UCC Filing Fees, Search Fees and Lapse Rules by State (2026)

Pennsylvania charges $84 for online and paper filings alike, so there is no discount for going digital. Delaware sits second at $70 for a web filing, which matters because so many LLCs and corporations are formed there and their liens get filed there too.

Idaho charges $3 to file a short UCC-1, and California, Iowa, Kentucky and Texas each charge $5. In these states the fee is close to a rounding error, so a large "UCC fee" on a loan closing statement deserves a question.

Delaware's gap is the widest by far: $125 on paper against $70 on the web. In most of the other states listed, paper costs $3 to $10 more, which adds up for lenders who file hundreds of statements.

Searching costs as much as $50 in Connecticut and nothing at all in Colorado and North Dakota. Copies and certified results usually cost extra, so an informal online search is often the cheap first step.

Of the 33 states confirmed so far, 9 charge under $10 and 13 charge $10 to $20 for the cheapest filing. Only 4 charge over $40, so a high fee is the exception, not the rule.

UCC Article 9 lapse and continuation rules (§ 9-515)

Source: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Uniform Law Commission / ALI official text), UCC § 9-515. Duration and Effectiveness of Financing Statement; Effect of Lapsed Financing Statement. Download as image

How the model UCC fee section (§ 9-525) structures filing fees

Source: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Uniform Law Commission / ALI official text), UCC § 9-525. Fees. Download as image

Cheapest fee to file a standard UCC-1 financing statement by state

• 4Over $40
• 7$21 to $40
• 13$10 to $20
• 9Under $10

What is a UCC-1 filing, and who pays for it?

A UCC-1 is a short public notice. It names the debtor (your business), the secured party (the lender or seller) and the collateral. Filing it is how the lender perfects its security interest, which means it gets priority over later creditors if you default or go bankrupt.

You do not usually file it yourself. The lender does. But the cost almost always lands on you, either as a line on the closing statement or buried in a general clause that makes you pay "all costs of perfecting the lender's security interest."

Here is a detail many owners miss. For an LLC or corporation, the filing goes in the state where the company was formed, not where it operates. A Delaware LLC running a shop in Texas gets its UCC-1 filed in Delaware, at $70 on the web, instead of in Texas at $5. If your loan paperwork mentions filing fees, that is the state to look up.

How much does it cost to file a UCC-1?

The base fee runs from $3 in Idaho to $84 in Pennsylvania among the states we confirmed. The spread exists because the model UCC fee section lets each state pick its own number, then suggests charging double for long paper filings and half for online ones. Some states follow that pattern closely. Others ignore it.

The base fee is rarely the whole bill. Watch for extras like these:

• Extra debtor names. Delaware adds $25 per debtor name beyond two.
• Extra pages on paper filings. Missouri charges $17 for paper plus $1 per page.
• Card or portal fees. North Carolina adds a $3 card processing fee to its $30 online fee.
• Paper may not be an option. Texas stopped accepting paper UCC filings in August 2025, and Connecticut routes paper through its online system.
• Service company markups. Lenders often use a filing agent who adds a service charge on top of the state fee.

How long does a UCC filing last?

A standard financing statement is effective for 5 years from the date it was filed. The lender can extend it by filing a continuation statement, but only inside the 6 months before it would lapse. File too early and the continuation does nothing. File on time and the statement runs another 5 years from the original lapse date.

If nobody continues it, the statement lapses. The lender's security interest becomes unperfected, which means another creditor or a bankruptcy trustee can jump ahead of it. A few filings follow longer clocks: public-finance and manufactured-home statements can last 30 years if the statement says so, and a filing that names a transmitting utility as debtor can stay effective until a termination is filed.

For you as the borrower, the 5-year rule cuts both ways. A lien from a loan you paid off can sit on the public record for years if the lender never files a termination. And if you are the one extending credit, say an equipment seller financing a sale, put the lapse date on your calendar now.

Should you run a UCC search before you sign?

Yes, in three situations. Before you buy a business or its assets, search the seller's exact legal name so you know whether the equipment you are paying for is already pledged. Before you take a merchant cash advance or a second loan, search your own name, because many financing contracts ban new liens and treat a surprise filing as a default. And before you apply for credit, check that old, paid-off filings are not still sitting there.

Costs vary. Colorado and North Dakota charge nothing, Washington's online search responses are free, and Texas offers a $1 web inquiry. Connecticut charges $50 and North Carolina $38 per debtor name. Missouri charges $27 plus $1 per page for copies.

Search the name exactly as it appears on your formation documents. A filing under a slightly different name may still count, so try common variations too.

Why do some lenders charge far more than the state fee?

Say you close a small equipment loan for a California LLC. The state charges $5 to file online. Your closing statement shows a "UCC filing and search fee" several times that. Is something wrong?

Not necessarily. Many lenders hire a filing agent to run a pre-closing search, file the UCC-1, order a post-filing search to confirm it went on record, and track the lapse date. Each step has a cost, and the agent adds a margin. That is a normal business expense. Whether it should be yours is a matter for negotiation.

Ask for an itemized breakdown. If the fee is labeled as a pass-through of government charges, it should be close to the state's published number. If it covers service work, you can ask the lender to cap it or absorb it, especially on a small loan where the fee is a noticeable share of the cost.

The bigger point is that the fee is the least of what the UCC-1 does to you. The collateral description, the default triggers and the release terms in your agreement matter much more than a few dollars at the filing office.

What to do if a UCC lien shows up on your business

• Identify the secured party and match the filing to a loan, lease or advance you recognize.
• Read the collateral description. "All assets" is a blanket lien that covers everything, including future receivables. A filing tied to one piece of equipment is much narrower.
• If the debt is paid, send the secured party a written demand to file a termination statement, and keep your payoff letter.
• If the filing is wrong or unauthorized, contact the state filing office about its correction process and consider talking to a lawyer.
• Note the filing date. If no continuation is filed, the statement lapses 5 years later.
• Before your next financing, ask the new lender how it will treat existing filings, and get that answer in writing.

Sources and method

Every number on this page comes from the sources below, each opened and read on or before October 18, 2026. A second, independent review checked every figure against its source and corrected anything that did not match. 33 of 51 state entries were confirmed; any that could not be are marked "Not yet confirmed" and left out of every count and chart.

1. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Uniform Law Commission / ALI official text), UCC § 9-515. Duration and Effectiveness of Financing Statement; Effect of Lapsed Financing Statement (Current official text of UCC Article 9)
2. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (Uniform Law Commission / ALI official text), UCC § 9-525. Fees (Current official text of UCC Article 9)
3. Alabama Secretary of State, Filing Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
4. Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Recorder's Office (UCC Central File), UCC Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
5. Arizona State Legislature, A.R.S. § 47-9525. Fees (Current Arizona Revised Statutes)
6. Arkansas Secretary of State, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
7. California Secretary of State, UCC Forms and Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
8. Colorado Secretary of State, Uniform Commercial Code Fee Schedule (Revised January 31, 2019)
9. Connecticut Secretary of the State (Business.CT.gov), Uniform Commercial Code forms and fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
10. Delaware Division of Corporations, UCC Fee Schedule (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
11. The Florida Senate, Florida Statutes § 679.525. Fees (2026 Florida Statutes)
12. Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority, UCC System (fee schedule) (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
13. Idaho Secretary of State, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Information (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
14. Iowa Secretary of State, UCC Information (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
15. Kansas Secretary of State, UCC Filing Information (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
16. Kentucky Secretary of State, UCC Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
17. Maine Legislature, 11 M.R.S. § 9-1525. Fees (Current Maine Revised Statutes)
18. Maryland General Assembly, Md. Code, Commercial Law § 9-525 (Current Maryland Code)
19. Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, Minn. Stat. § 336.9-525. Fees (Current Minnesota Statutes)
20. Mississippi Secretary of State, UCC Filing Fees (PDF last modified Feb 5, 2026)
21. Missouri Secretary of State, UCC General Information (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
22. Nebraska Secretary of State, UCC/EFS Fee Schedule (Revised July 15, 2026)
23. New Jersey Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services, Registry Fee Schedules (Last updated 07/01/26)
24. New York Department of State, UCC Fee Schedule (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
25. North Carolina Secretary of State, Fees: Uniform Commercial Code (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
26. North Dakota Secretary of State, Lien Types and Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
27. North Dakota Secretary of State, Lien Searches (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
28. Pennsylvania Department of State, Fees and Payments (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
29. Pennsylvania Department of State, Uniform Commercial Code (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
30. Rhode Island Department of State, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) Fee Schedule (Revised 07/2023)
31. South Carolina Legislature, S.C. Code § 36-9-525. Fees (Current South Carolina Code of Laws)
32. South Dakota Secretary of State, Filing Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
33. Texas Secretary of State, UCC Forms and Fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
34. Vermont Secretary of State, Fees & Statutes (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
35. Virginia Legislative Information System, Va. Code § 8.9A-525. Fees (Current Code of Virginia)
36. Washington State Department of Licensing, UCC online filing and search fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
37. Washington State Department of Licensing, UCC paper filing and search fees (Undated web page (accessed Oct 2026))
38. Wyoming Secretary of State, UCC and EFS Fees (Revised 05/2021)