UCC search Kentucky showing different debtor name - filing still valid?
Running into a weird situation with a UCC search Kentucky and need some advice. We have a UCC-1 filed last year for equipment financing and when I pull up the search results, the debtor name shows slightly different than what's on our loan docs. Our paperwork shows "Johnson Construction LLC" but the Kentucky UCC search is showing "Johnson Construction, LLC" with the comma. The filing number matches and everything else looks right, but this name difference has me worried. Is this going to be a problem if we need to file a continuation next year? Our compliance officer is freaking out saying the lien might not be perfected properly because of the name mismatch. Has anyone dealt with this kind of thing in Kentucky before?
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Mateo Hernandez
This is actually pretty common with LLC names and punctuation differences. Kentucky's UCC system usually treats "Johnson Construction LLC" and "Johnson Construction, LLC" as substantially similar. The key is whether a reasonable searcher would find your filing when looking for the debtor. Since you found it in your search, that's a good sign.
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CosmicCruiser
•But what about continuation filings? Won't the system reject it if the names don't match exactly?
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Mateo Hernandez
•Kentucky allows minor variations like punctuation. Just make sure to use the exact name that appears in the search results when you file your UCC-3 continuation.
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Aisha Khan
I had almost the exact same issue last month! Except mine was with an ampersand vs "and" in the business name. Spent hours worrying about it until I found Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload your original loan docs and the UCC-1 filing, and it instantly checks for these kinds of discrepancies. Really saved me from filing an unnecessary amendment.
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Nia Jackson
•Never heard of that tool before. Does it actually work with Kentucky filings?
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Aisha Khan
•Yeah it works with all states. Just upload the PDFs and it cross-checks everything - debtor names, filing numbers, collateral descriptions. Takes like 2 minutes and shows you exactly what matches and what doesn't.
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Ethan Taylor
•Sounds too good to be true honestly. How much does something like that cost?
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Aisha Khan
•Actually pretty reasonable compared to paying lawyers to review everything manually. The main value is catching issues before they become problems.
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Yuki Ito
CHECK YOUR ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION! This happened to us and turns out the LLC was actually filed with the comma in Kentucky's Secretary of State records. The UCC system pulled the name directly from the business registration database. We thought we had a problem but actually our loan docs were wrong, not the UCC filing.
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Nia Jackson
•Oh wow I didn't think to check that. Let me pull up the Articles of Incorporation and see what name is actually registered.
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Yuki Ito
•Yeah that's the first thing to verify. The UCC follows whatever name is on file with the state for LLCs.
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Carmen Lopez
This is why I always do a test search before filing anything. Kentucky's system is pretty forgiving with punctuation but you want to make sure you're using the exact registered name. Also check if there are multiple variations of the name showing up in search results - sometimes companies file under slightly different versions.
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Andre Dupont
•What do you mean by test search? Just searching for the debtor name before filing?
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Carmen Lopez
•Exactly. Search for different variations of the name to see how the system treats them. If "Johnson Construction LLC" and "Johnson Construction, LLC" both pull up the same filing, you're fine.
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QuantumQuasar
•Good advice. I always search with and without punctuation just to be safe.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
Had this exact scenario with a client in Louisville. Turned out the comma version was correct according to the state records. We amended our loan documents to match rather than filing a UCC-3 amendment. Much cleaner that way and avoided any potential perfection issues.
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Jamal Wilson
•That makes sense. Probably easier to fix the loan docs than deal with UCC amendments.
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Zoe Papanikolaou
•Right, especially since the UCC filing was technically correct all along. Just a documentation mismatch on our end.
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Mei Lin
I'm dealing with something similar but it's not just punctuation - our debtor changed their legal name completely and we need to figure out if we should file an amendment or a new UCC-1. This thread is helpful though, at least for the punctuation issues.
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Mateo Hernandez
•That's a totally different situation. Name changes usually require a UCC-3 amendment to add the new name, not just correcting punctuation.
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Mei Lin
•Yeah I figured it was more complicated. Just seeing if anyone had similar experiences.
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Liam Fitzgerald
Honestly the Kentucky UCC system has gotten better about this stuff. A few years ago even tiny differences would cause problems but now they're more reasonable with matching logic. Still worth double-checking everything though.
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Amara Nnamani
•Agree, the new search system is much more forgiving.
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Nia Jackson
•Good to know. This is my first time dealing with Kentucky filings so wasn't sure how strict they are.
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Giovanni Mancini
Whatever you do, don't panic and file an unnecessary amendment. I've seen people do that and create more problems than they solve. If the search is finding your filing and the business name is substantially similar, you're probably fine. Just document everything in case anyone asks questions later.
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Nia Jackson
•That's good advice. I was definitely considering filing an amendment just to be safe.
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Giovanni Mancini
•Save yourself the filing fee and headache. If you're really worried, get a UCC search report from a service company that shows all variations.
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NebulaNinja
•Or use that Certana thing someone mentioned earlier. Sounds like it would catch this kind of stuff automatically.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
Just went through this with a client. The comma was in the Articles of Incorporation but not in our UCC-1. We used Certana.ai to verify the mismatch and it flagged the discrepancy immediately. Ended up filing a UCC-3 amendment to add the comma version as an additional debtor name. Better safe than sorry with lien perfection.
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Nia Jackson
•So you actually did file an amendment? That seems to contradict what others are saying about it not being necessary.
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Fatima Al-Suwaidi
•Every situation is different. Our loan agreement specifically required exact name matches, so we had to cover all bases. Your documents might be more flexible.
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Dylan Mitchell
UPDATE: Checked the Articles of Incorporation and you guys were right - the LLC is officially registered as "Johnson Construction, LLC" with the comma. So our UCC filing is correct and our loan docs just left out the punctuation. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!
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Mateo Hernandez
•Glad that worked out! Always check the state records first.
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Yuki Ito
•Told you so! This happens more often than people think.
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Aisha Khan
•Great outcome. This is exactly the kind of thing those document verification tools are good for - catching these mismatches before they become bigger issues.
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