Where do I go to look for a lien filed against a business?
Most of us know that when you have a lien against a person, you get a judgment against the person and then you record the lien at the County Recorder’s office.
When you have a lien on a real property, the lien, in its proper form, is recorded also at the County Recorder’s office.
What happens when you have a lien against a Business?
Aha! That’s the question of the day!
And the answer is …..
It gets recorded at the County Recorder’s office, especially if there is business fixtures and equipment included in the lien.
Primarily, however, it gets filed at the Secretary of State’s office in the state where the business is organized and also in the state where the business is located.
If the main corporate office of the business owner is in yet a different state, it can be filed there also.
That way, all bases are covered.
Let’s say I am doing a sale for a business located in Orange County, California for a corporate Seller who is registered as a Delaware corporation.
I will order a Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) search at the Orange County Recorder’s office, the California Secretary of State’s office and the Delaware Secretary of State’s office.
The search report will show me all the liens that are recorded against that business and the corporate seller.
I will also be sure that the corporate seller is in good standing here in California as well as in the state of organization.
Some out-of-state entities forget that in order to do business or to own property in California, they must be registered with the California Secretary of State. But that is a story for another day.
See, nothing is ever easy, is it!
Juliana Tu, CSEO, CEO, CBSS, CEI, SASIP
Escrow Manager
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