West Virginia UCC search showing weird results - need help understanding what I'm seeing

Good point about punctuation. I was including the LLC designation exactly as it appears on the articles but maybe I should try variations.

Yeah definitely try with/without the entity type. I've seen filings under 'ABC Company' and 'ABC Company LLC' show up as completely separate results.

I went back 10 years but still nothing. Could there be filings that just don't show up in the online system?

Possibly. WV migrated systems a few years back and some older records might not have transferred cleanly. You might need to call their office directly for pre-2018 filings.

This exact thing happened to me last month! Spent hours searching for a UCC-1 that a continuation referenced, turns out it was misfiled under a slightly different debtor name spelling.

Never heard of that service. Does it work with WV specifically or just general UCC stuff?

It's designed for all states including WV. You just upload PDFs of your search results and planned filings, and it cross-checks everything for consistency. Really helpful when you're dealing with complex debtor name situations.

It's definitely not the most user-friendly but once you figure out their quirks it's manageable. The key is being really systematic about your search terms.

' Quirks is putting it nicely. I call 'them reasons to drink heavily after doing UCCsearches.

Ha! At least WV lets you search for free. Some states charge per search which gets expensive fast when you're trying multiple name variations.

Good catch - there is a personal guarantee. I was only searching the business name. Should I search the individual guarantor too?

Absolutely. If they're personally guaranteeing the loan, there could be existing personal property liens that would affect your collateral priority.

How would I verify if the original was properly continued? The continuation shows as active but if the underlying UCC-1 lapsed wouldn't that make it invalid?

Exactly right. A continuation on a lapsed filing is worthless. You need to trace the chain from original filing through each continuation to make sure there were no gaps in coverage.

This is why I always pull a complete filing history report when I find continuations. The online search results don't always show the full timeline clearly.

No apostrophes in this case but good to know for future searches.

Also watch out for '&' vs 'and' in business names. WV treats them as completely different entities even though they're obviously the same company.

Just preliminary so far. Should I order certified results before filing our UCC-1?

Definitely. Certified results are your legal protection if something was missed in the search. Worth the extra cost for a significant loan.

Agreed on certified results. I learned this the hard way when a prior lien surfaced after closing that didn't show up in my informal search.

Does it actually connect to the WV database or just analyze documents you upload?

You upload PDFs of your search results and filings, then it cross-references everything for consistency. Really helpful for catching the kind of name variations that trip up WV's search system.

It's mobile equipment so shouldn't be an issue, but good point to consider for future deals.

Mobile equipment can still have fixture issues if it gets attached to customer facilities. Just something to keep in mind during the loan monitoring phase.

This is why we always include language in our security agreements about notification if equipment becomes fixtures. Covers you if the debtor moves equipment to real estate later.

Will do. Going to try the name variations suggested here and probably order certified results to be safe.

Smart approach. Better to over-search than miss something that could affect your lien priority.