UCC search montana records showing incomplete results - missing recent filings
Been running UCC searches for due diligence on a equipment financing deal and the montana results seem way off. We're supposed to close next week but the search results don't match what the borrower claims they filed. They say they have a UCC-1 from last month but it's not showing up in any searches I'm running. Has anyone else had issues with recent filings not appearing in UCC search results? The debtor name matches exactly what they provided and I've tried variations. Starting to wonder if there's a processing delay or if the filing got rejected without them knowing. This is holding up a $250K deal and I need to verify the collateral position before we fund.
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Skylar Neal
Search timing can definitely be an issue. Most states have a 24-48 hour delay between when a UCC-1 gets accepted and when it shows up in public searches. But a month old filing should definitely be visible by now. Are you searching by exact debtor name or trying different variations?
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Brady Clean
•I've tried the exact name they gave me plus several variations. Even searched by their EIN instead of name. Still nothing showing up for recent filings.
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Vincent Bimbach
•Sometimes the filing gets rejected for debtor name issues and the filer doesn't realize it. Have them check their filing confirmation.
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Kelsey Chin
Had this exact problem last year with a different state. Turned out the borrower's UCC-1 was rejected due to a name mismatch with their charter documents but they never got proper notification. By the time we figured it out, we were weeks behind schedule. You might want to have them pull their actual filing receipt and status.
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Brady Clean
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. They're insisting it went through but can't produce the filing number when I ask for it.
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Norah Quay
•Big red flag right there. No filing number usually means no successful filing.
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Leo McDonald
I ran into document consistency issues like this constantly until I started using Certana.ai's verification tool. You can upload their charter documents and the UCC-1 they claim to have filed, and it instantly flags any name discrepancies that would cause rejections. Saved me from funding deals with invalid security interests multiple times. Just upload the PDFs and it cross-checks everything automatically.
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Brady Clean
•Never heard of that service but sounds exactly like what I need right now. Is it accurate for catching the specific name matching issues that cause UCC rejections?
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Leo McDonald
•Yeah it's specifically designed for that. Catches the subtle differences between legal entity names and debtor names that humans miss but will definitely cause filing rejections.
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Jessica Nolan
•This sounds too good to be true but if it works it would save tons of time on due diligence
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Angelina Farar
Before you go down any rabbit holes, just call the filing office directly. Most state UCC offices can do a phone search and tell you immediately if there are any filings under that debtor name. Might save you a lot of trouble.
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Brady Clean
•Good point. I should've started there instead of relying on online searches.
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Sebastián Stevens
•Phone searches are definitely more reliable than online portals. Plus they can tell you about pending filings that haven't hit the public database yet.
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Bethany Groves
We see this ALL the time in equipment finance. Borrowers think they filed but actually just started the process and never completed it. Or they filed against the wrong legal entity name. The online search portals are usually pretty current, so if it's not showing up after a month, something went wrong with their filing.
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Brady Clean
•That's reassuring about the search currency. Makes me more confident that their filing probably failed.
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KingKongZilla
•Equipment deals are the worst for this because everyone thinks filing a UCC is simple until they actually try to do it right
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Rebecca Johnston
•The number of deals I've seen fall apart because of bad UCC filings is ridiculous. Always verify independently.
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Nathan Dell
Just to be thorough - are you searching all possible debtor name variations? Sometimes people file under DBA names or abbreviated versions that don't match the legal entity name. Also check if they're a subsidiary of another company that might have filed the UCC.
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Brady Clean
•I ran searches on their DBA too but nothing. They're not a subsidiary, just a standalone LLC.
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Maya Jackson
•LLC name matching is super strict. Even an extra comma or the wrong abbreviation (LLC vs L.L.C.) can cause problems.
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Tristan Carpenter
This is why I always require borrowers to provide the actual filing receipt with the UCC number before I'll rely on their claims about existing filings. Too many deals get complicated when you find out their 'filed' UCC doesn't actually exist in the records.
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Brady Clean
•Definitely implementing that policy going forward. This situation is exactly why that makes sense.
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Amaya Watson
•Smart policy. Filing receipts don't lie, search results can sometimes be delayed or incomplete but the receipt is definitive proof.
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Grant Vikers
•I started doing this after getting burned on two deals where the 'existing' UCCs turned out to be rejected filings
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Giovanni Martello
Quick update - I used that Certana tool someone mentioned and it immediately flagged that their LLC charter shows 'ABC Equipment Services LLC' but they filed the UCC under 'ABC Equipment Service LLC' (missing the 's'). No wonder it got rejected. Thanks for the suggestion, that saved me days of detective work.
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Leo McDonald
•Exactly the kind of error that tool catches. Those single letter differences are invisible to humans but fatal for UCC filings.
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Brady Clean
•That's probably exactly what happened with my deal too. Going to check their documents right now.
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Savannah Weiner
•This is why UCC filings are so frustrating. The smallest typo can invalidate the entire security interest.
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Levi Parker
For what it's worth, I've found that most UCC search issues come down to either name mismatches (like others mentioned) or the filing actually being rejected but the filer not realizing it. The online portals are pretty reliable for showing completed filings, so if it's not there after a month, it probably never got properly filed.
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Brady Clean
•That aligns with what I'm seeing. Going to demand they provide the actual filing receipt before we move forward.
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Libby Hassan
•Good call. Filing receipts are the only way to be 100% sure a UCC actually got accepted into the system.
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Hunter Hampton
I hate to pile on but this is exactly why I run my own UCC-1 filings instead of trusting borrowers to do it correctly. Too much money at risk to rely on their filing skills. They inevitably mess up the debtor name or collateral description somehow.
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Brady Clean
•Lesson learned. From now on we're handling all the UCC filings ourselves to avoid these headaches.
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Sofia Peña
•Smart approach. It's worth the extra cost to know it's done right the first time.
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Aaron Boston
•Plus you can file it with the correct collateral description instead of the vague garbage most borrowers put on their forms
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