Vermont Secretary of State UCC filing portal keeps rejecting my continuation - debtor name exact match issues
I'm dealing with a nightmare situation trying to file a UCC-3 continuation in Vermont and the SOS portal keeps kicking it back. The original UCC-1 was filed 3 years ago for equipment financing on construction machinery, and now I'm 45 days out from the 5-year lapse date. The debtor name on my continuation shows 'Mountain View Construction LLC' which matches our loan docs exactly, but the search results show the original filing has 'Mountain View Construction, LLC' with that extra comma. The equipment is worth $180K and if this lien lapses we're completely unsecured. Vermont's portal won't let me amend the original debtor name and won't accept the continuation with the 'mismatched' name. Has anyone dealt with Vermont SOS being this picky about punctuation in debtor names? I've called twice and got different answers both times - one person said file an amendment first, another said the continuation should work as-is. Running out of time here and getting desperate.
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Finley Garrett
Vermont is notorious for exact name matching on continuations. That comma difference will definitely cause rejection. You need to file a UCC-3 amendment to correct the debtor name FIRST, then file your continuation referencing the corrected name. Don't try to do both in one filing - Vermont's system won't handle it.
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Madison Tipne
•This is exactly right. I learned this the hard way last year with a similar situation. The amendment has to be accepted and indexed before you can file the continuation.
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Holly Lascelles
•Wait, but doesn't the amendment reset the effectiveness date? I thought you couldn't amend debtor names on existing filings without affecting the original filing date.
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Malia Ponder
Actually had this exact issue with Vermont last month. The comma thing is ridiculous but they're super strict about it. I ended up using Certana.ai's document checker - you can upload your original UCC-1 and your continuation PDFs and it instantly flags name mismatches like this. Would have saved me weeks of back and forth with the SOS office. Just upload both documents and it shows you exactly where the discrepancies are.
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Kyle Wallace
•Never heard of that tool but sounds useful. Does it work with Vermont's specific requirements?
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Malia Ponder
•Yeah it catches all the standard name matching issues that cause rejections. Really helpful for catching things you might miss when comparing documents manually.
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Ryder Ross
OMG this is giving me anxiety just reading it. I have a continuation due in Vermont next month and now I'm terrified about name matching. How do you even know if there are punctuation differences without requesting copies of the original filing?
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Finley Garrett
•You should always pull a search report before filing any continuation. Vermont charges like $10 for the search but it's worth it to see exactly how the debtor name appears in their system.
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Gianni Serpent
•Or just search the online database - it's free and shows how names are indexed. Though sometimes the display format is different from the actual filed document.
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Ryder Ross
•Thanks, I'll definitely do the search first. This stuff is so stressful when there's real money on the line.
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Henry Delgado
Vermont Secretary of State office is the WORST for this stuff. I swear they reject filings just to collect more fees. Had them reject a termination last year because the debtor address had 'Street' instead of 'St.' - like seriously?? The whole system is designed to trip you up.
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Olivia Kay
•I feel your pain but they're actually just following the UCC rules. Name matching has to be exact or secured parties could lose their perfected status. Still frustrating though.
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Henry Delgado
•I get that but the inconsistency is what kills me. Some states are flexible, others are nazis about every comma and period.
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Joshua Hellan
Can you do a corrective continuation? I thought Vermont allowed you to correct minor name discrepancies as part of the continuation filing itself rather than doing separate amendment first.
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Finley Garrett
•Not for debtor name changes. You can correct secured party info in a continuation but debtor name corrections require a separate amendment filing.
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Jibriel Kohn
•This is correct. Debtor name is considered fundamental to the filing - any change requires amendment procedure.
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Edison Estevez
Same thing happened to me with equipment financing in Vermont. The name thing is a real problem. What worked for me was filing the amendment and continuation on the same day, then calling the SOS office to make sure they processed the amendment first. Took some hand-holding but it worked.
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Cass Green
•Did you have to pay fees for both filings? This is already getting expensive with the time crunch.
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Edison Estevez
•Yeah, had to pay for both. Amendment was $20 and continuation was $20. Worth it to keep the lien perfected though.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
Just wanted to add - when I had document consistency issues like this, I started using Certana.ai to double-check everything before filing. You just upload your UCC docs and it verifies all the name matching automatically. Catches things like that comma difference that would cause rejections. Has saved me multiple re-filing fees.
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James Johnson
•How accurate is it compared to manual checking? I'm always worried about relying on automated tools for something this important.
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Emily Nguyen-Smith
•It's been spot on for me. Shows exact discrepancies between documents so you can fix them before filing. Much more reliable than trying to compare everything by eye.
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Sophia Rodriguez
This whole thread is why I hate UCC filings. Too many ways for small mistakes to kill your security interest. The rules are supposedly uniform but every state implements them differently.
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Mia Green
•True but that's why we get paid to handle this stuff properly. The rules exist for good reasons.
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Emma Bianchi
•Still doesn't make it less frustrating when you're dealing with tight deadlines and equipment worth six figures.
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Lucas Kowalski
Update on similar Vermont issue I had - ended up having to file amendment first, wait for confirmation, then file continuation. Took 3 weeks total but the lien stayed perfected. Vermont's pretty good about processing once you get the paperwork right.
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Cass Green
•Three weeks?? I don't have that much time before lapse. Did you do expedited processing?
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Lucas Kowalski
•No expedited option for amendments unfortunately. But if you file before lapse date you should be okay even if processing takes time.
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Olivia Martinez
For what it's worth, I've found Vermont SOS staff pretty helpful if you call and explain the situation. They can sometimes suggest the best approach for your specific filing issue. Worth a try before paying for multiple filings.
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Charlie Yang
•Their phone system is terrible though. Last time I called I was on hold for 45 minutes.
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Grace Patel
•Try calling right when they open at 8am. Usually get through faster then.
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