Research from the Perfecta team

What a PMSI is, why it can jump ahead of an earlier blanket lien, and which clues on a filing suggest one.

What it means, why lenders do it, whether it's legal, and how to find out who actually holds the lien.

A name search only shows what you searched for. How to reconcile filings against the debt schedule, search every state that matters, and not miss county-level fixture filings.

A lien nobody flagged doesn't disappear at signing.

What to check before a loan's collateral turns out to already be spoken for.

Why a Delaware LLC's filings are in Delaware even if it operates in Ohio, and what that means for a search.

When a secured party has to terminate, and how a debtor can file the termination itself after a written demand goes unanswered.

Secured party, debtor, collateral, perfection, lapse: what each term actually means.

Every state runs its own search with its own quirks. Here's how to not miss a filing.

How a 1940s push for uniform commercial law produced Article 9.