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Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)

The Uniform Commercial Code (Michigan Public Act 174 of 1962) governs commercial transactions. The code includes 11 articles covering a variety of areas such as sales, negotiable instruments, bank deposits and collections, and investment securities.

Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), titled Secured Transactions, designates the office of the Secretary of State as the place for the filing and searching of secured transaction documents.

Financing statements are filed as a public notice of a security interest in collateral. Record searches are requested to reveal financing statements filed against an organization or individual. For example, when a debtor (borrower) pledges collateral to obtain a loan, a UCC financing statement tells a secured party (creditor) whether others have financing statements against the same collateral. Filing a UCC financing statement is a protective measure because it provides a public notice to other parties. Debtors also benefit because the notice system helps them obtain business funding.  Legally, it puts the creditor in the position of a secured creditor; and a perfected UCC financing statement may be acted on in case of default. In the event of a bankruptcy proceeding, the creditor will be in a better position to enforce its legal rights.

Filing and search fees (Choose tab)

All debtor names: $15 per filing (Fees apply to all UCC1 and UCC3 filings, including terminations).


   
  • Search fee: $6 per each debtor name
  • Expedited search: Search fee(s) + $25
  • Filing copies: Search fee(s) + $2/page
  • Request for Official Seal: Search fee(s) + $6

Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Search Results

When requesting a search of UCC records, you may specify on the UCC-11 Information Request form either "All" or "Unlapsed" records. When "All" is specified, lapsed or terminated filings are given for one year after the date the filing would have lapsed. When "Unlapsed" is specified, only active records that have not lapsed are reported. UCC search results include a statement certifying that the results are a record of all financing statements and tax liens for the debtor name, as requested on the search request form, on file as of the current certification date.

If needed, typically for court proceedings, a certification seal on your search results is available for an additional fee of $6 per seal. A box is provided on the UCC-11 Information Request Form to request search results with a certified seal.

UCC printable forms

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