To file a UCC3 termination in New York, submit the completed UCC3 form to the Department of State through its e-UCC online system for $20 or on paper for $40, using the file number of the original UCC1 financing statement and the debtor and secured party names exactly as they appear on that filing. Cooperative apartment liens in New York City are the exception: those terminate through the city’s ACRIS system rather than the state.
What You Need Before You File
The termination has to link back to the original financing statement, so the file number the Department of State assigned to the UCC1 is the first thing to pull. It goes in item 1a of the UCC3. The debtor and secured party names must match the original record exactly. A misspelling or a different business designation can prevent the termination from attaching to the correct filing in the state’s index.
The official form is on the Department of State’s website.1New York Department of State. UCC Forms Check the box at item 2, labeled “Termination,” which tells the filing office you are ending the financing statement’s effectiveness rather than amending, assigning, or continuing it. Item 9 identifies who is authorizing the termination. If the secured party is filing, that is the secured party of record. If you are the debtor filing because the lender did not, you check the box in item 9 showing a debtor is authorizing the record.
Before submitting, run the names and file number through the Department of State’s online UCC search to confirm the lien is still active and the information matches what the state has on file. Minor errors do not automatically void a filing under New York’s version of the UCC, but a name error serious enough that a standard search under the correct name would miss the record will.2Legal Information Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 9-506 – Effect of Errors or Omissions
Filing With the Department of State
The e-UCC online system is the faster option. It costs $20 and walks you through data entry screens with a confirmation page before you authorize payment.3New York Department of State. UCC Fee Schedule You get a downloadable receipt or timestamped acknowledgment almost immediately.
Paper filings cost $40 and can go in by mail, fax, or in person.4New York State Department of State. File a UCC Financing Statement Include a check or money order payable to the New York Department of State and send everything to the Division of Corporations, State Records and Uniform Commercial Code, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12231. Acknowledgment comes back by mail and can take several days to a few weeks. Either way, keep the acknowledgment. It is your permanent proof that the lien has been removed from the public index.
Cooperative Apartments Go Through ACRIS
Security interests in New York City co-op apartments are recorded in county land records through the Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS), not with the Department of State.5New York City Department of Finance. ACRIS Recording Fees and UCC Statements Terminating a co-op lien goes through the same system.
The filing must include the Block and Lot numbers for the building, which let the city register tie the termination to the correct unit.5New York City Department of Finance. ACRIS Recording Fees and UCC Statements If you do not have them, ACRIS has a search tool to look them up by address.6New York City Department of Finance. Automated City Register Information System Missing or wrong tax identifiers can leave the lien visible on the title report and stall a sale or refinance.
ACRIS fees mirror the state’s: $20 electronic, $40 paper, plus $2 per Block and $3 per Lot.5New York City Department of Finance. ACRIS Recording Fees and UCC Statements
Check Whether the Lien Has Already Lapsed
A standard financing statement is effective for five years from the date it was filed. After that, it lapses automatically unless the secured party filed a continuation before the expiration date. If the lien has already lapsed, a UCC3 termination accomplishes nothing because the record is already off the index.
Look up the original filing date before you file. If more than five years have passed with no continuation, the financing statement is gone on its own. The Department of State’s online UCC search will show whether a filing is active or lapsed. The UCC3 is the right tool only when the lien is still within its five-year window and the underlying debt has been paid.
When the Secured Party Is the One Filing
New York does not leave the timing of termination entirely to the lender. The deadline depends on the type of collateral.
Consumer Goods
If the financing statement covers consumer goods, the secured party has to file a termination without waiting for the debtor to ask. The deadline is one month after no obligation remains secured and no commitment to advance further value exists.7New York State Senate. New York Code UCC 9-513 – Termination Statement If the debtor sends a demand before that month runs out, the secured party has 20 days from receiving the demand, whichever comes first.
All Other Collateral
For business assets, equipment, inventory, and other non-consumer collateral, the secured party is not required to terminate automatically. The debtor has to send a written demand. Once the secured party receives it, there are 20 days to either file the termination with the filing office or send the termination statement to the debtor.7New York State Senate. New York Code UCC 9-513 – Termination Statement
A Wording Change Effective June 2026
New York is updating Section 9-513 effective June 3, 2026. The statute currently requires an “authenticated demand” from the debtor; the new text reads “signed demand.”8New York State Senate. New York Consolidated Laws, Uniform Commercial Code – UCC 9-513 Both require the debtor to show assent, but if you are sending a demand letter in 2026 or later, sign it.
If the Lender Won’t File
When a secured party ignores its obligation after you send a proper demand, New York’s commercial code lets the debtor file the termination directly.9New York State Senate. New York Uniform Commercial Code Law 9-509 – Persons Entitled to File a Record Two conditions apply: you have to authorize the filing, and the termination statement itself has to say the debtor authorized it. That is the item 9 box on the UCC3 indicating a debtor is authorizing the amendment.
Only use this route after the secured party has clearly missed the statutory deadline. Filing a termination you are not entitled to file carries its own legal exposure.
Damages for a Lender That Refuses
A secured party that fails to file as Section 9-513 requires faces liability under Section 9-625. The debtor can recover actual damages for any loss caused by the failure, including lost financing opportunities and higher borrowing costs.10New York State Senate. New York Uniform Commercial Code Law 9-625 – Remedies for Secured Party’s Failure to Comply with Article If a stale lien caused a buyer to walk or a bank to deny a loan, that loss counts.
On top of actual damages, the debtor can recover a flat $500 in statutory damages without proving any specific harm, per occurrence of a secured party failing to cause the termination to be filed or sent.10New York State Senate. New York Uniform Commercial Code Law 9-625 – Remedies for Secured Party’s Failure to Comply with Article For consumer goods collateral, the statute adds a further minimum recovery calculated from the credit service charge and principal of the original obligation. Together, these give debtors real leverage when a lender drags its feet.