UCC search Indiana showing wrong debtor info - filing shows up but names don't match exactly
Running into a weird situation with a UCC search Indiana and hoping someone can help. Did a search on the Indiana SOS portal for a debtor and found what should be our UCC-1 filing from 2022, but the debtor name on the filing doesn't match exactly what we have in our loan documents. Our loan docs show 'Midwest Manufacturing Solutions LLC' but the UCC search Indiana results show 'Midwest Manufacturing Solutions, LLC' - notice the comma difference. The filing number matches what we have on file, and the collateral description looks right (all equipment and inventory), but this name discrepancy has me worried. Our compliance team is asking questions about whether this filing is actually perfecting our security interest or if we need to do something to fix it. The loan is for $850K secured by equipment and we're coming up on a renewal. Anyone dealt with this kind of debtor name mismatch on Indiana UCC filings before? Is the comma difference going to be a problem or am I overthinking this?
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Gavin King
I've seen this exact issue in Indiana before. The comma placement usually isn't a deal breaker for UCC filings, but you definitely want to verify this against the actual charter documents. Indiana follows the standard UCC Article 9 rules for debtor names - what matters is whether a reasonable searcher would find your filing when searching under the correct legal name. The key question is what name appears on the LLC's articles of organization filed with Indiana Secretary of State.
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Mohammed Khan
•Thanks for the quick response. I haven't pulled the charter docs yet but that makes sense. Do you know if there's a way to verify the exact legal name without ordering the full articles? The Indiana business entity search might show it but I'm not sure if that's the official version for UCC purposes.
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Gavin King
•The Indiana business entity search on the SOS website will show you the exact legal name as filed. That's what you need to compare against your UCC filing. If there's a mismatch, you might need to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name, especially with an $850K loan at stake.
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Nathan Kim
ugh this is exactly why I hate dealing with UCC filings. The name matching rules are so finicky and every state seems to have different quirks. Indiana is usually pretty reasonable but still, a comma could theoretically matter depending on how the LLC name is officially registered. Have you tried doing the search both ways - with and without the comma?
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Mohammed Khan
•I did try both ways actually. Without the comma I get no results, with the comma I get our filing plus two others for the same company. So it seems like the comma version is what's in the system as the official name.
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Eleanor Foster
•That's actually good news then - sounds like the comma version is the correct legal name and your filing is properly indexed. The fact that you get multiple filings for the same entity when using the comma version suggests that's the name other secured parties are using too.
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Lucas Turner
Just went through something similar with a Michigan debtor where the name had punctuation differences. What saved me was using Certana.ai's document verification tool - I uploaded our loan agreement and the UCC filing PDFs and it flagged the name discrepancy immediately. The tool cross-references everything and shows you exactly where the mismatches are. Made it super easy to spot that we needed to verify the charter name before proceeding.
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Mohammed Khan
•Never heard of Certana.ai but that sounds useful. How does it work exactly? Do you just upload the documents and it automatically finds inconsistencies?
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Lucas Turner
•Yeah exactly - you upload your charter docs, loan agreement, and UCC filing as PDFs and it does an automated comparison. Shows you side-by-side where names don't match up perfectly. Really helpful for catching these kinds of issues before they become problems with compliance or in a bankruptcy situation.
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Gavin King
•That's actually pretty smart. Manual document comparison is tedious and you can easily miss subtle differences like punctuation. Having an automated tool flag discrepancies would definitely speed up the due diligence process.
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Kai Rivera
The comma thing is probably fine but you should definitely verify against the articles of organization. Indiana UCC filings are pretty forgiving on minor punctuation as long as the core name elements match. The bigger concern would be if there were word differences or if the LLC had multiple names it operates under.
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Anna Stewart
•Agree with this. Punctuation differences usually don't invalidate UCC filings under the reasonably calculated to find standard. But with $850K on the line, why take chances? Better to verify the official name and amend if needed.
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Mohammed Khan
•Good point about not taking chances. The amount is significant enough that we should probably just verify the charter name and file an amendment if needed. Better safe than sorry when it comes to perfection.
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Layla Sanders
Just a heads up - if you do need to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name, make sure you do it before your loan renewal. You don't want any gaps in perfection, especially if this is an equipment loan where the collateral could be moved or sold.
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Mohammed Khan
•The renewal is still a few months out but you're right about not wanting any gaps. If we need to amend, better to do it now while we have time to make sure everything's properly recorded.
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Nathan Kim
•Also make sure the amendment references the original filing number correctly. I've seen cases where the amendment filing had typos in the original filing number reference and it created more confusion than it solved.
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Morgan Washington
I work with Indiana UCC filings regularly and honestly the comma issue is minor. The Indiana SOS system is pretty good at cross-referencing slight variations. Your bigger concern should be making sure the collateral description is broad enough to cover everything you intended to secure. Equipment and inventory is good but you might want to verify the specific language.
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Mohammed Khan
•The collateral description says 'all equipment, machinery, inventory, and fixtures now owned or hereafter acquired' so I think we're covered there. It's pretty broad language.
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Morgan Washington
•That's solid collateral language. With that description and assuming the debtor name issue is just the comma, you should be in good shape. But still worth verifying the charter name just to be thorough.
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Kaylee Cook
Had a similar issue last year with a UCC filing where the debtor name had a period vs no period difference. Ended up being a non-issue but we still filed an amendment just to be safe. The amendment cost like $25 in Indiana so it's not expensive insurance for an $850K loan.
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Mohammed Khan
•Yeah $25 is nothing compared to the potential issues if the filing isn't properly perfected. Probably worth doing the amendment just for peace of mind.
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Anna Stewart
•Exactly. The cost of filing a UCC-3 amendment is minimal compared to the risk of having an unperfected security interest. Better to over-correct than under-correct when it comes to UCC filings.
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Oliver Alexander
This is making me paranoid about all our UCC filings now. How often do you all actually go back and verify that the debtor names on old filings match the current charter documents? We have hundreds of filings and I'm wondering if we should be doing some kind of periodic audit.
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Gavin King
•We do an annual audit of our UCC portfolio, especially for larger loans. It's tedious but worth it to catch issues before they become problems. Name changes, mergers, and simple filing errors happen more often than you'd think.
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Lucas Turner
•This is another area where the Certana.ai tool has been helpful - you can upload multiple filings at once and it flags any inconsistencies across your whole portfolio. Makes the audit process much faster than doing manual comparisons.
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Oliver Alexander
•That automated approach sounds way better than trying to manually check hundreds of filings. The human error factor alone makes me nervous about manual audits.
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Lara Woods
Don't overthink the comma issue. Indiana UCC search results are usually pretty reliable for matching variations of entity names. The fact that your filing shows up when you search with the comma version suggests that's the correct format. Just verify it against the articles and you should be good to go.
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Mohammed Khan
•Thanks, that's reassuring. I think I am probably overthinking it but with compliance breathing down my neck about loan documentation, I want to make sure everything is bulletproof.
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Layla Sanders
•Compliance teams love to find issues with UCC filings because they're so technical. But in this case, if the Indiana search system returns your filing when you search the comma version, that's a good sign that it's properly indexed under the correct legal name.
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Adrian Hughes
Update us when you verify the charter name! I'm curious how this turns out because I've got a few Indiana filings that might have similar minor punctuation differences. Always good to know how these things get resolved.
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Mohammed Khan
•Will do! I'm going to pull the articles of organization tomorrow and see what the official name shows. If it matches the comma version then we're all set, if not then I'll file the amendment.
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Adrian Hughes
•Perfect. And if you do end up using that Certana tool someone mentioned, let us know how it works. Always looking for ways to streamline the UCC verification process.
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Nathan Kim
•Yeah I'm curious about that tool too. Anything that makes UCC compliance easier is worth checking out in my book.
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