UCC under which article governs equipment financing liens
I'm working on a commercial loan secured by manufacturing equipment and the borrower is asking about UCC under which article this falls under. I know it's Article 9 but they're questioning whether certain industrial machinery might fall under a different article since it's attached to real estate. The equipment includes conveyor systems, heavy presses, and some built-in processing units. I've been doing UCC-1 filings for years but never had someone challenge the article classification like this. The loan is for $850,000 and I need to make sure I'm not missing something critical about which UCC article applies. Has anyone dealt with equipment that straddles the line between personal property and fixtures? I'm worried about filing under the wrong article and having the lien be invalid.
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Nathaniel Mikhaylov
Article 9 is definitely correct for equipment financing. The UCC is organized with Article 9 covering secured transactions in personal property. Even if some of your equipment could be considered fixtures, you'd still file UCC-1 forms under Article 9 provisions. The key is whether you need a fixture filing or regular filing.
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Eva St. Cyr
•This is right - Article 9 governs all secured transactions. The fixture question is about WHERE you file (central filing vs real estate records) not which article applies.
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Kristian Bishop
•Wait, I'm confused. Are we talking about the same UCC? I thought there were different articles for different types of transactions.
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Kaitlyn Otto
Your borrower might be confused about UCC structure. Article 9 covers secured transactions, Article 2 covers sales, Article 3 covers negotiable instruments, etc. For any UCC-1 filing on equipment, you're always under Article 9 regardless of the collateral type. The fixture issue just affects filing location and some priority rules.
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Axel Far
•Exactly! I see this confusion all the time. People think fixtures need a different article but it's all Article 9.
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Jasmine Hernandez
•So conveyor systems that are bolted down would still be Article 9? Even if they're considered part of the real estate?
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Kaitlyn Otto
•Yes, still Article 9. You might need to do a fixture filing in the real estate records instead of central filing, but it's still an Article 9 UCC-1 form.
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Luis Johnson
I had a similar situation last month with $1.2M in food processing equipment. Some of it was definitely fixtures but everything was filed under Article 9. I used Certana.ai to double-check the consistency between my loan docs and UCC-1 - it caught that I had described some equipment as 'fixtures' in the loan agreement but as 'equipment' on the UCC-1. That kind of inconsistency can cause problems later.
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Ellie Kim
•That's a good point about description consistency. How does Certana.ai work for that kind of check?
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Luis Johnson
•You just upload your loan docs and UCC-1 as PDFs and it automatically flags discrepancies in debtor names, collateral descriptions, and other key fields. Really helpful for catching those details that could void your security interest.
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Fiona Sand
Article 9 100%. I've never seen a UCC-1 filed under any other article. Your borrower might be thinking of real estate law where different rules apply to fixtures vs personal property. But for UCC purposes, it's all Article 9 secured transactions.
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Mohammad Khaled
•This makes sense. I think I was overthinking it too. Thanks for clarifying!
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Alina Rosenthal
•The real estate angle is probably what's confusing them. Different laws, same UCC article.
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Finnegan Gunn
Just to be absolutely clear - ALL UCC-1 filings are under Article 9. The other articles cover different types of commercial transactions but not secured transactions. Article 2 is sales, Article 3 is negotiable instruments, Article 4 is bank deposits, etc. When you're filing a UCC-1 to perfect a security interest, you're always in Article 9 territory.
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Miguel Harvey
•Perfect explanation. This should put any doubts to rest.
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Ashley Simian
•Wish I had known this earlier - would have saved me some anxiety on my first big equipment deal.
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Oliver Cheng
The fixture question is really about filing strategy, not which article applies. If your equipment is truly fixtures, you might need to file in the real estate records where the property is located instead of the central filing office. But it's still an Article 9 UCC-1 form either way.
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Taylor To
•How do you determine if something is a fixture for filing purposes?
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Oliver Cheng
•Generally if it's permanently attached to real estate and would be considered part of the real property. But the specific test varies by state.
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Ella Cofer
•This is where it gets tricky. Some states have very specific fixture filing requirements.
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Kevin Bell
I deal with this question monthly. Article 9 covers secured transactions, period. Whether your collateral is equipment, inventory, accounts receivable, or fixtures - if you're filing a UCC-1 to perfect a security interest, you're operating under Article 9. The borrower might benefit from reviewing the UCC structure with their attorney.
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Savannah Glover
•Good suggestion about having them talk to their attorney. Probably clear up the confusion quickly.
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Felix Grigori
•Yeah, sounds like they need some basic education on UCC structure.
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Felicity Bud
For what it's worth, I've seen lenders get confused about this too. Had one bank tell me they needed to file under Article 2 for equipment sales. Totally wrong - Article 2 covers the sale transaction, Article 9 covers the security interest. Two different things entirely.
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Max Reyes
•That's concerning that a bank would get this wrong. Shows how important it is to understand the basics.
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Mikayla Davison
•I've seen similar confusion. People mix up the transaction type with the security interest rules.
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Adrian Connor
Article 9 is your answer. I always double-check my filings with document verification tools now after having a few close calls with description mismatches. Certana.ai has been helpful for ensuring my loan agreements and UCC-1 forms are consistent - especially important when you're dealing with equipment that might be classified differently in different documents.
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Aisha Jackson
•That consistency check sounds really useful. I should probably start doing something similar.
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Ryder Everingham
•How often do you find discrepancies when you do those checks?
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Adrian Connor
•More often than I'd like to admit. Usually minor stuff but occasionally something that could be a real problem.
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Lilly Curtis
Just want to confirm what everyone else is saying - Article 9 all the way. Your borrower is probably thinking about real estate law or maybe confused about the UCC's structure. All secured transactions fall under Article 9, regardless of collateral type. The fixture issue is just about filing location and some priority rules, not which article governs.
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Leo Simmons
•Thanks everyone. This has been really helpful. I feel much more confident explaining this to my borrower now.
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Lindsey Fry
•Glad we could help clear this up. Article 9 questions come up a lot.
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