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Bar News - July 27, 2001 UCC Filing Fee Hikes Offset By Enhancements ALTHOUGH SOME FILERS are surprised by hikes in filing fees charged by the NH secretary of state for securing liens under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), officials say the increases are justified and offset by the simplification of the process and other cost reductions. Effective July 1, a two-page, two-debtor UCC-1 filing costs $48. Previously, filings with both the state and a town would cost a total of $30 for a filing regarding two debtors and $60 to perfect two debtors with both the town and the state. In most cases, filings are completed by the next business day, although expedited filings are available at an extra charge. Enhancements to the UCC filing process will reduce the need for multiple filings and simplify searches, thus reducing overall costs for most lenders, said Anthony Stevens, assistant secretary of state. For example, creditors seeking to secure collateral for a debt will need to file only with one state, not in all the states and localities where the property is located. The new state law places greater responsibility on filers to correctly name debtors, shifting the burden from subsequent lenders doing "due diligence" searches for past liens to identify the borrowers. Part of the filing increase, Stevens said, goes to towns to offset lost revenue they had received from local UCC filings and to compensate them for their lien consolidation efforts. A complete overhaul of Article 9 of the UCC, governing the mechanics of enforcing secured creditors’ rights, has been enacted in nearly all 50 states and the District of Columbia, paving the way for the single nationwide lien filing system. Stevens said NH has gone one step further by including in its central database liens registered in towns but not governed under the UCC. He said the changes are greatly reducing "the realm of uncertainty" surrounding the searches for existing liens on property belonging to a potential borrower. The secretary of state’s staff currently is using the database to conduct searches for a fee ($10 per search, with a $25 same-day expedited fee), but Stevens expects that by year’s end, the general public will be able to search the database through the Internet with a modest subscription fee. These improvements are the result of a four-year joint effort by lenders, lawyers, town clerks and service companies who agreed to the changes in the law and the new fee structure and actively supported these changes through the legislative process, Stevens said. Guidelines for the UCC lien perfection process can be found at www.state.nh.us/sos/ucc/. Information is also available by calling Stevens at 271-5335.
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