Records of UCC Filings

UCC stands for “Uniform Commercial Code” which is a set of laws regarding sales and commercial transactions throughout the United States. The UCC covers transactions which cross state lines or which involve financial institutions. The Uniform Commercial Code was enacted by the Federal government in the 1950s and has been updated since then. In addition to the federal guidelines, each state has adopted separate guidelines based upon the UCC.

UCC filings may include documents such as tax liens, notices of secured interest in personal property, goods which are transported across state lines, bank notes and drafts (including funds transfers between banks), letters of credit, securities exchanges, and so on. They do not involve the sale or exchange of real property (such as homes, land, etc.) but rather moveable property.

There are various fees for UCC filings which will vary between states. Some state governments allow you to file electronically online, and some require you to file by mail, but fees still apply. Each type of filing has its own set of forms which are available from the Secretary of State. These exact forms must be used because they are considered standard. Any other forms submitted with the UCC filing may result in rejection of the documents.

Conducting a Search for UCC Filings

The Secretary of State (SOS) for your individual state is the first place to begin looking for UCC filings. However, some states do not keep these records in the Secretary of State’s offices but instead contract them out to third parties. The SOS website will tell you if records are kept internally or by third parties, and will provide you with addresses and contact phone numbers if you need to obtain UCC filing records.

You may perform a search for UCC filing records in all states since these are considered public information. There is usually a fee involved with these types of searches. They may be conducted online or in person at the offices of the Secretary of State. You will need to know the filing number and the debtor’s name or business ID number.

Though UCC filings are considered public records, they do fall under the privacy acts of most states. In all instances, the state makes an effort to protect personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers. These numbers are included on some older documents, however, so personal information may be at risk of discovery.

A search of UCC filings might be conducted in cases of bankruptcy or insolvency, or at the time of a person’s death. They are of interest to secured creditors so they can lay claim to assets, or in other words, place a lien on assets.

Where to Begin Looking for UCC Filings

Each state has its own rules for UCC filings. Here are a few states’ resource sites:

North Carolina:

http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/ucc/

Wisconsin:

http://www.wdfi.org/ucc/

Alabama:

https://www.alabamainteractive.org/ucc_filing/

Florida:

http://www.floridaucc.com/UCCWEB/

West Virginia:

http://www.sos.wv.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Utah:

https://secure.utah.gov/uccsearch/uccs

California:

http://www.sos.ca.gov/business/ucc/

New Hampshire:

http://www.sos.nh.gov/ucc/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/index.html

New Jersey:

http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/revenue/dcr/geninfo/http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/uccman.html

Maryland:

http://www.dat.state.md.us/sdatweb/ucc/ucc_http://www.peoplepublicrecords.org/home.html