Glossary
UCC filing glossary
The UCC filing terms equipment lenders use, in plain words, each with why it matters and a figure from this week's data.
UCC-1 financing statement · Debtor · Secured party · Collateral · Blanket lien (all assets) · Inventory and receivables · Merchant cash advance (future receipts) · Filing agent (representative) · Lapse date · Continuation · Termination · Amendment and assignment · Equipment category · Lapse alert · Filing office
UCC filing glossary
- UCC-1 financing statement
- The public notice a lender or lessor files with the state when it takes a security interest in a company's property, such as equipment it financed or leased. "UCC" is the Uniform Commercial Code.
- Why it matters: A new UCC-1 against a company is a sign it has just financed or leased something.
- In our data: New UCC-1s against companies, Oct 27–Nov 2: Colorado 441; Connecticut 377.
- Debtor
- The company that owes the money or leases the equipment: the business named on the filing. We deliver only debtors that are companies.
- Why it matters: The debtor is your prospect.
- Secured party
- The lender or lessor on record: the party whose interest the filing protects.
- Why it matters: The secured party is the incumbent: the lender you would be competing with or replacing.
- In our data: 296 different lenders were named on new UCC-1s, Oct 27–Nov 2.
- Collateral
- The property the filing covers, described in the lender's own words (for example a make and model of excavator, or "all equipment").
- Why it matters: It tells you what was financed, and so which equipment category the filing belongs to.
- In our data: 87% of Colorado's new UCC-1s against companies, Oct 27–Nov 2, carried collateral text. Connecticut publishes none.
- Blanket lien (all assets)
- A filing whose collateral is everything the company owns, rather than a piece of equipment.
- Why it matters: Usually a bank line of credit or a loan, not equipment financing: we sort these out and do not count them as equipment filings.
- In our data: 84 blanket liens among new UCC-1s, Oct 27–Nov 2.
- Inventory and receivables
- A filing that covers a company's stock or the money owed to it (often a floor-plan or factoring line).
- Why it matters: Not equipment: left out of equipment counts.
- In our data: 84 such filings, Oct 27–Nov 2.
- Merchant cash advance (future receipts)
- A filing by a company that bought a share of a business's future sales.
- Why it matters: We do not sell to merchant-cash-advance brokers, and these filings are not counted as equipment.
- In our data: 40 such filings, Oct 27–Nov 2.
- Filing agent (representative)
- A filing service that files on a lender's behalf, often named "as Representative". The lender's own name then does not appear on the filing.
- Why it matters: We label these "filed through an agent" instead of guessing the lender.
- In our data: 110 new UCC-1s named only a filing agent, Oct 27–Nov 2.
- Lapse date
- The day a filing stops being effective: normally five years after it was filed (UCC 9-515), unless the secured party files a continuation.
- Why it matters: A filing nearing its lapse often marks a payoff, a refinance or a replacement: a natural time to talk to the company.
- Continuation
- An amendment (a UCC-3) filed in the six months before the lapse date that keeps the filing effective for another five years.
- Why it matters: A continued filing is not lapsing: our lapse alerts are re-checked so continued filings are not sent.
- Termination
- An amendment that ends the filing, usually because the debt was paid off.
- Why it matters: Terminated filings are skipped: they are never delivered as new or as lapsing.
- Amendment and assignment
- Later changes to a filing (a UCC-3): new collateral, a changed name, or an assignment, which moves the filing to another secured party.
- Why it matters: Shown to subscribers as changes, never counted as new filings.
- Equipment category
- Our sorting of each filing into a kind of equipment (construction, trucks, medical, restaurant and so on) by fixed keyword rules on the collateral text, or on the lender's name when the text says nothing (then marked "(based on the lender)").
- Why it matters: You receive only the categories you choose.
- Data pages by category
- Lapse alert
- Our alert when a filing comes within 180 days of its lapse date, after checking the state's data for continuations and terminations.
- Why it matters: Time to call before the incumbent renews.
- Filing office
- The state office where UCC-1s are filed: the Colorado Secretary of State and the Connecticut Secretary of the State for the filings we deliver.
- Why it matters: Every row links to that office's own record.
- Sources and credits
Definitions are general information, not legal advice. UCC references are to the Uniform Commercial Code as adopted by each state.