(1) Role of the filing officer. The duties and responsibilities of the filing officer with respect to the administration of the UCC are ministerial. In accepting for filing or refusing to file a UCC record pursuant to these rules, the filing officer does none of the following:
- (a) Determine the legal sufficiency or insufficiency of a document.
- (b) Determine that a security interest in collateral exists or does not exist.
- (c) Determine that information in the document is correct or incorrect, in whole or in part.
- (d) Create a presumption that information in the document is correct or incorrect, in whole or in part.
- (2) Deadline for filing a continuation statement. The first day on which a continuation may be filed is the date corresponding to the date upon which the financing statement would lapse, six months preceding the month in which the financing statement would lapse. If there is no such corresponding date, the first day on which a continuation may be filed is the last day of the sixth month preceding the month in which the financing statement would lapse. The last day on which a continuation may be filed is the date upon which the financing statement lapses.
- (3) Procedure upon refusal. Except as provided in Rule 820-4-3-.01(12), if the filing officer finds grounds to refuse a UCC record, the filing officer shall return the record to the remitter and shall refund the filing fee.
- (4) Notification of Defects. Nothing in these rules prevents a filing officer from communicating to a filer or a remitter that the filing officer noticed apparent potential defects in a UCC record, whether or not it was filed or refused for filing. However, the filing office is under no obligation to communicate about such defects, except as provided by Alabama Code Section 7-9A-520(b), and may not, in fact, have the resources to do so or to identify such defects. The responsibility for the legal effectiveness of filing rests with filers and remitters and the filing office bears no responsibility for such effectiveness.
- (5) Refusal errors. If a secured party or a remitter demonstrates to the satisfaction of the filing officer that a UCC record that was refused for filing should not have been, the filing officer will file the UCC record as provided in these rules with a filing date and time assigned when such filing occurs. The filing officer will also file a notice of correction that states the effective date and time of filing which shall be the date and time the UCC record was originally tendered for filing.
Author: Charles E. Grainger, Jr.; Michael L. Jones, Jr.; Meridith H. Blackburn; Andrew Mount
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§7-9A-520; 7-9A-526.
History: New Rule: Filed February 7, 2002; effective March 14, 2002. Amended: Published May 31, 2024; effective July 15, 2024.