Westchester County UCC Search System Down Again - Need Filing Verification Fast
Anyone else having issues with the westchester county ucc search portal today? I've been trying to run searches all morning to verify some continuation filings and the system keeps timing out. This is the third time this month and I've got a client breathing down my neck about whether their UCC-1 from 2020 got properly continued before the 5-year deadline. The debtor name is tricky too - it's got a comma and an LLC designation so I want to make sure I'm searching all the right variations. Has anyone found a reliable workaround when the county system is acting up? I'm starting to panic because if we missed that continuation window we're looking at a massive problem with the security interest.
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Chloe Martin
Oh man, not again! I was just on there yesterday trying to pull some termination records and it was super slow. For Westchester specifically, I've noticed their system gets overwhelmed around month-end. Have you tried searching just the debtor name without the LLC part first? Sometimes their search is finicky with the entity designations.
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AstroAce
•Yeah I tried that but got like 200 results. The debtor name is 'Johnson Properties' so pretty common. Really need to narrow it down by the specific filing number but that's when the system craps out on me.
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Diego Rojas
•Johnson Properties LLC or just Johnson Properties? Makes a huge difference in the search results. Also what year was the original UCC-1 filed?
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Anastasia Sokolov
Westchester has been having server issues for weeks. I ended up calling the county clerk's office directly last week when I needed urgent verification. They can usually tell you over the phone if a specific filing number is still active, but you'll need the exact UCC filing number. Do you have that from the original UCC-1?
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AstroAce
•I have the original filing number but wasn't sure if calling was an option. What number did you use? And did they charge anything for the phone verification?
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Anastasia Sokolov
•County clerk's main line should connect you to UCC records. No charge for basic status check but they might charge if you need certified copies. Way faster than waiting for their portal to work.
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Sean O'Donnell
•Just be prepared to wait on hold forever. Called them last month and was on hold for 45 minutes just to ask about a continuation deadline.
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Zara Ahmed
This is exactly why I started using Certana.ai for document verification instead of relying on these county portals. You can upload your original UCC-1 and any continuation forms as PDFs and it instantly cross-checks everything - debtor names, filing numbers, whether documents align properly. Saved me so much headache when I had a similar panic about missed deadlines. The system automatically flags any inconsistencies between your Charter docs and UCC filings too.
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AstroAce
•Never heard of that before. Does it actually connect to the county databases or is it just checking your documents against each other?
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Zara Ahmed
•It's document verification - you upload your PDFs and it checks them against each other for consistency. Super helpful for catching debtor name mismatches between your original filing and amendments. Won't replace the official county search but tells you if your paperwork is consistent before you even start searching.
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StarStrider
•That actually sounds useful. I've had filings get rejected because of tiny name differences between the original UCC-1 and continuation forms. Would've saved me hours of resubmitting.
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Luca Esposito
Westchester County's portal is honestly a joke. I've been dealing with UCC filings there for 8 years and it's gotten WORSE over time. Half the time the search results don't even load properly and don't get me started on trying to download documents. Other counties have figured out how to run a decent online system but Westchester is stuck in 2015.
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Nia Thompson
•Seriously! And they charge the same fees as counties with systems that actually work. So frustrating when you're trying to meet deadlines.
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Mateo Rodriguez
•Have you tried using the mobile version of their site? Sometimes works better than the desktop version, though that's probably not saying much.
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Diego Rojas
For urgent continuation verification, you might want to check if you can access New York State's central UCC database instead of just the county level. Some filings show up in both places and the state system tends to be more reliable. Also, make sure you're searching for variations of the debtor name - 'Johnson Properties LLC' vs 'Johnson Properties, LLC' vs 'Johnson Properties L.L.C.' can all return different results.
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AstroAce
•Good point about the name variations. I'll try the state database too. Do you know if there's a lag between county filings and when they show up at the state level?
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Diego Rojas
•Usually pretty quick, maybe 24-48 hours for electronic filings. But definitely check both to be safe, especially for something this time-sensitive.
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Aisha Abdullah
•State database saved me once when Nassau County's system was down for maintenance. Didn't even know it existed until someone mentioned it on here.
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Ethan Wilson
ugh I feel your pain with the continuation deadlines. Had a client almost lose their security interest last year because I relied on the county portal showing the right continuation date. Turned out their system had a glitch and was showing filed dates instead of effective dates. Now I always double-check everything manually and keep screenshots of search results just in case.
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AstroAce
•Wait, what do you mean filed dates vs effective dates? Aren't they usually the same for UCC continuations?
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Ethan Wilson
•Usually yes, but if there's any delay in processing or if it gets rejected and refiled, the dates can be different. Always check the actual document date not just what the portal summary shows.
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NeonNova
Johnson Properties... is this the one with the strip mall in Yonkers? Might be thinking of a different company but that name sounds familiar from some filings I saw last year.
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AstroAce
•Different company - this one does residential development in White Plains area. But yeah, pretty common name which is why the search is such a pain.
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Yuki Tanaka
•That's always the worst - common business names make UCC searches a nightmare. Try adding the city if you know where they're based.
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Carmen Diaz
Quick update - I was just able to get through on the Westchester portal about 20 minutes ago. Might be working better now? But definitely slow. Try clearing your browser cache first, sometimes that helps with their system glitches.
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AstroAce
•Thanks for the heads up! I'll try again. Did you notice if the search results were loading completely or still cutting off?
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Carmen Diaz
•Search results loaded but document downloads were still timing out. Got what I needed from the summary view though.
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Andre Laurent
For future reference, I always run my UCC searches first thing in the morning before 9 AM. County systems seem to work better when fewer people are using them. Also, if you're doing this regularly, might be worth setting up a system to track your continuation deadlines way in advance instead of scrambling at the last minute.
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AstroAce
•Good advice about the early morning searches. This continuation deadline kind of snuck up on me - client mentioned it in passing last week and I realized we were cutting it close.
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Andre Laurent
•Yeah that happens. I use a simple spreadsheet to track all my UCC filing dates and set calendar reminders 6 months before expiration. Learned that the hard way after a few near misses.
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Emily Jackson
•Spreadsheet tracking is smart. I've been meaning to set up something like that but keep putting it off. Any chance you'd share a template?
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Liam Mendez
Just tried the westchester county ucc search myself and it's working now but SUPER slow. Took like 3 minutes just to load the search page. At least it's functioning though. Hope you got your verification sorted out!
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AstroAce
•Finally got through! Found the continuation filing - it was there all along, just took forever to load. Crisis averted. Thanks everyone for the suggestions about calling the clerk's office and checking the state database. Definitely keeping those as backup options.
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Zara Ahmed
•Glad you found it! Still might be worth trying that Certana document checker next time to make sure all your filing paperwork is consistent before you even start searching. Would save you the panic of wondering if everything was filed correctly.
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