Section 50. Acceptance and refusal of records; continuation statements

Part II. Record Requirements

A. The duties and responsibilities of the filing office with respect to the administration of the UCC are ministerial. In accepting for filing or refusing to file a UCC record pursuant to this chapter, the filing office does none of the following:

1. Determine the legal sufficiency or insufficiency of a record;

2. Determine that a security interest in collateral exists or does not exist;

3. Determine that information in the record is correct or incorrect, in whole or in part; or

4. Create a presumption that information in the record is correct or incorrect, in whole or in part.

B. The first day on which a continuation statement may be filed is the day of the month corresponding to the date upon which the related financing statement would lapse in the sixth month preceding the month in which the financing statement would lapse. If there is no such corresponding date, the first day on which a continuation statement 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 statement may be filed is the date upon which the financing statement lapses. If the lapse date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or other day on which the filing office is not open, then the last day on which a continuation statement may be filed, if tendered for filing by personal, courier, or postal delivery, is the last day the filing office is open prior to the lapse date. An authorized electronic delivery method may be available to file a continuation statement on a Saturday, Sunday, or other day on which the filing office is not open. The relevant anniversary for a February 29 filing date shall be March 1 in the fifth or 30th year following the date of filing.

C. Except as provided in 5VAC5-30-40 D, if the filing office finds grounds to refuse a UCC record for filing, including those set forth in § 8.9A-516 (b) of the Code of Virginia, the filing office shall return the record to the remitter and may retain the filing fee.

D. Nothing in this chapter shall prevent the filing office from communicating to a filer or a remitter that the filing office 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 do so and may not, in fact, have the resources to identify potential defects. The responsibility for the legal effectiveness of filing rests with filers and remitters and the filing office bears no responsibility for such effectiveness.

E. The filing office may act in accordance with § 12.1-19 B of the Code of Virginia with respect to submissions that contain personal identifiable information.

F. If a secured party or a remitter demonstrates to the satisfaction of the filing office that a UCC record that was refused for filing should not have been refused, the filing office shall file the UCC record as provided in this chapter with a filing date and time assigned when the record was originally tendered for filing. The filing office shall also file a filing officer statement that states the effective date and time of filing, which shall be the date and time the UCC record was originally tendered for filing.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 17, Issue 22, eff. July 1, 2001; amended, Virginia Register Volume 23, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2007; Volume 27, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2011; Volume 29, Issue 22, eff. July 1, 2013.

Statutory Authority

§§ 8.9A-526 and 12.1-13 of the Code of Virginia.