what is a ucc financing statement

A UCC-1 financing statement, also known as a Uniform Commercial Code-1 financing statement, is a legal form that a creditor files to give notice that it has or may have an interest in the personal property of a debtor. The filing of a UCC-1 financing statement creates a hierarchy of which assets can be seized, and in what order, should the debtor default or declare bankruptcy. The UCC-1 financing statement serves as a lien on secured collateral, where the components and filing procedures are comparable to the lien requirements in residential mortgage loan contracts. The UCC-1 financing statement must include the debtors name and address, the creditors name and address, and a description of the collateral. The filing of a UCC-1 financing statement gives notice of a lien against the property so that other lenders or buyers of the personal property will know of the security interest. The Office of the Secretary of State is the central filing office for the receipt, filing, indexing, and recordation of financing statements and other documents provided for under the Uniform Commercial Code and certain other lien notice statutes.