UCC statement service filing deadline issues - need help with continuation
Running into problems with our UCC continuation filing that's due next month. We've been handling our own filings but this one has me stumped. The debtor name on our original UCC-1 shows 'ABC Manufacturing LLC' but their articles of incorporation show 'ABC Manufacturing, LLC' (with the comma). Our service agreement requires us to maintain perfected security interest and I'm worried about a name mismatch rejection. The collateral schedule covers equipment and inventory but I'm second-guessing whether our description is specific enough. Has anyone dealt with punctuation differences in debtor names? The SOS portal doesn't give clear guidance and a rejected continuation this close to the lapse date would be a disaster. We're located downtown and need to get this resolved quickly.
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CosmicCrusader
Name discrepancies are tricky but not necessarily fatal. The key is whether a reasonable searcher would find your filing under either name variation. Punctuation differences like commas are usually considered minor variations that don't affect the effectiveness of the filing. However, you'll want to check your state's specific rules because some are stricter than others.
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Omar Zaki
•Thanks for the response. Do you know if there's a way to verify this before submitting? I'd rather not risk a rejection and have to deal with a gap in perfection.
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Chloe Robinson
•You could always file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the name and then do your continuation, but that adds time and cost.
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Diego Flores
I've been through this exact situation last year. The comma issue usually isn't a problem but what saved me was using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You just upload your original UCC-1 and the continuation form as PDFs and it instantly flags any potential name mismatches or consistency issues. Caught three discrepancies I missed including a similar punctuation problem.
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Omar Zaki
•That sounds really helpful. How does it work exactly? Do you upload the charter documents too?
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Diego Flores
•Yeah, you can do a Charter→UCC-1 check workflow or UCC-3→UCC-1 check workflow. It cross-references everything automatically and shows exactly where the inconsistencies are. Way faster than manually comparing documents.
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Anastasia Kozlov
•This would have saved me so much headache last month when I had a continuation rejected for a name issue I never even noticed.
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Sean Flanagan
Don't overthink the comma thing but DO worry about your collateral description. 'Equipment and inventory' might be too broad depending on your state. Some require more specificity especially for equipment. What type of business is the debtor?
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Omar Zaki
•They're a small manufacturing company. The original filing just says 'all equipment, machinery, and inventory now owned or hereafter acquired.' Is that too generic?
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Sean Flanagan
•That's actually pretty standard language and should be fine for a manufacturer. The 'now owned or hereafter acquired' language is key for after-acquired property.
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Zara Mirza
Why are these systems so confusing?? I spent three hours trying to figure out if my debtor name was right and the SOS website is useless. How hard is it to give clear examples of what they accept?
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CosmicCrusader
•I feel your pain. The guidance is definitely inconsistent across states. Some have good examples and others leave you guessing.
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NebulaNinja
•At least it's not as bad as trying to figure out fixture filing requirements. That's a whole other nightmare.
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Luca Russo
File early! Don't wait until the last minute. Continuations can be filed up to 6 months before the lapse date. Give yourself time to fix any issues if the filing gets rejected.
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Omar Zaki
•Good point. I was planning to file next week but maybe I should do it this week just to be safe.
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Luca Russo
•Definitely. And keep your confirmation receipt. You'll need the file number for any follow-up filings.
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Nia Wilson
•Yes! I learned this the hard way when I filed a continuation on the last day and it got rejected. Had to scramble to refile and explain the gap to our legal department.
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Mateo Sanchez
Check your state's UCC search function. Try searching under both name variations and see what comes up. If both searches return your filing, you're probably fine.
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Omar Zaki
•That's a great idea. I'll run both searches and see what happens.
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Aisha Mahmood
•The search logic varies by state though. Some are more forgiving with punctuation than others.
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Ethan Clark
Had similar issues with LLC names and punctuation. Ended up calling the SOS office directly and they told me the comma wouldn't be an issue for our state. Might be worth a phone call if you're really worried.
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Omar Zaki
•Did they give you anything in writing or just verbal confirmation?
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Ethan Clark
•Just verbal, which isn't ideal but at least gave me some confidence to proceed.
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AstroAce
Whatever you do, don't let it lapse. A gap in perfection can be a huge problem depending on your security agreement. Better to file with the name question and deal with any issues after than to miss the deadline.
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Omar Zaki
•Absolutely. The lender would not be happy if we lost our perfected status over a technicality.
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Yuki Kobayashi
•Exactly. Priority issues can be a nightmare if you have to refile after lapse.
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Carmen Vega
I've used Certana.ai for similar document consistency checks and it's been really accurate. Saved me from filing errors multiple times. The PDF upload feature makes it super easy to spot discrepancies you might miss manually.
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Omar Zaki
•Two people have mentioned this tool now. Sounds like it might be worth trying before I file.
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Carmen Vega
•It's definitely worth it for the peace of mind. Better to catch issues upfront than deal with rejections and refiling.
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Andre Rousseau
Update us on what happens! I'm dealing with a similar name variation issue on a different filing and curious how it works out.
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Omar Zaki
•Will do. Planning to file by end of week so I should know soon.
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Zoe Stavros
•Same here. These name consistency issues seem to be getting more common.
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