In Oregon, a UCC-1 Financing Statement (the “UCC-1”) that is filed with the Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division (the “State”) creates a lien in the secured party’s favor against the debtor’s property listed in the UCC-1 (the “Lien”) as of the date of filing. That Lien then remains in effect for five (5) years from the filing date but automatically lapses on the five-year anniversary of that date, unless the secured party renews/continues the UCC-1 by filing a continuation statement as set forth below.
In order to maintain the Lien for a period beyond the initial five years, the State requires that the secured party file a UCC-3 Amendment Statement (which includes the continuation of the original UCC-1) (the “Continuation Statement”) with the State no later than the five-year anniversary of the original filing date (and every five years thereafter) and no earlier than six months prior to such date. A Continuation Statement filed more than six months prior to such date is not effective.
While the State previously sent reminder notices to secured parties prior to the expiration of their UCC financing statement, a new law was recently enacted that discontinues that practice. Secured parties are now required to independently track the expiration date of their financing statement and file a Continuation Statement (by filling it out and checking the “continuation” box on the form) within the applicable time period in order to keep their Lien on the debtor’s property from automatically lapsing. The form of the Continuation Statement that must be filed is currently available online at www.filinginoregon.com.
Secured parties should therefore set up a reliable reminder/tickler system to ensure that their UCC liens do not inadvertently expire. To assist secured parties in tracking the relevant deadlines, the State has instituted a UCC renewal report service that will provide to subscribers at no cost and on a regular basis a searchable repost listing all UCC financing statements due to expire within 90-360 days of the report. More information regarding this service can be obtained athttp://www.filinginoregon.com/ucc/renewal.htm. We encourage secured parties to take advantage of this service.
