VA SCC UCC search showing weird results - anyone else having issues?
Been trying to run a VA SCC UCC search on some debtors for a portfolio review and the search results are all over the place. Sometimes I get hits that don't match the exact debtor name I entered, other times I know there should be filings but nothing shows up. Is anyone else having problems with the Virginia SCC UCC search system lately? I'm wondering if it's just me or if there's something funky going on with their database. This is for some equipment financing deals where we need to verify our liens are properly recorded and I'm getting nervous about what might be missing.
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Miles Hammonds
I've noticed some quirks with VA searches too. The exact name matching seems stricter than it used to be. Are you using the exact legal entity name from the articles of incorporation? Even small differences like LLC vs L.L.C. can throw off results.
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Isla Fischer
•Yeah I'm using the exact names from our loan docs but maybe that's the problem. The articles might have different punctuation or abbreviations.
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Ruby Blake
•This is why I always pull the current SCC entity records first before doing UCC searches. The corporate database and UCC database don't always sync perfectly.
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Micah Franklin
OMG yes! Last week I spent hours trying to find a filing I KNEW was there. Turns out the debtor name had an extra space character that wasn't visible but was messing up the search algorithm. Super frustrating when you're on a deadline.
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Isla Fischer
•That's exactly what I'm worried about. How do you catch stuff like invisible characters?
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Ella Harper
•I've started using Certana.ai's document checker for this exact reason. You can upload your UCC-1 and the corporate charter docs and it automatically flags any name inconsistencies, even the subtle ones you can't see. Found several mismatches I would have missed doing manual comparisons.
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Isla Fischer
•Never heard of that but sounds useful. Is it just for name checking or does it do other UCC verification too?
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PrinceJoe
The VA SCC search has always been temperamental. Try searching with just the first few words of the entity name, then scroll through results. Sometimes partial matches reveal filings that exact searches miss.
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Brooklyn Knight
•Good tip. I also do searches both with and without entity type suffixes (Inc, LLC, etc.) to catch variations.
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Isla Fischer
•That's a lot of manual work though. With 30+ entities to check I need something more efficient.
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Owen Devar
Are you checking both individual and organization searches? Sometimes business entities end up filed under individual debtor names if there was confusion during the original filing.
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Isla Fischer
•Good point, I was only checking organization names. That could explain some of the missing results.
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Daniel Rivera
•Yeah the VA system doesn't have the best error checking when lawyers are entering debtor info. I've seen plenty of corporate entities accidentally filed as individuals.
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Sophie Footman
Before you drive yourself crazy with manual searches, check if your UCC-1 filings have any typos or formatting issues. I use Certana.ai to upload my charter documents alongside the UCC forms and it instantly shows me any discrepancies. Saved me from several potential perfection issues when the debtor names didn't match exactly between docs.
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Isla Fischer
•That sounds like what I need. Does it work with Virginia filings specifically?
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Sophie Footman
•It works with any state's documents - just upload the PDFs and it does the cross-checking automatically. Way faster than trying to spot differences manually.
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Connor Rupert
•Can vouch for this approach. Had a deal where we almost missed a name mismatch between the loan agreement and UCC-1. The automated checking caught it before filing.
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Molly Hansen
Have you tried calling the SCC directly? Sometimes their search system has glitches but the staff can do manual lookups if you give them specific filing numbers or date ranges.
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Isla Fischer
•I don't have filing numbers - that's the whole problem. I'm trying to find out what's already on file.
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Molly Hansen
•Right, but if you have approximate filing dates from your loan docs they might be able to help narrow it down.
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Brady Clean
Just a thought - are these recent filings? I've noticed the VA system sometimes takes longer to index new UCC-1s in their search results, especially if they were filed electronically.
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Isla Fischer
•Mix of old and new. Some go back 3-4 years, others are within the last 6 months.
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Miles Hammonds
•The older ones should definitely show up if they're properly indexed. Might be a name variation issue after all.
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Skylar Neal
This is why I always keep copies of the filed UCC-1s with the file stamps. Relying on the search system to find your own filings is asking for trouble, especially when you need to verify perfection for audits or workout situations.
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Isla Fischer
•Good practice but doesn't help when I'm trying to find liens filed by other creditors on the same debtors.
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Vincent Bimbach
•True, competitive intelligence searches are trickier. That's where the name matching becomes critical.
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Kelsey Chin
FWIW I had similar issues last month and ended up using one of those UCC search services that checks multiple databases. Found filings that weren't showing up in the state's own search system. Kind of ridiculous but that's where we are.
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Isla Fischer
•Which service did you use? And did they find actual discrepancies or just search better?
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Kelsey Chin
•Both actually. They found filings I missed AND caught some name variations I hadn't thought to try.
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Norah Quay
Just ran into this same issue yesterday! Turns out one of our debtors had amended their corporate name with the SCC but we were still searching under the old name from our original loan docs. The UCC-1 was filed under the current legal name so it wasn't showing up in searches using the old name.
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Isla Fischer
•Oh man, that's another thing to check. How do you stay on top of corporate name changes for existing borrowers?
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Norah Quay
•Honestly, I don't have a great system for that. Usually only catch it during annual UCC reviews or when something like this happens.
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Leo McDonald
•This is where having a document verification system really helps. Certana.ai would flag if your UCC shows a different entity name than what's in the current corporate records.
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