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UCC filings come up in two completely different conversations — underwriting a file, and buying lead lists — and the same document means something different in each.
What the filing actually is
Under the Uniform Commercial Code, a party taking a security interest in a business’s assets files a UCC-1 with the secretary of state to make that claim public and establish priority. It is a notice, not a contract, and it is deliberately thin.
| On the filing | Not on the filing |
|---|---|
| Debtor business name and address | How much was advanced |
| Secured party name | The factor rate or terms |
| Filing date | The outstanding balance |
| Collateral description, often broad | Whether it has been repaid |
| Filing number | Whether the business needs money now |
That right-hand column is the whole problem with treating filings as intelligence. A filing from fourteen months ago on a fully repaid advance looks identical to one on a position still running.
How it matters when underwriting
Existing positions are the single biggest driver of what a funder will offer. A clean merchant and one carrying three open advances produce very different terms on identical revenue, and filings are how a funder finds the ones the merchant did not mention.
- Ask about positions before submitting, not after. A file that comes back with an undisclosed position is a wasted submission and it damages your standing with that funder.
- A terminated filing means the secured party released the claim. An active one does not necessarily mean an active balance.
- Multiple recent filings from advance funders is the pattern that concerns underwriters most, because it suggests stacking.
How UCC lead lists are built
Vendors compile filings by state, filter to those naming known advance funders, and append phone numbers and contact names from third-party data. We publish a free file built exactly that way, with the appended cells labelled, so you can see the shape of one before you pay for one. That last step is the weak one — the filing carries a business address, not a mobile number, so the contact details are matched rather than supplied by the merchant.
The use that actually works
As a targeting and underwriting layer rather than a call list. Knowing which merchants in your own book have active filings tells you who is carrying a position and roughly when it was taken, which is a renewal conversation with real timing behind it. That is worth considerably more than dialling a compiled list top to bottom.
Questions brokers ask
What is a UCC-1 filing?
A financing statement a secured party files with the secretary of state to publicly record a claim against a business’s assets and establish priority. It names the debtor, the secured party, the filing date and a collateral description, and it is public record.
Does a UCC filing show how much a business borrowed?
No. It shows that a secured party claimed an interest and when. It does not show the amount advanced, the terms, the outstanding balance, or whether the obligation has been repaid — which is why an old filing on a settled advance looks identical to one on a live position.
What are UCC leads?
Lists compiled from UCC filings, filtered to businesses that took funding from known advance funders, with contact details appended by third-party data. They identify businesses that borrowed before, but nobody on the list asked to be contacted and the phone numbers are matched rather than supplied by the merchant.
How do existing UCC filings affect an MCA application?
Substantially. Existing positions are the biggest driver of what a funder offers — a merchant carrying three open advances gets very different terms from a clean one on identical revenue. Ask about positions before submitting, because an undisclosed position discovered by the funder wastes the submission and damages your standing.
Is a terminated UCC filing the same as a repaid advance?
Not necessarily, in either direction. A termination means the secured party released its claim, which usually follows repayment but is a separate act. An active filing does not prove an active balance — parties do not always terminate promptly.
Alex Makowski
Founder, Infinite Bookings
Runs the lead generation operation behind Infinite Bookings — paid traffic, the funding application, and the delivery pipeline that puts records into brokers’ CRMs.
Reachable directly at alex@infinitebookings.com or 732-609-7182.