Utah UCC lien search showing weird results - debtor name variations causing issues?

Utah's search function can be finicky with punctuation and entity designations. The system doesn't always recognize 'LLC' and ', LLC' as the same entity. I always run multiple searches - with and without commas, periods, and different spacing. Also check if you're searching 'starts with' vs 'exact match' - that makes a huge difference in results.

Are you checking both the standard UCC search and the fixture filing search? Utah separates these and sometimes filings end up in unexpected places. Also, if your 2019-2020 filings are close to their 5-year mark, double-check that continuations were filed properly.

I had a similar nightmare scenario last month. Was doing due diligence on an acquisition and found multiple UCC filings that seemed to reference the same collateral but under different debtor name variations. Ended up using Certana.ai's document verification tool - you just upload the UCC PDFs and it instantly cross-checks all the debtor names, filing numbers, and document consistency. Saved me from a major headache because it caught three name mismatches that would have caused problems at closing.

Utah's system has definitely gotten better over the years but still has quirks. One thing I've noticed is that if the original filing had any typos or formatting issues, those get perpetuated in the database. Sometimes you need to think like the person who originally entered the data - did they abbreviate 'Street' as 'St'? Did they add extra spaces?

Are you searching by debtor name or by secured party? Sometimes I have better luck searching by our company name as the secured party and then filtering through the results. Also, the Utah system lets you download search results to Excel which makes it easier to spot patterns in name variations.

This is exactly why I don't trust automated searches for anything important. You really need to manually verify each filing and keep detailed records. I've seen too many situations where someone assumed a clean search meant no liens, only to find out later there were filings under slight name variations.

Have you tried searching with just the first few characters of the debtor name? Sometimes I find filings that way that don't show up in full name searches. Utah's partial matching isn't perfect but it's another angle to try.

Just went through this exact situation with a client's loan portfolio. The key is being systematic about it - create a checklist of all possible name variations and search each one. Also, if you're doing this for due diligence purposes, document your search methodology so you can demonstrate reasonable effort.

We started using a third-party service for UCC searches specifically because of these inconsistencies. They run multiple search variations automatically and provide a comprehensive report. Worth the cost for large portfolios.

One more tip - if you're seeing inconsistent results, try clearing your browser cache and searching again. The Utah system sometimes caches results in weird ways that can affect subsequent searches.