Risk Management Blog

As public records experts, First Corporate Solutions encounters a lot of questions about UCC filings. This month we have decided to take to the blog to answer some of our most commonly asked questions regarding UCC filings. Each week this month, we will post 2-3 questions posed by First Corporate Solutions customers and prospects.

Check last week’s post for answers to three of the most commonly asked questions https://ficoso.com/ucc/answers-to-common-ucc-filing-questions-series-part-one/ and keep reading for this week’s questions and answers!

QUESTION: Does punctuation matter for a debtor name on a UCC filing? Can something like a period or comma cause issues with UCC filings?
ANSWER:  A filing officer will not reject a document for a punctuation error, but it could potentially cause the name not to be found later as part of a UCC search effort. Each state independently implements its own search logic. Most states have adopted a version of the International Association of Commercial Administrator’s Model Administrative Rules for UCC searching which disregards punctuation, but some states are more strict than others. A UCC document that cannot be found using the State’s Standard Search Logic could be deemed seriously misleading if there is ever a competing claim. To protect your interests, it is best practice to review a business entity’s formation documents and input your debtor name exactly as the name appears in the charter, including punctuation.

QUESTION: If I am not 100% sure of a debtor’s name, and cannot get access to their organizational documents, can I file a UCC1 using eight different versions of the debtor’s name?
ANSWER:  Yes, but keep in mind that many filing offices calculate a document’s filing fee based on the number of debtors it contains.

Have a question about UCC Filing that you would like to have answered on our blog? Email First Corporate Solutions at info@ficoso.com.

To learn more about UCC filing, join us on November 17, 2011 at 11:00 am Pacific for a FREE encore presentation of our popular webinar, “An Insider’s Guide to Avoiding UCC filing Mistakes.” Registration is now open at https://ficoso.com/webinars/an-insiders-guide-to-avoiding-ucc-filing-mistakes/

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