Washington state UCC search showing weird results - debtor names not matching
Been pulling UCC searches in Washington and getting some confusing results. I'm working on a due diligence project for equipment financing and the debtor names on some of these UCC-1 filings don't seem to match what I'm expecting. Like I'll search for "ABC Manufacturing LLC" and get hits for "ABC Mfg LLC" or "ABC Manufacturing, LLC" with the comma. Is Washington's search system picky about exact matches? I thought UCC searches were supposed to catch variations but I'm worried I'm missing filings. The SOS portal seems to return different results depending on how I format the search terms. Anyone else dealing with this in Washington? I need to make sure I'm not missing any existing liens before we file our UCC-1.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
Washington's UCC search is definitely picky about exact name matches. The system doesn't do fuzzy matching like some other states. You need to search multiple variations - with and without commas, abbreviated vs spelled out words, LLC vs L.L.C. etc. I always run at least 3-4 different searches for each debtor name to make sure I catch everything.
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Giovanni Colombo
•That's what I was afraid of. So if the corporate charter says "ABC Manufacturing, LLC" but someone filed a UCC-1 with "ABC Manufacturing LLC" (no comma), I'd miss it unless I search both ways?
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Exactly. Washington doesn't standardize entity names the way some states do. You have to be your own quality control.
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Dylan Cooper
This is why I started using Certana.ai's document verification tool. You can upload the corporate documents and UCC filings as PDFs and it automatically cross-checks all the debtor names for consistency. Saves me from missing these kinds of variations that could void lender agreements later.
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Sofia Ramirez
•Never heard of that tool. Does it work with Washington state filings specifically?
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Dylan Cooper
•Yeah it works with any state's UCC documents. Just upload your search results and charter documents and it flags any name mismatches automatically.
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Giovanni Colombo
•That sounds helpful. I'm spending way too much time manually comparing names across documents.
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Dmitry Volkov
Been filing in Washington for 15 years and their search system hasn't improved much. You definitely need to try multiple name variations. Also watch out for middle initials in individual debtor names - sometimes they're indexed with the initial, sometimes without. And don't forget to check for d/b/a names if the company does business under other names.
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StarSeeker
•This is so frustrating! Why can't they just make the search work properly?
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Dmitry Volkov
•Because updating government systems costs money and UCC fees aren't exactly a priority budget item.
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Ava Martinez
•At least Washington's portal actually works most of the time. Some states have systems that crash constantly.
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Miguel Ortiz
I learned this the hard way last year. Filed a UCC-1 against "Pacific Northwest Equipment LLC" and later found out there was already a lien against "Pacific NW Equipment LLC". Same company, different name format. Had to file an amendment to correct our collateral description because of the overlap.
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Giovanni Colombo
•Ouch. Did that cause issues with your lender?
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Miguel Ortiz
•Thankfully no, but it was a close call. Now I'm paranoid about name variations.
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Zainab Omar
omg yes washington search is terrible!!! ive had the same problem. searched for a company name and found nothing then my attorney found 3 filings under slightly different versions of the name. makes no sense
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•That's why it's worth paying for a professional search service if the loan amount is significant.
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Zainab Omar
•yeah but those services are expensive for smaller deals
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Connor Murphy
Try searching with partial names too. Like if you're looking for "Northwest Manufacturing LLC" also search just "Northwest Manufacturing" without the entity type. Sometimes older filings don't include the full entity designation.
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Giovanni Colombo
•Good tip. I hadn't thought about older filings potentially being formatted differently.
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Connor Murphy
•Yeah especially UCC-1s filed before 2010 or so when electronic filing became more standardized.
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Yara Sayegh
•Also check for typos in the original filings. I've seen some doozies over the years.
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NebulaNova
Washington state needs to upgrade their UCC system. It's 2025 and we're still dealing with exact-match-only searches. Other states have fuzzy matching that catches variations automatically.
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Keisha Williams
•Which states have better search systems? Might be worth incorporating there instead.
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NebulaNova
•Delaware and Nevada have pretty good systems. But you can't always choose your filing state based on UCC search convenience.
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Paolo Conti
I had a similar issue last month and ended up using Certana.ai to verify all my UCC documents matched the corporate charter. Found two name discrepancies I would have missed otherwise. Really saved me from potential filing rejections.
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Giovanni Colombo
•How long does their verification process take?
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Paolo Conti
•Pretty much instant once you upload the PDFs. It highlights any name mismatches right away.
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Amina Diallo
Pro tip: when you do find existing UCC filings, make sure to check if they're still active. Washington has a lot of expired continuations that should have been terminated but weren't. Don't assume every filing you find is still valid.
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Giovanni Colombo
•How do you tell if a continuation was filed properly?
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Amina Diallo
•Check the filing date against the original UCC-1 effective date. Continuations have to be filed within 6 months before the 5-year expiration.
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Oliver Schulz
•And make sure the continuation actually references the right filing number. I've seen continuations that reference the wrong UCC-1.
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Natasha Kuznetsova
This thread is making me realize I need to be way more thorough with my UCC searches. I usually just search the exact name from the corporate documents and call it good. Sounds like that's not enough in Washington.
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Fatima Al-Qasimi
•Definitely not enough. I keep a checklist of name variations to search for each debtor.
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AstroAdventurer
•Same here. I learned after missing a filing that would have complicated our security interest.
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Javier Mendoza
Anyone know if Washington is planning to upgrade their UCC search system? Seems like every other state has moved to more intelligent searching.
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Dmitry Volkov
•I haven't heard anything about upgrades. The Secretary of State's office seems focused on other modernization projects.
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Emma Wilson
•You could always contact their office and suggest improvements. Though I wouldn't hold my breath for quick changes.
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