September 10, 2003

Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land announced today that farmers and farm service agencies filing Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) statements with the Department of State can expect the work to be certified in five days or less.

The department is building on efforts launched last year, when it implemented a more automated and accurate UCC system. Since then, the processing time for UCC filings and searches has been cut from several weeks to mere days.

"We’re dealing with farmers’ livelihoods and the department must be responsive," Land said. "Farmers depend on loans to meet financial obligations and ensure that they have the equipment, stock and seed necessary for the coming season. We encourage farmers to request an expedited UCC search when necessary and to submit all filings in a timely manner."

Farmers typically apply for loans through U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Services Agency (FSA) offices at the end of the year, using their crops as collateral. The FSA office processing the loan then files a financing statement with the Department of State’s UCC Unit.

The FSA will not approve loans unless it has a certified search statement through the date of application that shows FSA as the primary secured party.

Under the department’s new system, information is scanned, stored and retrieved electronically, eliminating the need to handle paper documents multiple times. Acknowledgement copies confirming entry of customer filings are generated automatically by the system. Filings are immediately included in the UCC database used to generate searches for named debtors.

Expedited search requests must be submitted to the UCC Unit before 11 a.m. weekdays and are returned no later than 3 p.m. the same day. There is a $25 fee for an expedited search in addition to the standard $6 fee.

In fiscal year 2002, the UCC Unit processed 185,151 filings, 17,796 tax liens, 82,686 search requests and responded to 29,564 phone calls.

The UCC law governs commercial transactions such as sales, negotiable instruments, bank deposits and collections, and investment and securities. Article 9 of the UCC requires the Department of State to file and process UCC financing statements and search requests related to secured transactions.

For more information on the UCC process, contact the Department of State UCC Unit at (517) 322-1144. Land also reminds customers to visit the department Web site at www.Michigan.gov/sos to find out more about programs and services.

> Editor’s note: Radio actualities are available by calling the Department of State news line at (517) 241-2800.

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