Uniform Commerical Code

SOSDirect - Online Searching and Filing
Online Searching and Filing

Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

Initial Filings

Amendment Filings

Information Requests

SOSDIRECT


What types of documents are filed with the Secretary of State or county clerk?

Information on filing documents with the Secretary of State or the county clerk is located at:
http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ucc/index.shtml

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Where can I file my documents?

Documents may be submitted on-line through the SOSDirect web access system at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/sosda/index.shtml

Documents may be presented in person at:

Secretary of State
Uniform Commercial Code
1019 Brazos, Suite 505
Austin, TX 78701

Documents can be mailed to:

Secretary of State
Uniform Commercial Code
PO Box 13193
Austin, TX 78711-3193

Delivery Service documents can be delivered to:

Secretary of State
Uniform Commercial Code
1019 Brazos, Room B-13
Austin, TX 78701

More contact information is available at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ucc/contact.shtml

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What are the filing fees?

A paper filing that consists of 2 pages or less is $15 and if 3 pages or more is $30. Documents presented in person that received expedited handling are charged the same as a paper filing and will be charged an additional fee of $15.00 per filing that is required for expedited processing of an acknowledgment. A filing submitted through SOSDirect on-line system is $5. More specific filing fees are available at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ucc/formfees.shtml

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Do I need to send in one check for all submitted filings in a batch or one check for each separate filing in a batch?

All payments are deposited into the client’s account and filing fees are deducted as the batch is processed, so one check or separate checks are accepted depending on the filer’s preference.

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What forms are required?

Filers are required to use the national standard form (Revision date of 07/29/98) or the form approved by the International Association of Commercial Administrators and adopted by rule by the Secretary of State (Revision date of 05/22/02). All other forms are rejected. The prescribed forms are available in fill-in-the-blank format via the browser and are located on the Agency web site at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/ucc/uccforms.shtml

This applies to only Article 9 records filed as: Financing Statement, Agricultural Lien, Contract Agricultural Lien, Manufactured-Home Transaction, Public-Finance Transaction, and Transmitting Utility. This does not apply to records filed as: Notice of Federal Lien, Utility Security Instrument, Restitution Lien, Aircraft Maintenance Lien, or Transition Property Notice.

A Social Security, Tax Identification, or Employer Identification Number is not required for filing with the Office of the Secretary of State of Texas and filers are discouraged to include any of these numbers when submitting records for filing. The Organizational Identification Number, if any, is required for an organization debtor name filing.

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Is there a charge for additional debtor names?

No. Revised Article 9 that became effective July 1, 2001, eliminated the $5 fee for indexing each additional debtor name.

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What is the procedure for Acknowledgment copies?

Do not send in an Acknowledgment copy since one is automatically generated from our system and is sent to the name and address on the submitted envelope, not to the Acknowledgment Name and Address in Item B of the form. Documents presented in person that received expedited handling will need to include an Acknowledgment Copy of the filing.

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FAX filings-How do I file and pay for the filing(s)?

Complete the upper 2 areas of the payment form and fax the payment form along with the filing to 512-463-1423. A fax filing is processed by expedited handling and incurs a higher filing fee. The filing fee for a document of 2 pages or less is $32 and for 3 pages or more is $47. A confirmation will be faxed to the submitter on the same day of filing if received in the office by 4:45 p.m. (CT); otherwise it will be faxed the morning of the next business day.

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When do documents receive expedited handling?

When they are received by walk-in service or by FAX. Overnight services such as Airborne, FedEx, or UPS do not received expedited handling because this is a type of mail service.

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Do you provide on-line access for filing documents and information on filed documents?

Yes. If you have already done business with this office, you may already have an account and you can verify this by calling Sondra Hadley at 512-475-2740. An instruction booklet is available upon request by calling 512-475-2740 or by emailing shadley@sos.state.tx.us. If you are setting up a new account for use of the SOSDirect on-line system at: http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/sosda/index.shtml, you can either set one up on-line by selecting ‘request for subscription’ or you can contact Sondra Hadley at 512-475-2740 and request for an application for an account. No fees are associated with opening an account. Filing fees for on-line services are available at: https://direct.sos.state.tx.us/help/help-ucc.asp?pg=fee

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How do I set up and fund a client account?

A client account is automatically created when a document is submitted. The account requires funds to file a document. For checks, a check may be submitted that is in the estimated amount of filings in a specific time period and fees will be deducted from this amount in your client account. For credit card (Visa, MasterCard, or Discover), a payment form may be submitted that is in the estimated amount of filings in a specific time period and fees will be deducted from this amount in your client account.

LegalEaseSM is a guaranteed electronic payment method that facilitates the payment of fees to governmental agencies and is offered by Frost Bank of San Antonio. To utilize the service a customer maintains funds in an account with Frost Bank and is issued a debit card. The customer provides the card number when filing documents or paying for services received from the Agency. The cost is charged to the customer’s account and payment is made by Frost Bank to the Secretary of State.

Wire Transfer is an electronic payment method whereby the amount is deducted from the checking account of the submitter through the State of Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts Federal Reserve Account. Specific information is required to perform this transfer, which may be obtained from this office.

For LegalEaseSM , Wire Transfer, or pre-payment by check, please contact Sondra Hadley at 512-475-2740 or by emailing shadley@sos.state.tx.us.

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When do I receive a monthly client account statement?

When the client account balance contains a balance due to the Secretary of State.

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Why does my client account balance vary from one month to the other month?

Pending charges may not have posted to your client account based on the closing date of the client account statements.

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Why is my client account being charged fees when I initially set up the account and used a credit card as the payment method?

The credit card information is not retained in the system. The credit card information has to be entered for every session that is transacted through SOSDirect.

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Answers-Initial Filings

Which filing office is the correct place to file?

  1. A Texas county clerk for the filing or recording of a mortgage on the related real property if:
    1. the collateral is as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut; or
    2. the financing statement is filed as a fixture filing and the collateral is goods that are or are to become fixtures; otherwise in all other cases;
  2. The Texas secretary of state.

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Where does the debtor sign on the National UCC1 form?

There is no signature requirement on any of the financing statement filing forms and the national forms were not designed to accommodate a signature. Under Revised Article 9, it is the responsibility of the filer to ensure the proper authority exists to submit and file the documents. The Government Code, Subchapter J, Sections 51.901-51.905, relates to filing a fraudulent document and a decision would be made by the court, not the filing office.

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Is a Financing Statement Addendum (Form UCC1AD) required for every filing?

No. They are to be used when information will not fit on the Financing Statement (Form UCC1).

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Where do I locate the organizational debtor information, including the ID number?

For Texas corporations, contact the Public Information Section of the Corporations Section of the Agency at 512-463-5555 or by email at: corpinfo@sos.state.tx.us

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Answers-Amendment Filings

Are Addendums (Form UCC3Ad) or Amendment Additional Party (Form UCC3AP) necessary for every Amendment (Form UCC3) filing?

No. Please read the instructions and use them for the specific action related to the UCC3 being filed and not as a reference summary of all the current parties of record.

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Can an Assignment and Amendment be filed on the same form?

No. When filing an assignment or amendment, item 7 is necessary for either type of filing, so only one filing can be accomplished when using the form. Please submit separate forms for these types of filings.

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What boxes need to be checked in item 5?

Check only one of the party types that is either Debtor or Secured Party. Check only one of the action types that is either Change, Delete, or Add.

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Answers-InFORMATION Requests

How can I request copies if I need them quickly?

Contact the Processing Department at 512-475-2703 and an expedited order will be taken over the phone. These types of requests are not available through the SOSDirect On-Line system.

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How do I do a Filing Number Search?

For Initial Financing Statement file numbers for filings filed through July 30, 2001, enter the two digit year and eight digit number. Example for 1999 is 99-00123456 and for 2000 is 00-00123456.
For Initial Financing Statement file numbers for filings filed on or after July 31, 2001, enter the two digit year and ten digit number. Example for 2002 is 02-0012345678.
For all Amendment Filings: enter the two digit year and eight digit number. Example for 1999: 99-00722285 and 2002 is 02-00123456.
Please do not use the hyphen when inputting the number into the system.

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Answers-SOSDirect

When does my client account get charged for inquiries?

Client accounts get charged for any inquiries that are performed, including results that state: "No records exist which match the criteria you have entered."

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