 termination documents for any liens that concern you. Don't rely on just the search results showing 'TERMINATED' status.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•That's what I was afraid of. So even if it shows terminated in the search results, the actual UCC-3 might not be properly linked?
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Collins Angel
•Exactly. Colorado has had indexing problems where the termination exists but isn't properly cross-referenced. Always pull the actual documents to verify.
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Marcelle Drum
•This is why I always tell my clients to budget extra time for Colorado UCC searches. Their system is just not reliable.
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Tate Jensen
Are you working with a local Colorado attorney or service company for this search? Sometimes they have better access or know the quirks of the local system. For a $2.8M deal I'd definitely want someone who deals with Colorado UCC filings regularly.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•We're using our usual national service company but maybe I should get a Colorado-specific firm involved. The deadline pressure is making this really stressful.
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Tate Jensen
•For deals this size, local expertise is worth the extra cost. They'll know exactly how to navigate Colorado's database issues.
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Adaline Wong
Have you considered that some of these 'terminated' liens might actually be continuation filings that weren't properly indexed? Colorado has had problems with UCC-3 continuations not showing up correctly in search results, especially for older filings.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•Oh wow, I hadn't thought of that. How would I check for continuation filings that might not be showing up in the search?
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Adaline Wong
•You'd need to pull the complete filing history for each UCC file number. Look for any UCC-3 amendments or continuations that might not be properly linked to the original UCC-1.
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Gabriel Ruiz
•This is getting really complicated. Maybe this is where a service like Certana.ai that someone mentioned earlier could help sort through all these documents?
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Misterclamation Skyblue
I work with Colorado UCC filings all the time and this is unfortunately super common. The state's database integration has been problematic for years. What I usually do is pull every single document for each file number and manually verify the chain. It's tedious but necessary for high-value transactions.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•That's what I'm afraid I'm going to have to do. There are like 15 different file numbers showing up across the name variations.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
•15 file numbers is a lot but not unmanageable. Start with the most recent ones and work backwards. Focus on anything filed after 2020 first.
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Peyton Clarke
•For 15 file numbers I'd definitely use an automated verification tool. That's way too much manual cross-checking for a time-sensitive deal.
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Vince Eh
Just went through something similar in Colorado last month. Turned out half the 'active' liens I was worried about were actually terminated but the UCC-3 terminations were filed under slightly different debtor names so they weren't linking properly in the search results. Colorado really needs to fix their indexing system.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•How did you finally resolve it? Did you have to get title insurance or just verify each termination manually?
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Vince Eh
•I ended up using Certana.ai to cross-check all the documents. It caught the name mismatches and showed me which terminations actually corresponded to which original filings. Saved me probably 10 hours of manual review.
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Sophia Gabriel
This thread is making me never want to do deals involving Colorado entities! Sounds like their UCC system is a complete mess compared to other states.
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Lukas Fitzgerald
•Colorado definitely isn't the worst but it's not great either. At least they have electronic filing now.
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Sophia Gabriel
•Small consolation when the search results are unreliable!
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Tobias Lancaster
For what it's worth, I've found that Colorado's UCC search issues are usually resolved by being really methodical about name variations and pulling all the actual documents rather than relying on the search summaries. It's more work but you'll get definitive answers about what's actually terminated vs. still active.
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Jungleboo Soletrain
•Thanks, I think that's what I'm going to have to do. Just frustrated that it's holding up a deal when the liens should be straightforward to verify.
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Tobias Lancaster
•I totally get the frustration. Colorado's system definitely makes routine searches more complicated than they should be.
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Ezra Beard
•This is exactly why I always pad my due diligence timeline when Colorado entities are involved. Their UCC database quirks are predictable at this point.
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