The Texas UCC statement request form, Form UCC-11, is what you use to search the Secretary of State’s records for security interests filed against a person or business. The search shows you whether a creditor has already claimed rights to someone’s personal property before you lend money, buy assets, or close a deal. As of August 29, 2025, paper submissions are no longer accepted; the request goes through the Secretary of State’s online SOS Portal.1Office of the Texas Secretary of State. About the Uniform Commercial Code
What the Form Actually Searches For
A UCC-11 request pulls up UCC-1 financing statements on file against a named debtor. A UCC-1 is the notice a creditor files to tell the world it holds a security interest in a debtor’s personal property: equipment, inventory, vehicles, receivables, and similar assets. The legal framework sits in Chapter 9 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code.2Justia. Texas Business and Commerce Code Title 1, Chapter 9 – Secured Transactions
For most collateral, the Secretary of State is the central repository, which is why the UCC-11 goes there. Some categories live elsewhere; more on that below.
How To File a UCC-11 Request in Texas
You can still download the paper Form UCC-11 to review the fields and understand what the office wants, but you submit through the portal.3Office of the Secretary of State of Texas. Information Request Form UCC11 The workflow is short:
- Sign in to the SOS Portal and go to the Search and Orders area.
- Enter the debtor’s name in the exact form the filing rules require (see below; this is the part that trips people up).
- Choose the type of output you need. A basic web inquiry gives you a screen of results. A certified search certificate is a separate order and is what a lender, title company, or closing attorney will usually ask for.
- Pay the fee and submit.
You can also request certified or plain copies of any specific filing that turns up in the results.
What It Costs
A basic web search runs $1.00 per search and is charged whether or not any records are found; a “no records” result still costs a dollar.4Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions A certified search certificate for a specific debtor name is $15.00. Certified copies of individual filings are $1.00 per page plus $15.00 per certificate. Plain copies are $0.10 per page.5Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Uniform Commercial Code – Fees
What the Report Shows
A search tied to a debtor name returns every active initial financing statement on file, along with related amendments, continuations, and terminations. For each filing you will typically see the filing number, the filing date and time, the debtor’s and secured party’s names and addresses, a description of the collateral, and the calculated lapse date. Amendments appear linked to the original statement with their own numbers and dates. A certified search also states a “through date,” the cutoff after which any newer filing would not appear in your results.
Getting the Debtor’s Name Right
This is the part of the process where searches fail. The system is name-based, so the name you type controls what comes back. Search “Bob Smith” when the filing reads “Robert A. Smith” and you may miss the lien entirely. For a lender or buyer, a missed filing can mean lending or paying against collateral someone else already has claim to.
Individual Debtors
Texas uses Alternative A under the UCC’s naming rules. For an individual, the name on the financing statement must match the name shown on the debtor’s unexpired Texas driver’s license.3Office of the Secretary of State of Texas. Information Request Form UCC11 Search using that same full legal name. If the debtor has held more than one Texas license, the most recently issued one controls. Nicknames and inconsistent middle initials will produce incomplete results.
Organization Debtors
For a registered organization such as a corporation, LLC, or limited partnership, the name must match the exact name on the entity’s most recent public organic filing with the state of organization. That means the name on the certificate of formation or its most recent amendment. It is not the trade name or DBA, and the form’s instructions are explicit that a trade name is not sufficient and should not be combined with the legal name.3Office of the Secretary of State of Texas. Information Request Form UCC11
The Seriously Misleading Standard
Texas law treats a financing statement with a wrong debtor name as presumptively “seriously misleading,” which invalidates the filing against other parties. The one escape hatch is that if the filing office’s standard search logic would still return the filing when someone searches the correct name, the error does not defeat it. For someone running a UCC-11, the practical takeaway is simple: search the exact correct legal name, because that is the search a court will look to.
Reading a Filing You Find
Two dates on each result matter to you.
The first is the filing date. A standard UCC-1 in Texas stays effective for five years from that date, then lapses automatically unless the secured party filed a continuation in the six-month window before expiration. Two categories run longer: filings connected to public-finance or manufactured-home transactions last 30 years, and filings marking the debtor as a transmitting utility remain effective until terminated.6State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code 9.515 – Duration and Effectiveness of Financing Statement
The second is the calculated lapse date shown in the results. If it is close, the filing may be about to drop off, or a continuation may already be in the pipeline. Either way, it is a question to ask before relying on the search.
When a Filing Should Be Gone but Isn’t
A UCC-1 sometimes stays on record after the underlying debt has been paid. The secured party is required to clear it, and the timing depends on the collateral. For consumer goods, the secured party must file a termination statement within one month after the obligation is satisfied, or within 20 days after receiving a written demand from the debtor, whichever comes first. For business collateral, the obligation is triggered only by a written demand from the debtor; the secured party then has 20 days to file the termination or send one to the debtor for filing.7State of Texas. Texas Business and Commerce Code 9.513 – Termination Statement If a paid-off loan is still showing in your search, an authenticated written demand starts that clock.
Filings the Secretary of State Doesn’t Hold
A UCC-11 through the SOS Portal does not cover every UCC filing in Texas. Fixture filings, meaning security interests in goods that are or will become attached to real property, must be filed in the real property records of the county where the fixtures are located. The same rule applies to filings covering minerals, oil and gas being extracted, and timber to be cut.4Office of the Texas Secretary of State. Frequently Asked Questions If your due diligence involves real estate with significant fixtures or mineral interests, an SOS search alone will not show you those liens; you also need to check the county clerk’s records in the county where the property sits.