A UCC is a security agreement on personal property that is recorded to protect the lender’s, or secured party’s, investment. In a security agreement, a loan of money is secured by personal property as collateral, thereby giving the lender rights in the property.

Revised Article 9 of General Statute 25, has been amended to reflect the following important changes, effective July 1, 2001:

• Fixture Filings, Timber, and Minerals to be Extracted are recorded at the county level. There is no longer a separate index for UCCs; they are indexed in the Real Estate index only. Existing UCC files on record will be maintained until June 30, 2008.
• All other UCC filings are recorded with the office of the Secretary of State.
• National UCC Forms are available at the Secretary of State’s web site.

There are three primary types of UCC filings as described below:

UCC-1: Initial Financing Statement

1. Must identify Debtor’s name and address.
2. Must indicate if Debtor is an individual or an organization.
   1. If identified as an individual, last name of Debtor must be provided.
   2. If identified as an organization, the following information is required:
      Type of organization.
      Jurisdiction of organization.
      Organization ID number or indication the Debtor has none.
3. Must identify Secured Party’s name and address.
4. Description of collateral must be listed.

UCC-3: Financing Statement Amendment

An amendment includes a Continuation, Assignment, Amendment, Termination and Release.

1. All Financing Statement Amendments must identify the initial file number (including the year) of the Financing Statement to which it relates.
2. All Financing Statement Amendments must identify the Financing Statement for which effectiveness has lapsed when applicable.
3. Continuations must be filed within the six month window prior to lapse.
4. Assignments must provide a name and a mailing address for the Assignee.
5. Amendments must indicate whether the new Debtor is an individual or an organization.
   1. If identified as an individual, last name of Debtor must be provided.
   2. If identified as an organization, the following information is required:
      Type of organization.
      Jurisdiction of organization.
      Organization ID number or indication the Debtor has none.
6. Amendments must also provide a name and mailing address for the new Secured Party.

UCC-11: Request of Information of Copies

The UCC-11 is a request on a particular Debtor(s) that has any valid Financing Statement.

1. All requests must identify the Debtor(s) name as requested to be researched.
2. All requests must indicate if Debtor(s) is an individual or an organization.
3. All requests must indicate requestor’s name and address.