Compared to the security agreement the requirements of the financing statement are more complex. Under the revised Code there are now two classes of required information.

1.    Information that is required in order for the financing statement to be valid.

2.    Information that the filing office requires to accept the UCC-1 for filing.

There are only three items of information required in the financing statement to be valid.

The debtor’s name, the name of the secured party and an indication of the collateral. Take notice that I did not write a description of the collateral. Section 9-504(2) allows for an “all assets” or “all personal property” description of collateral even if the collateral is limited. The only requirement is that the debtor authorizes the description of collateral.

The debtor’s name requirement is generally the same as before with the exception that the use of a trade name (d/b/a) is neither necessary or sufficient. 9-503(b)(1) &(c). Thus, if dealing with proprietorships the individual’s name is used; partnerships, the name of the partnership and organizations the name of the organization as evidenced in public records (such as articles of incorporation). 9-503(a).

The same would hold true for the secured party although Comment Two found in 9-506 says, “an error in the name of the secured party will not be seriously misleading”. This would suggest that the name of the secured party is not a valid requirement of a financing statement. (I suggest you discuss this section with your company attorney).

The second requirement is as my British friends say a “sticky wicket”. This is because one will have to investigate the requirements of each filing office where they intend to file.

Other changes: Signatures of the debtor and secured party or no longer required; The majority of states will centralize all filings to one central filing office with the exception of fixture filings and filings involving timber to be cut. These filings will probably still be filed at the county level. (It will be necessary to confirm this with each state, as requirements will vary). Special rules apply if the debtor is a transmitting utility. See 9-501(b).

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that not all states have adopted the revised Code as of July 1, 2001. Several states elected to wait until 2002 to adopt the Code. In that case the old rules will apply if filing in that particular state.

In the next column we will discuss where to file and the new types of collateral that can be filed against under revised Article Nine.

I wish you well.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE IS NOT PROVIDED AS LEGAL ADVICE BUT FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. LEGAL ADVICE SHOULD BE OBTAINED FROM A LICENSED ATTORNEY PREFERABLY BOARD CERTIFIED IN THE SUBJECT OF LAW YOU ARE SEEKING ADVICE.