Section 5: Search and Request Reports

Section 5 -- Search Requests and Reports:

500 General requirements. The filing officer maintains for public inspection a searchable index for all records of UCC documents that provides for the retrieval of a record by the name of the debtor and by the file number of the initial financing statement to which the record relates and which associates with one another each initial financing statement and each filed UCC document relating to the initial financing statement.

501 Search requests. Search requests shall contain the following information.

501.1 Name searched. A search request must set forth the full correct name of a debtor or the name variant desired to be searched and must specify whether the debtor is an individual or an organization. The full name of an individual shall consist of a first name or initial, a middle name or initial, and a last name. A search request may be submitted with no middle name or initial. If only a single name is presented (e.g. "Cher") it will be treated as a last name and will return only names having the same last name which have no first name and no middle initial. A search request will be processed using the name in the exact form it is submitted.

501.2 Requesting party. The name and address of the person to whom the search report is to be sent.

501.3 Fee. The appropriate fee shall be enclosed, payable by a method described in rule 113.

501.4 Search request with filing. If a filer requests a search at the time a UCC document is filed, by checking the box on the form set forth in Indiana Code 26-1-931-521 or otherwise, the name to be searched will be the debtor name as set forth on the form, the requesting party will be the remitter of the UCC document, and the search request will be deemed to request a search that would be effective to retrieve all financing statements filed on or prior to the date the UCC document is filed.

502 Optional information. A UCC search request may contain any of the following information.

502.1 Request. A request that copies of documents referred to in the report to be included with the report. The request may limit the copies requested by limiting them by reference to:

502.1.1 Address. The city and state of the debtor;
502.1.2 Range. A range of filing dates from a past date to the certificate date.
502.1.3 Secured party. The identity of the secured party(ies) of record on the financing statements located by the related search.
502.1.4 Copies. The request may ask for copies of UCC documents identified on the primary search response.

502.2 Debtor city and state. A request that the search of a debtor name be limited to the debtors in a particular city and state. A report created by the filing office in response to such a request shall contain the following statement: "A search limited to a particular city may not reveal all filings against the debtor searched and the searcher bears the risk of relying on such a search."

502.3 Mode of delivery. Instructions on the mode of delivery requested, if other than by ordinary mail, which will be honored if the requested mode is then made available by the filing office.

502.4 A request that the report for a debtor name search include lapsed filings. The report will be limited to filings that have not lapsed unless the searcher indicates that the report should also include filings that have been lapsed for a period not greater than one year. (IC 29-1-9.1-523(c)(1)(C))

503 Rules applied to search requests. Search results are created by applying standardized search logic to the name presented to the filing officer by the person requesting the search. Human judgment does not play a role in determining the results of the search. The following, and only the following rules are applied to conduct searches.

503.1 Limit on information returned. There is no limit to the number of matches that may be returned in response to the search criteria.

503.2 Case of letters. No distinction is made between upper and lower case letters.

503.3 Punctuation. Punctuation marks and accents are disregarded.

503.4 Ending Noise Words. Words and abbreviations at the end of a name that indicate the existence or nature of an organization as set forth in the "Ending Noise Words" list as promulgated and adopted by the International Association of Corporation Administrators as from time to time, are disregarded (e.g., company, limited, incorporated, corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company or abbreviations of the foregoing).

503.5 "The." The word "the" at the beginning of the search criteria is disregarded.

503.6 Spaces. All spaces are disregarded.

503.7 Initials. For first and middle names of individuals, initials are treated as the logical equivalent of all names that begin with such initials, and no middle name or initial is equated with all middle names and initials. For example, a search request for "John A. Smith" would cause the search to retrieve all filings against all individual debtors with "John" as the first name, "Smith" as the last name, and with the initial "A" or any name beginning with "A" in the middle name field. If the search request were for "John Smith" (first and last names with no designation in the middle name field), the search would retrieve all filings against individual debtors with "John" as the first name, "Smith" as the last name and with any name or initial or no name or initial in the middle name field.

503.8 Exact match. After taking the preceding rules into account to modify the name of the debtor requested to be searched and to modify the names of debtors contained in the UCC information management system the search will reveal only names of debtors that exactly match the name requested as modified and contained in financing statements that have not lapsed. The search may additionally contain information for debtor names contained in financing statements that are lapsed for a period of not greater than one year as provided in rule 502.4.

504 Search responses. Reports created in response to a search request shall include, at a minimum, the following.

504.1 Filing officer. Identification of the filing officer and the certification of the filing officer required by the UCC.

504.2 Report date. The date the report was generated.

504.3 Name searched. Identification of the name searched.

504.4 Certification date. The certification date applicable to the report; i.e., the date and time through the search is effective to reveal all relevant UCC documents filed on or prior to that date.

504.5 Identification of initial financing statements. Identification of each unlapsed initial financing statement filed on or prior to the certification date and time corresponding to the search criteria, by name of debtor, by identification number, and by file date and file time.

504.6 History of financing statement. For each initial financing statement on the report, a listing of all related UCC documents filed by the filing officer on or prior to the certification date.

504.7 Copies. Copies of all UCC documents revealed by the search and requested by the searcher.

Numbers 506 through 599 are reserved.