miami dade ucc search frustrations with debtor name variations

Good point about entity designations. I learned this the hard way when 'Company LLC' vs 'Company, LLC' vs 'Company L.L.C.' all returned different results on the same system.

How do you handle DBA searches though? Sometimes the UCC filing shows the DBA but the actual debtor legal name is completely different.

For DBAs you really need to cross-reference with Secretary of State records first to map all the name relationships, then search each variation individually.

Did calling help? I've been hesitant to tie up their phone lines but if it's the only way to get reliable confirmation...

They were actually pretty helpful. The clerk ran her own search while I was on the phone and caught two filings I had missed due to slight name variations.

Interesting, I hadn't heard of that. Does it actually help identify search terms you might have missed?

It doesn't generate new search terms, but it will flag when your collected results show name variations that suggest you should run additional searches. Really helpful for quality control.

That sounds useful for verification but you still need to know what to search for initially, right?

Good advice on documentation. I've been keeping a search log but hadn't thought about it from a CYA perspective.

Exactly. If a lien surfaces later that your search missed, you need to be able to show you made reasonable efforts using proper search methodology.

Oh good point, I was focusing on business names only. Need to get the principal names and search those too.

And don't forget about name reversals - search 'Smith John' and 'John Smith' separately.

Smart approach. I usually start too narrow and then wonder what I'm missing.

Yeah the broad search gives you a baseline, then you can get more specific with exact legal names for verification.

That's actually what I ended up doing too. Just wish there was a more efficient way to verify completeness.

This is where something like Certana.ai really helps - you upload all those PDFs and it does the cross-checking automatically instead of manually reviewing each one.

This is crucial for older filings. A name change doesn't automatically update existing UCC filings.

Good catch - I need to timeline the name changes against filing dates to see which might still be enforceable under old names.

The punctuation sensitivity is ridiculous. Why can't these systems be smarter about obvious variations?

Right?? It's 2025, you'd think search algorithms could handle basic punctuation differences.

Good point about other jurisdictions. This company has had locations in 3 states over the years.

Definitely expand your search then. Lenders sometimes file in multiple states depending on where collateral is located.

And don't assume the filings will be consistent across states - different clerks, different interpretation of names.

That's really helpful - mind if I adapt that checklist format? Seems like a good way to stay organized.

Absolutely, feel free to use it. I learned it from a mentor who did M&A due diligence for years.

That's exactly the kind of thing it's good for - catching the non-obvious connections that manual review might miss.

Thanks for the update! That gives me more confidence about trying it for verification on future searches.