Glenford Financial, a small-business funding broker in San Angelo, TX, explains how to search Texas UCC filings through the Texas Secretary of State, how to read the debtor, secured party and collateral on a filing, and how to ask for an old filing to be terminated before a new request. Lending partners review liens and make credit decisions.
| Where filings are kept | Texas Secretary of State |
|---|---|
| Online access | SOSPortal, from the SOS Business Services pages |
| Search by | The debtor's exact legal name |
| Who files a UCC-1 | The secured party (lender or funder), not the business |
Step 1: Search the Texas Secretary of State records
Financing statements against Texas businesses are filed with the Texas Secretary of State. Start at the Texas Secretary of State Business Services pages, which link to SOSPortal, the state's online filing system (both checked 2026-10-15).
- Search the exact legal name on your certificate of formation, including punctuation and the entity ending such as LLC or Inc.
- Try likely variations too: an old name, a former trade name, or the owner's own name if the business was once a sole proprietorship.
- Save every result with its file number and date, and download the filing images so you can read the collateral description.
Step 2: Read each filing
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Debtor | Whose assets are claimed. Check that it is really your business and that the name is exact. |
| Secured party | Who filed it: a bank, equipment lender, merchant cash advance funder or their agent. |
| Collateral | What is claimed. A specific item, such as one machine, or a blanket claim on all assets. |
| File number and date | Identifies the filing and its age; later amendments refer back to it. |
| Amendments | Changes, continuations, assignments to a new secured party, or a termination. |
A filing does not show the balance owed or whether the debt still exists. It only shows that someone claimed an interest on that date. Match each filing against your own records of loans, leases and advances.
Blanket liens and specific collateral
A blanket lien, often worded as all assets of the debtor, covers equipment, inventory, receivables and more. It matters most for a new request: a new partner looking at inventory financing or a line secured by receivables may decline, or ask the existing lender to agree to share or give up priority. A filing limited to one machine usually affects only that machine. Merchant cash advance funders commonly file too, often with broad collateral language, which is one reason an existing advance shapes what new partners will offer.
The Texas UCC-1 form
A UCC-1 is the initial financing statement. The secured party files it, not the business, and it names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral. If you sign a loan, lease or advance agreement that grants a security interest, expect the partner to file one. Ask before signing what collateral it will describe, especially whether it will be a blanket filing.
Step 3: Clear a filing after payoff
When a debt is paid, the filing does not disappear by itself. Ask the secured party, in writing, to file a termination amendment (often called a UCC-3 termination) and to send you confirmation. Then search again to make sure the termination appears. Keep the payoff letter; it helps if the secured party is slow to act.
Texas lien search beyond UCC filings
UCC filings are not the only liens a lender may find. Tax liens and court judgments are recorded elsewhere, sometimes in county records. For Tom Green County, start at the county's official website, tomgreencountytx.gov (checked 2026-10-15), and ask which office holds the records you need. A lender's search may also pull business credit reports that list liens and judgments.
A five-step lien check before applying
- Search the Secretary of State records under every name the business has used.
- List each filing with its secured party, date and collateral.
- Mark which debts are still open and which were paid.
- Request terminations for paid debts and keep the confirmations.
- Tell any new partner about open filings up front, especially blanket liens and advances.
Where Glenford Financial fits
We cannot file or terminate UCC records, but we can explain how existing filings affect a new request and which funding types are still realistic. Related pages: inventory financing, equipment financing and merchant cash advances.
By Glenford Financial · Updated