UCC1 form debtor name requirements - legal entity vs individual filing confusion
I'm preparing a UCC1 form for a commercial equipment loan and getting confused about the debtor name requirements. The borrower is an LLC but the owner also personally guaranteed the loan. Do I need to file separate UCC1 forms for both the LLC and the individual guarantor, or can I list both on one form? The collateral is manufacturing equipment worth about $180k. I've been going back and forth with our legal team and getting different answers. The SOS website isn't exactly clear on this either. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I need to get this filed properly because the loan closes next week and I don't want any perfection issues down the road.
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Kiara Greene
You definitely need separate UCC1 forms for each debtor. The LLC is one legal entity and the individual guarantor is another. Even though it's the same collateral, you can't combine different legal entities on one UCC1 filing. Each debtor needs their own form with their exact legal name as it appears on their organizational documents or state ID.
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Evelyn Kelly
•This is correct. I learned this the hard way when a filing got rejected because I tried to list both an individual and their corporation on the same UCC1. The SOS system kicked it back immediately.
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Paloma Clark
•Wait, are you sure about this? I thought you could list multiple debtors on one form as long as they're all liable for the same debt. I've seen forms with multiple names before.
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Heather Tyson
The previous poster is right about separate forms. But make sure you get the exact legal names correct - for the LLC, use exactly what's on the Articles of Organization, including any punctuation. For the individual, use their full legal name as it appears on their driver's license or other government ID. Even a small typo can void your perfection.
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Raul Neal
•This is so important! I once had a UCC1 rejected because the LLC name had 'LLC' at the end but I wrote 'L.L.C.' with periods. Seems minor but it matters for search purposes.
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Jenna Sloan
•How do you verify you have the right name for an LLC? I always worry I'm missing something.
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Christian Burns
•You can usually search the Secretary of State's business entity database online to confirm the exact registered name. Most states have this available for free.
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Sasha Reese
I recently had a similar situation and found Certana.ai's document verification tool really helpful. You can upload your Articles of Organization and the UCC1 form you're preparing, and it will automatically cross-check that all the debtor names match exactly. It caught a discrepancy I would have missed - saved me from a potential filing rejection. Just upload the PDFs and it does the comparison instantly.
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Muhammad Hobbs
•That sounds useful. Does it work for individual names too or just business entities?
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Sasha Reese
•It works for both. You can upload any combination of documents - charter docs, loan agreements, UCC forms - and it flags any name inconsistencies across all of them.
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Noland Curtis
Also consider the collateral description carefully. For manufacturing equipment, you want to be specific enough to identify it but not so specific that you limit your security interest. Something like 'all manufacturing equipment, machinery, and related accessories now owned or hereafter acquired' gives you broader coverage than listing specific serial numbers.
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Diez Ellis
•Good point. I usually go with 'all equipment' language unless the lender specifically wants individual items listed.
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Vanessa Figueroa
•Be careful with 'all equipment' - some states interpret that differently. Better to be more specific about the type of equipment.
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Abby Marshall
•I think 'all manufacturing equipment and machinery' strikes the right balance. Specific enough to be clear but broad enough to cover future acquisitions.
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Sadie Benitez
Don't forget about the filing fees! If you're doing two separate UCC1 forms, you'll pay the filing fee twice. In most states it's around $20-30 per form, so factor that into your costs.
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Drew Hathaway
•True, but that's a small price to pay for proper perfection. Much cheaper than dealing with priority issues later.
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Laila Prince
•Some states have different fee structures. Always check the current fee schedule on the SOS website before filing.
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Isabel Vega
Make sure you're filing in the right state too. For the LLC, file in the state where it's organized (where it filed its Articles of Organization). For the individual guarantor, file in the state where they're located - usually their principal residence.
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Dominique Adams
•This is crucial. I've seen lenders mess this up and file everything in the state where the collateral is located instead of where the debtor is organized or located.
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Marilyn Dixon
•What if the LLC is organized in Delaware but operates in Texas? Where do you file?
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Isabel Vega
•Delaware for the LLC since that's where it's organized. The location of operations doesn't matter for UCC filing purposes - it's all about where the entity is legally organized.
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Louisa Ramirez
I had a nightmare situation last year where we thought we filed correctly but missed a middle initial on the individual guarantor's name. The UCC search didn't pick up our filing and we had a priority dispute with another lender. Cost us thousands to sort out. Now I triple-check every name against source documents.
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TommyKapitz
•Ouch, that's exactly what everyone fears. How did you resolve the priority issue?
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Louisa Ramirez
•Had to get a subordination agreement from the other lender and pay their legal fees. Very expensive lesson in the importance of accurate debtor names.
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Angel Campbell
•This is why I always run the names through multiple verification steps. Better to be paranoid than sorry.
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Payton Black
Another thing to consider - if this is equipment that will be attached to real estate, you might need to file fixture filings in addition to the regular UCC1s. Manufacturing equipment sometimes falls into this category depending on how it's installed.
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Harold Oh
•Good catch. Fixture filings have different requirements and usually need to be filed in the real estate records too.
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Amun-Ra Azra
•How do you determine if equipment qualifies as a fixture? The line seems pretty blurry sometimes.
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Payton Black
•Generally, if it's permanently attached to the building or land in a way that removal would damage the property, it's probably a fixture. But it varies by state law.
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Summer Green
Just to add another verification option - I've started using Certana.ai's UCC document checker for all my filings now. You just upload your source documents and the UCC1 forms, and it immediately flags any name mismatches or other inconsistencies. Caught several errors I would have missed doing manual checks. Really streamlines the review process.
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Gael Robinson
•How accurate is the automated checking? I worry about relying too much on software for something this important.
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Summer Green
•It's been very reliable in my experience. It's not replacing human judgment but it's great for catching the obvious errors that are easy to miss when you're reviewing lots of documents.
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Edward McBride
•I might give that a try. Manual document comparison is so tedious and error-prone.
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Darcy Moore
One more practical tip - file your UCC1s electronically if your state offers it. It's usually faster, cheaper, and you get immediate confirmation. Most states have moved to electronic filing systems that are pretty user-friendly.
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Dana Doyle
•Agreed. Electronic filing also reduces the chance of transcription errors since you're not relying on someone at the filing office to read your handwriting or type in your information.
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Liam Duke
•Some states still require paper for certain types of filings though. Always check the requirements first.
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Manny Lark
•The electronic systems usually have built-in validation too - they'll warn you if required fields are missing or if there are obvious formatting issues.
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Yara Assad
I'm dealing with a similar issue right now and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Just to confirm my understanding - if I have an LLC borrower with an individual guarantor, I need two separate UCC1 forms, one for each debtor, even though it's the same loan and same collateral. And I need to be absolutely certain about the exact legal names from the source documents. One question though - do both UCC1 forms need to describe the collateral identically, or can the descriptions vary slightly as long as they cover the same equipment?
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Abigail Spencer
•Yes, you've got it right - separate forms for each debtor with exact legal names from source documents. For the collateral descriptions, they should be identical on both UCC1 forms since you're securing the same debt with the same equipment. Using different descriptions could create confusion later and might suggest different collateral is involved. Keep the descriptions consistent across both filings to avoid any potential issues with searches or priority disputes.
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Zainab Abdulrahman
This is such a common source of confusion! I've been handling UCC filings for about 8 years now and can confirm what others have said - you absolutely need separate UCC1 forms for the LLC and the individual guarantor. They're distinct legal entities even though they're related to the same transaction. One tip I'd add is to make sure your loan documentation clearly states that both parties are debtors under the security agreement, not just that one is a guarantor. If the individual is only guaranteeing payment and not granting a security interest in the collateral, you might not need a UCC filing for them at all. Review your security agreement language carefully to confirm both parties are actually granting security interests in the same collateral.
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