Changes Affecting Non-Real Estate UCC Searches in Georgia

Recent changes affecting searching for UCC filings in Georgia

Unlike other states, Georgia has no central filing office such as the Secretary of State for filing UCCs. Instead, non-real estate UCCs are submitted to an individual county. The county Clerk assigns a file number, then transmits the UCC information and an image to the Georgia Clerk’s Authority, which then indexes the UCC in a statewide database and makes the image available.

Until recently, subsequent UCC-3 filings had to be filed in the same county as the original UCC. That is no longer a requirement. Now it is legal to file subsequent UCCs in any of Georgia’s 159 counties. This means that while it is possible to search a single county in Georgia for UCC filings, doing so can result in omissions in what is reported. Fortunately, CLAS always performs a search of the Statewide UCC database for Georgia UCC Searches. (One exception to this is in the case of conducting a search after filing, if you are doing so to ensure that it has been filed correctly.)

Information about non-real estate UCC searches in Georgia originally appeared in our February 2015 newsletter. To stay up-to-date on UCCs, you can subscribe to receive our newsletter, which is issued every other month. If you have questions about searching for UCCs in Georgia or elsewhere, please contact your CLAS Service Representative.

Daylight Saving Time Begins Sunday!

Remember to set your clocks forward.

Most of the U.S. will be setting their clocks forward on Sunday, March 8, this year.

Which states/territories/etc. do not observe Daylight Saving Time?

American Samoa, Arizona, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands do not observe Daylight Saving Time. However, the Navajo Nation DOES observe Daylight Saving Time, even in Arizona. This is due to its large size and the fact that it is located in three states.

When does the time officially change?

In the U.S., clocks officially "spring forward" one hour, going from 1:59 a.m. to 3:00 a.m.

Smoke Detectors - Remember to change the batteries

Many fire departments encourage you to change the batteries in your home's smoke detectors when you change your clocks, as a convenient way to keep track.

(You can click here to learn more details about Daylight Saving Time.)

Delaware & Other Offices Closed Due to Winter Storm Thor

Weather alert for the following jurisdictions...

Jurisdictions that will be closing today due to weather include:

• Delaware*
• Washington, D.C.
• Arkansas
• New Jersey
• West Virginia
• Mississippi

*For Delaware, the Extraordinary Condition Rules will be in place for all business entity filings which require today's file date.

This means the document must be presented for filing within 2 business days of the end of the Extraordinary Condition. The file date and time MUST be requested when the document is presented for filing. A Written Waiver will be issued by the Secretary of State's office and attached to the document as part of the official record.

For Emergency Filings requiring confirmation of filing today, a $2,500 special processing fee will be charged by the Division of Corporations. Processing will depend on all necessary technology functioning properly, and the filing will be processed as quickly as possible.

We will post further updates as needed. You can also stay current by following CLAS on Facebook and Twitter.

February 2015 State Holiday Closing Schedules

State closures for holidays

Please note, states sometimes make last-minute changes to their holiday closing schedules. We will update this list as we become aware of any changes.

Want to learn more about a holiday? Just click on the links.

Date	State	Holiday
Thursday, February 12	Connecticut, Illinois, Missouri	Lincoln's Birthday
Monday, February 16	Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia	President's Day
Monday, February 16	Alabama	Washington's Birthday and Thomas Jefferson's Birthday
Monday, February 16	Arkansas	Washington's Birthday and Daisy Gatson Bates Day
Monday, February 16	Connecticut, District of Columbia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, Virginia	Washington's Birthday

CLAS Closed for Martin Luther King Day

CLAS will be closed on Monday, January 19, 2015, in observance of Martin Luther King Day.

We'll return on Tuesday, January 20, 2015.

Changes to California Business Entity Forms for 2015

Effective January 1, 2015, the following Business Entity forms have changed:

Unless otherwise noted, prior versions of these forms will no longer be accepted for filing after December 31, 2014.

• Form LLC-10: Restated Articles of Organization. The prior version of this form will continue to be accepted for filing after December 31, 2014.
• Form LLC-11: Limited Liability Company Certificate of Correction.
• Form LLC-3: Certificate of Dissolution of a Limited Liability Company.
• Form LLC-4/7: Certificate of Cancellation of a Limited Liability Company.
• Form LLC-6: Amendment to Registration of a Foreign Limited Liability Company.
• Form LP-11: Limited Partnership Certificate of Correction.
• Form LP-6: Foreign Limited Partnership Amendment to Application for Registration.
• Form LLC-2: Amendment to Registration of a Limited Liability Partnership.
• Form LLC-1A: Articles of Organization - Conversion.
• Form LP-1A: Certificate of Limited Partnership - Conversion.
• Form GP-1A: Statement of Partnership Authority - Conversion.
• Form CONV-1A: Certificate of Conversion.
• Conversion from a California limited liability company to a California stock corporation (articles of incorporation document sample).
• Conversion from a California limited partnership to a California stock corporation (articles of incorporation document sample).
• Form RA-100: Resignation of Agent Upon Whom Process May be Served. The prior version of this form will continue to be accepted for filing after December 31, 2014.
• Form FNRC: Certificate of Cancellation of a Foreign Name Registration.

If you have questions or need new versions of these forms, please contact us.

Protect Your Position with UCC eZFILE®'s Name Monitoring Feature

UCC eZFILE®'s Name Monitoring feature helps you to keep tabs on your debtors.

When you file a UCC, you need to track changes that could undermine your position. This is especially important since Revised Article 9 became effective. With this revision, signatures are no longer required for UCC filings. This means that the possibility of a third party accidentally terminating your filings has increased, along with the possibility of fraud.

With UCC eZFILE®’s Name Monitoring feature, you now have a way to make sure you’re notified of subsequent filings on your UCCs, enabling you to respond quickly and protect your interests. This feature is available at a minimal cost and provides daily monitoring of debtor entities at the state level and monitoring of the UCC and/or Corporate databases. And monitoring protects you from more than just the actions of others. It also allows you to discover whether you have unintentionally terminated a filing yourself.

In addition to helping you to protect your position, we enable you to customize your monitoring options to mesh with your specific workflows. For example, you can choose to automatically monitor all of the debtor names in your UCC filings, or choose to monitor one name at a time as you need to. We also allow you to view a list of all the entity names you’re monitoring at any time.

To learn more about name monitoring, please contact us to schedule an online training session. If you don’t yet have a log in and password for UCC eZFILE®, we will set one up for you.