Wyoming Secretary of State

Revised Article 9 (RA9)

After ten years of study, the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws unanimously approved a final draft of Revised Article 9 (RA9) of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The draft was forwarded to all state legislatures and the Drafting Committee promoted a coordinated effective date of July 1, 2001. Original House Bill 111, enacted by the 2001 Wyoming Legislature, and signed into law on February 28, 2001, became effective on July 1, 2001.

 

Under the new revisions, the Secretary of State's Office became the central filing office for financing statements provided for under Article 9. Dual filing at the county level is no longer required when the collateral is farm products or accounts.

 

The revisions do not affect motor vehicle liens and real estate recordings which are maintained in each of the 23 counties. In June 2002, the Secretary of State's E-filing system became operational. Filers now have a choice, file by paper or file electronically. More details on electronic filing can be found elsewhere on this site.

 

The Secretary of State's Office administers one small section of RA9 which is Part 5 Filing. The intent of the amendments to the filing section of the model legislation is to increase efficiency, promote uniformity and simplify filing.

 

Some of the changes are:

 

• Signatures are not required.
• The filing office has very few reasons to reject any filing.
• RA9 provides that you file in the state of formation of an entity, not the state of the location of the asset.
• It is an "Open Drawer" system. This means all filings will remain in the record, whether lapsed or terminated, for the searcher to see and interpret. After one year following lapse, the record is moved to an inactive file and it will not be included on a search. However, the filing may still be located by file number.
• When a continuation statement needs to be filed for financing statements formerly filed in the county or in another state, an "in lieu of" filing must be made by the secured party. It will be in the form of an initial financing statement and it will cross reference the original statement filed in the county. "In lieu of" filings may be made with the Secretary of State after the law is signed and before it becomes effective.

 

Copies of Original House Bill No. 111 may be obtained from the Legislative Service Office website.