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Financing statement UCC-1
Also called UCC-1, UCC filing, UCC-1 financing statement.
The public filing that perfects a secured party's interest in a debtor's collateral, giving notice to anyone who searches and fixing priority by the date it was filed.
Drafted with AI assistance. Not yet independently checked. Nobody has verified the claims on this page against a source, so treat the figures and legal points as a starting point rather than as settled, and confirm anything you are about to act on. How we check things.
What it means
A UCC-1 is filed with the secretary of state where the debtor is located, not where the collateral sits. It names the debtor exactly as it appears on its formation documents, names the secured party, and describes the collateral, which can be one serial-numbered machine or the phrase "all assets of the debtor."
Priority generally runs to the first to file or perfect, with important exceptions, most notably purchase-money security interests in equipment, which can prime an earlier blanket filing if the procedural steps are followed.
A filing lapses after five years unless a UCC-3 continuation is filed. Other UCC-3 amendments assign the filing, change the collateral, or terminate it.
Where this one catches people
An all-assets UCC-1 filed by a short-term funder encumbers everything the business owns and is visible to every funder who searches your name afterward, which affects pricing and appetite for as long as it sits there. It does not disappear when you pay. The secured party must file a UCC-3 termination, and extracting one from a funder you no longer do business with can take weeks of asking. Request it in writing the day you pay off, then search yourself to confirm it was filed. Note this is a different document entirely from the funding statement you sign at closing.
Where you will meet this term
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Financing statement — common questions
What does financing statement mean?
The public filing that perfects a secured party's interest in a debtor's collateral, giving notice to anyone who searches and fixing priority by the date it was filed.
Where does financing statement catch people out?
An all-assets UCC-1 filed by a short-term funder encumbers everything the business owns and is visible to every funder who searches your name afterward, which affects pricing and appetite for as long as it sits there. It does not disappear when you pay. The secured party must file a UCC-3 termination, and extracting one from a funder you no longer do business with can take weeks of asking. Request it in writing the day you pay off, then search yourself to confirm it was filed. Note this is a different document entirely from the funding statement you sign at closing.
Is financing statement the same as an interest rate?
Financing statement is defined above; if you are comparing it against a rate, check whether the two measures share a time dimension before you put them side by side.
Which products does financing statement apply to?
Merchant Cash Advance, Business Line of Credit, Equipment Financing, Invoice Financing, Asset-Based Lending.
Is there a worked example of financing statement?
Not on this entry. Where a term is arithmetic, the arithmetic is shown; this one is not primarily a calculation.
What else should I read alongside financing statement?
Blanket lien, First position, Floating lien, Perfection, Purchase-money security interest.
Has this definition been checked?
Not yet. This entry is drafted and live, and the notice at the top says so. Confirm anything you are about to act on.
Is this legal advice?
No. It is a definition. What a clause does in your contract, in your state, is a question for a lawyer licensed where you are.
Can I suggest a term?
Yes — [email protected]. The glossary grows from what people are actually shown in contracts.