Slatemont Capital Group, a small-business funding broker in Bismarck, North Dakota, explains how to search North Dakota UCC filings before you apply: what a financing statement shows, how to search by exact legal name, how to read collateral descriptions, and what to raise with past lenders. The legal effect of any filing is a question for counsel.
UCC-1 basics for a North Dakota business
When a lender or funder takes collateral, it usually records a UCC financing statement, often called a UCC-1, with the state filing office. The filing names the debtor (your business), the secured party (the lender) and the collateral, which may be specific equipment or all business assets.
Equipment loans, inventory financing and many merchant cash advances come with a filing. So do some credit lines.
Why partners search before funding
A new partner wants to know who already has a claim on your assets. A blanket filing from an earlier lender can mean a new partner would be second in line, which changes its decision. Several recent filings from advance funders tell a partner the business may be stacking advances.
Running the search
- Use the business's exact legal name as registered with the state, including the entity ending.
- Search common variations too: with and without punctuation, abbreviations and former names.
- For a sole proprietor, search the owner's legal name as well.
- Make sure the results come from North Dakota's filing office. Search engines sometimes surface South Dakota's UCC search pages for the same query.
- Save or print the results with the search date.
Reading the results
| Field | What to check |
|---|---|
| Debtor name | Is it your business, or a similar name? |
| Secured party | Do you recognize the lender or funder? |
| Collateral | One machine, or every asset the business owns? |
| Filing date | Does it match a loan you took? |
| Amendments or terminations | Has a paid-off loan's filing been ended? |
Filings from paid-off loans
A filing can stay on record after the loan behind it is paid. Before applying, contact the secured party on any old filing and ask whether it will file a termination. Keep the payoff letter; partners often ask for it.
Bring the search to the first call
Bring the search results to the first call. Knowing your existing filings helps match the request to partners that can work with them. Equipment financing is often the easiest structure to fit around a blanket lien, because the new machine itself can secure it. More guides are in the resources library.
By Slatemont Capital Group · Updated