A UCC lien is a financial document stating that a lender (secured party) has a claim in certain property belonging to someone else (debtor). By filing a UCC lien, a secured party establishes his or her priority for payment over subsequent secured parties if the debtor defaults on the loan. A lien filed with the Secretary of State provides notice to interested parties of the existence of a security interest against specific collateral.
Debtor Name
It is important to reflect the true and correct name of the debtor when filing a lien notice with the Secretary of State. Your lien notice will be rejected if the debtor name does not conform to 30-9A-516, MCA. Listed below are helpful tips to consider when reflecting a debtor name.
- If the debtor is an individual, indicate the name noted on their current driver’s license or state identification card.
- If the individual has only one financing name, such as "Cher," list the name in the space provided for the (surname) last name.
- Trade names adopted by individuals and organizations are not correct debtor names.
- Never combine multiple debtor names on one form (for example, Smith, Jack and Jill, or Jack Smith DBA/Jack's U Serve).
- Identify suffixes to distinguish filings by lineage (for example, Jr. or Sr.)
- If the debtor is an organization, check the charter documents in the organization's state of jurisdiction. For organizations registered in Montana you may verify their name through this link Business Entity Search.
- Double-check the spelling of the debtor name.
- Identify the debtor as an individual or an organization by completing the correct fields on the form.
Filing Location
- If the debtor is a "registered" organization, the UCC is filed in the state of organization/registration.
- If the debtor is an individual, the UCC is filed in the state of legal residence.
Filing Time
Debtor and Secured Party Signatures
- UCC Lien: The secured party of record must authorize the filing.
- EFS (Effective Financing Statement) Lien: The debtor must sign, authorize or authenticate the filing and the document must be filed by the secured party under the Federal Act. If authorization or authentication occurs, the debtor is not required to sign the EFS notice filed with the Secretary of State’s office. An EFS filed electronically through the Secretary of State’s online filing site does not require the debtor’s signature.
- Title 71, MCA, Lien: The secured party of record must sign.
Amendments
When filing an amendment with the Secretary of State’s office you must provide the original (initial) filing number and identify the type of amendment you are filing by checking the appropriate box and reflecting any additional information required on the form. Only one amendment type per form is permitted. The Secretary of State’s office no longer requires that a current debtor and secured party name appear on each amendment form to assist with identifying the filing. It is the responsibility of the filer to ensure they have correctly displayed the original (initial) filing number on each amendment.
UCC Search
The online UCC Search allows users to search debtor names, view filing chains, and download debtor search certificates and images of lien documents. There are two options available through the online service. Option 1: The “Subscription” service allows users, for a flat monthly fee, to download unlimited debtor search certificates. There is an additional fee for downloading images of lien documents. Option 2: The “Non-Subscription” service allows users to download debtor search certificates, at a cost per certificate, plus an additional cost when downloading images. Information regarding the Secretary of State’s search logic is available online and in the following Administrative Rule: 44.6.201. UCC Search »
Redaction of Tax ID Number
To protect personal information, the Secretary of State’s office will redact the Tax Identification Number on all lien images available to the public. A non-redacted version of the image will be retained in our files.
Liens currently filed with the Secretary of State's Office are:
- UCC Lien, a lien against goods used or bought for commercial purposes.
- Agricultural Lien, a lien against goods used or bought for farming or ranching purposes.
- Effective Financing Statement Lien, a lien against specific crops, livestock, and unmanufactured products. These liens appear on the Farm Bill Master List distributed to registered buyers.
- Transmitting Utility Lien, a lien related to transmitting electric or electronic communications; operating a railroad, subway, street railway or trolley bus; transmitting goods by pipeline or sewer; and transmitting or producing electricity, steam, gas, or water.
- Notice of Federal Tax Lien, a lien created and filed by the IRS when taxes are assessed against a taxpayer on all his/her property and rights to property.
- Notice of Child Support Lien, a lien created and filed by DPHHS Child Support Division against real or personal property that is due and/or owed in connection with child support.
- Title 71, MCA, Lien, a lien against crops for services performed in relation to that crop, such as spraying or dusting.
- Consumer Goods Lien, a lien against goods used or bought for personal, family, or household purposes.
- Public Finance Transaction Lien, a lien against transactions in which long-term debt securities are issued to and/or for the benefit of a state or governmental unit of the state.
- Manufactured Home Transaction Lien, a lien that creates purchase-money security interests in manufactured homes.
File a new lien or continue/amend/terminate existing liens by signing into the online filing portal.
Login with your username and password or click the login button to “create an account.”
New lien forms can be found on the Forms page, Liens section (in gray, at the top of the screen,) or by clicking “File a Lien” from the home page.
Forms to continue/amend/terminate existing liens can be found under the current lien record. To access them, go to the Search, Liens section, and enter the lien number. (You can also click on “File an Amendment” from the home screen.) Once there, click on the lien record to open it, then go to Filing Actions to access the form.
Recently completed filings, saved drafts, and receipts will be in your Work Queue for 90 days.
Communications about your filings are sent from [email protected]. Please be sure to mark this email as a safe sender.
New Filings
| UCC1 Lien | $7.00 |
| UCC1 Agricultural Lien | $7.00 |
| UCC1 Manufactured Home Transaction | $7.00 |
| UCC1 Public Finance Transaction | $7.00 |
| UCC1 Transmitting Utility Lien | $7.00 |
| EFS Lien | $7.00 |
| Federal Tax Lien | $7.00 |
| DPHHS Notice Of Child Support Lien | $7.00 |
| Title 71 Crop Lien For Seed Or Grain | $7.00 |
| Title 71 Crop Lien For Hail Insurance | $7.00 |
| Title 71 Thresher's Lien | $7.00 |
| Title 71 Farm Laborer's Lien | $7.00 |
| Title 71 Crop Or Grain Lien For Spraying Or Dusting | $7.00 |
Amendments
| Termination Statement | NO FEE |
| Continuation | $5.00 |
| Federal Tax Lien Amendment | $5.00 |
| Add/Change/Delete Debtor | $5.00 |
| Add/Change/Delete Secured Party | $5.00 |
| Add/Change/Delete Collateral | $5.00 |
| Partial Release | $5.00 |
| Assignment - Full/Partial | $5.00 |
| Subordination | $5.00 |
| UCC5 Statement Of Information | $5.00 |
Search & Copies
| Debtor Search Per Name | $7.00 |
| Secured Party Search Per Name | $7.00 |
| Copies Per Search Request | $5.00 |
| Copies Only Per Request | $5.00 |
| Certified Copies Per Request | $7.00 |
| Non-standard Debtor/Secured Party Search | $5.00 |
| Non-standard Search Certification | $2.00 |
Subscriptions
| UCC11 Search Subscription | $25.00/month |
| FSA Farm Bill Buyer Master List | $20.00/month |
| UCC Bulk Data / Image Subscription | $1000/month |
Lien Searches:
You can search for liens by debtor or secured party. To start, click on “Copy/Search Requests” from the home screen, or go to Forms, “Copy Request” section. Use the UCC11 Information Request form to search.
Standard searches are $7, which provides the debtor and secured party names and addresses, as well as the lien filing number and date. To request copies and/or see collateral associated with a filing, make sure to check the option for “List and Copies.” An additional $5 fee applies.
Please note that all liens filed with the Secretary of State’s office (UCC, EFS, Title 71, federal tax liens, child support liens) are returned with each UCC11 Information Request search.
Subscriptions:
Login with your username and password or click the login button to “create an account.” Select Data Requests & Subscriptions from the menu. Click “New Data Request”.
For customers that frequently search for liens, consider signing up for the “Monthly Lien Search Subscription,” which allows unlimited searches for $25/month.
Farm Bill Subscription – unlimited searches of the farm bill master list (related to EFS and Title 71 filings) for $20/month. This subscription can be “paused” to avoid charges during inactive months.
UCC Bulk Subscription – provides downloads of all lien filings and images each day for $1,000/month.
Payments
Lien filing payments can be made by credit/debit card or by electronic check. Click “File Online” to submit your filing, then “+ Add New Payment Method.” Enter your payment information and “Checkout.”
If you have existing payment methods on file, select the circle to the left of your desired payment option, then “Checkout.”
To remove an expired/invalid payment method, click the trashcan icon next to it.
Refunds
The Montana Secretary of State’s office refunds payments under certain circumstances including, but not limited to:
- Technological errors
- Administrative errors
If you believe you have been overcharged and have not received a refund, please click here to submit a refund request.
Uniform Commercial Codes, referred to as UCCs, are important tools for enabling and supporting tribal economic and housing development by improving access to commercial and consumer credit.
A comprehensive and culturally appropriate secured transaction code can assist Tribes, American Indian-owned businesses , and Indian consumers that are encountering barriers to affordable credit by allowing for business to be transacted more efficiently and cost-effectively with parties located outside of the tribal jurisdiction.
Tribal commercial laws and transaction codes more effectively help achieve the goal of economic development if they are sufficiently similar, or harmonized, with the laws of the states and the Tribes. When adopted and implemented, they can support and strengthen the effective exercise of tribal sovereignty.
The sovereign nations listed below have active agreements with the Secretary of State’s office.
Click on the links below to access the Business Portal.
(updated March 15, 2017)
The Federal Food Security Act provides buyers of farm products, commission merchants, and selling agents the opportunity to register with the Secretary of State's Office for a listing of security interests in specific farm products. A “farm product” is an agricultural commodity such as wheat, corn, soybeans, or a species of livestock such as cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, or poultry used or produced in farming operations, or a product of such crop or livestock in its unmanufactured state (such as ginned cotton, wool-clip, maple syrup, milk, and eggs), that is in the possession of a person engaged in farming operations. Failure of a buyer to register with the Secretary of State’s Office makes the buyer liable for payment of the security interest. Buyers are only registered for those portions on the master list for which they register. A registered buyer will receive clear title protection when purchasing farm products for the products in which they registered.
To register with the Secretary of State's office for the Farm Bill Master List, complete the online registration form available through the SOS Enterprise Subscription Service or by completing the Farm Bill Online Subscription Service to receive the Master List online. Montana does not charge a buyer a fee to register to receive the Master List. Once registered, the buyer will receive daily updates to the online Farm Bill Master List.
The fees for the Master List are as follows:
- Online: $20.00 per month
Registered buyers must refer to the Farm Bill Master List prior to purchasing farm products to determine if a security interests exists. If a security interest exists against the specific farm product being sold, the buyer is responsible for issuing a check in the seller's name and lender who holds the security interest.
Lenders must use the Effective Financing Statement form that complies with the requirements under the Federal Food Security Act when filing “farm product” related lien notices with the Secretary of State’s Office if they want their lien to appear on the Farm Bill Master List.