(1)
Policy statement. 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 document 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)
Definitions. The following terms shall have the respective
meanings provided in this rule. Terms not defined in this rule which are
defined in the UCC shall have the respective meanings accorded such terms in
the UCC.
"Active" means a UCC record has not reached
the one-year anniversary of its lapse date.
"Amendment" means a UCC document that
purports to amend the information contained in a financing statement.
Amendments include assignments, continuations and terminations.
"Assignment" means an amendment that
purports to reflect an assignment of all or a part of a secured party's power
to authorize an amendment to a financing statement.
"Continuation" means an amendment that
purports to continue the effectiveness of a financing statement.
"Correction statement" means a UCC document
that purports to indicate that a financing statement is inaccurate or
wrongfully filed.
"File number" means the unique
identification number assigned to an initial financing statement by the filing
officer for the purpose of identifying the financing statement and UCC
documents relating to the financing statement in the filing officer's
information management system. The filing number bears no relation to the time
of filing and is not an indicator of priority.
"Filing office" and "filing
officer" mean the office of the secretary of state. The address of the
office is Lucas State Office Building, First Floor, 321 East 12th Street, Des
Moines, Iowa 50319.
"Financing statement" means a record or
records composed of an initial financing statement and any filed record(s)
relating to the initial financing statement.
"Inactive" means a UCC record has reached
the first anniversary of its lapse date.
"Individual" means a human being, or a
decedent in the case of a debtor that is such decedent's estate.
"Initial financing statement" means a UCC
document that does not identify itself as an amendment or identify an initial
financing statement to which it relates, as required by Iowa Code sections
554.9512,
554.9514, and
554.9518.
"Organization" means a legal person who is
not an individual as defined above.
"Remitter" means a person who tenders a UCC
document to the filing officer for filing, whether the person is a filer or an
agent of a filer responsible for tendering the document for filing. "Remitter"
does not include a person responsible merely for the delivery of the document
to the filing office, such as the postal service or a courier service, but does
include a service provider who acts as a filer's representative in the filing
process.
"Secured party of record" means, with
respect to a financing statement, a person whose name is provided as the name
of a secured party or a representative of the secured party in an initial
financing statement that has been filed. If an initial financing statement is
filed under Iowa Code section
554.9514(1),
the assignee named in the initial financing statement is the secured party of
record with respect to the financing statement. If an amendment of a financing
statement which provides the name of a person as a secured party or a
representative of a secured party is filed, the person named in the amendment
is a secured party of record. If an amendment is filed under Iowa Code section
554.9514(2),
the assignee named in the amendment is a secured party of record. A person
remains a secured party of record until the filing of an amendment of the
financing statement which deletes the person.
"Termination" means an amendment intended to
indicate that the related financing statement has ceased to be effective with
respect to the secured party authorizing the termination.
"UCC" means the Uniform Commercial Code as
adopted in this state and in effect from time to time.
"UCC document" means an initial financing
statement, an amendment, an assignment, a continuation, a termination or a
correction statement. The word "document" in the term "UCC document" shall not
be deemed to refer exclusively to paper or paper-based writings; it being
understood that UCC documents may be expressed or transmitted electronically or
through media other than such writings. (Note: This definition is used for the
purpose of these rules only. The use of the term "UCC document" in these rules
has no relation to the definition of the term "document" in Iowa Code section
554.9102(1)
"af.")
(3)
Singular and plural forms. Singular nouns shall include the
plural form, and plural nouns shall include the singular form, unless the
context otherwise requires.
(4)
Place to file. The filing office is the office for filing UCC
documents relating to all types of collateral except for timber to be cut,
as-extracted collateral (Iowa Code section
554.9102(1)
"f") and, when the relevant financing statement is filed as a
fixture filing, goods which are or are to become fixtures. Regardless of the
nature of the collateral, the filing office is the office for filing all UCC
documents where the debtor is a transmitting utility.
(5)
Filing office
identification. In addition to the promulgation of these rules, the
filing office will disseminate information of its location, mailing address,
telephone and fax numbers, and its Internet and other electronic "addresses"
through usual and customary means.
a.
Online information service. The filing officer offers online
information services at sos.iowa.gov.
b.
Electronic mail.
Electronic mail cannot be used for filing UCC documents or for requesting
searches of the records of financing statements.
(6)
Office hours. Although
the filing office maintains regular office hours (8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday, except holidays), it receives transmissions electronically and
by telefacsimile 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, except for scheduled
maintenance and unscheduled interruptions of service. Electronic communications
may be retrieved and processed periodically (but no less often than once each
day the filing office is open for business) on a batch basis.
(7)
UCC document delivery.
UCC documents may be tendered for filing at the filing office as follows:
a.
Personal delivery at the filing
office's street address. The file time for a UCC document delivered by
this method is when delivery of the UCC document is accepted by the filing
office (even though the UCC document may not yet have been accepted for filing
and subsequently may be rejected).
b.
Courier delivery at the filing
office's street address. The file time for a UCC document delivered by
this method is, notwithstanding the time of delivery, the next close of
business following the time of delivery (even though the UCC document may not
yet have been accepted for filing and may be subsequently rejected). A UCC
document delivered after regular business hours or on a day the filing office
is not open for business will have a filing time of the close of business on
the next day the filing office is open for business.
c.
Postal service delivery to the
filing office's mailing address. The file time for a UCC document
delivered by this method is the next close of business following the time of
delivery (even though the UCC document may not yet have been accepted for
filing and may be subsequently rejected). A UCC document delivered after
regular business hours or on a day the filing office is not open for business
will have a filing time of the close of business on the next day the filing
office is open for business.
d.
Telefacsimile delivery to the filing office's fax filing telephone
number. The file time for a UCC document delivered by this method is,
notwithstanding the time of delivery, the next close of business following the
time of delivery (even though the UCC document may not yet have been accepted
for filing and may be subsequently rejected). A UCC document delivered after
regular business hours or on a day the filing office is not open for business
will have a filing time of the close of business on the next day the filing
office is open for business.
In order for delivery of UCC documents by telefacsimile to be
accepted, remitter must have a preapproved charge account as provided in
30.1(11)"d" or an acceptable credit card as provided by
30.1(11)"e."
e.
Electronic filing. UCC
documents may be transmitted electronically using the XML standard approved by
the International Association of Commercial Administrators as described in
30.3(3). UCC documents may also be transmitted electronically through online
entry as described in 30.3(4). The file time for a UCC document delivered by
this method is the time that the filing office's UCC information management
system analyzes the relevant transmission and determines that all the required
elements of the transmission have been received in a required format and are
machine-readable.
(8)
Search request delivery. UCC search requests may be delivered
to the filing office by any of the means by which UCC documents may be
delivered to the filing office, except as provided in
30.1(7)"e." Requirements concerning search requests are set
forth in 30.5(2). UCC search requests upon a debtor named on an initial
financing statement may be made by an appropriate indication on the face of the
initial financing statement form if the form is entitled to be filed with the
standard form fee and the relevant search fee is also tendered with the initial
financing statement.
(9)
Approved forms. Forms for UCC documents that conform to the
requirements of this rule will be accepted by the filing office. Other forms
will not be accepted by the filing office.
a.
Approved forms. Only those forms approved for the relevant UCC
document by the International Association of Commercial Administrators (the UCC
National Forms) will be acceptable. Copies of these forms are available on the
secretary of state's website at
www.sos.iowa.gov or by request to the secretary
of state's office.
Note : The debtor's taxpayer identification number (TAX
ID #), social security number (SSN), and employer identification number (EIN)
are not required, and will be readily available to the public if entered on UCC
documents.
b.
Form-UCC search. The information request form approved by the
International Association of Commercial Administrators will be acceptable.
Other request forms will also be acceptable, provided they contain the
information required by 30.5(2).
c.
Electronic filings. A UCC document transmitted electronically
pursuant to the International Association of Commercial Administrators' XML
standard and the procedures set forth in 30.3(3) or pursuant to online data
entry procedures set forth in 30.3(4) will be acceptable.
(10)
Filing fees.
a.
Filing fee. The fee for
filing and indexing a UCC document of one or two pages communicated on paper or
in a paper-based format (including faxes) is $10. If there are additional
pages, the fee is $20. The fee for filing and indexing a UCC document
communicated using a medium authorized by these rules that is other than on
paper or in a paper-based format shall be $5.
b.
UCC search fee. The fee
for a UCC search request is $5.
c.
UCC search-copies. The fee for paper copies of UCC documents
is $1 per page.
(11)
Methods of payment. Filing fees and fees for public records
services rendered by the secretary of state may be paid to the secretary of
state by the following methods.
a.
Cash. The filing officer discourages cash payment unless made
in person to the cashier at the filing office.
b.
Checks. Checks made
payable to the filing office, including checks in an amount to be filled in by
a filing officer but not to exceed a particular amount, will be accepted for
payment if they are cashier's checks or certified checks drawn on a bank
acceptable to the filing office or if the drawer is acceptable to the filing
office.
c.
Electronic funds
transfer. The filing office may accept payment via electronic funds
transfer under National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) rules from
remitters who have entered into appropriate NACHA-approved arrangements for
such transfers and who authorize the relevant transfer pursuant to such
arrangements and rules.
d.
Accounts receivable. Payment for services shall be in
accordance with
721-2.3 (17A).
e.
Credit card. The filing
office may accept payments using credit cards issued by approved credit card
issuers.
(12)
Overpayment and underpayment policies.
a.
Overpayment. The filing
officer shall refund the amount of an overpayment exceeding $10 to the
remitter. The filing officer shall refund an overpayment of $10 or less only
upon the written request of the remitter.
b.
Underpayment. Upon
receipt of a document with an insufficient fee, the filing officer shall return
the document to the remitter as provided in 30.2(5). A refund of a partial
payment may be included with the document or delivered under separate
cover.
(13)
Public records services. Public records services are provided
on a nondiscriminatory basis to any member of the public on the terms described
in these rules. The following methods are available for obtaining copies of UCC
documents and copies of data from the UCC information management system.
a.
Individually identified
documents. Copies of individually identified UCC documents are
available in the following forms.
(1)
Paper.
(2) PDF files.
b.
Bulk copies of
documents. Bulk copies of UCC documents are available in PDF format
via download from the office.
c.
Data from the information management system. A list of
available data elements from the UCC information management system and the file
layout of the data elements are available from the filing officer upon request.
Data from the information management system is available as follows.
(1) Full extract. A bulk data extract of
information from the UCC information management system is available on a weekly
basis.
(2) Format. Extracts from
the UCC information management system are available via downloads from the
filing office.
d.
Direct online services. Online services make UCC data and
images available.
(14)
Fees for public records services. Fees for public records
services are established as follows.
a.
Paper copies of individual documents.
(1) Regular delivery method-$1 per
page.
(2) Fax delivery-$2 per
page.
b.
Bulk
copies of documents.
(1) Subscription
basis-4 cents per page plus $25 per week.
(2) Document image master file-4 cents per
document.
c.
Data
from the information management system-full extract.
Download-$300.
(15)
New practices and technologies. The filing officer is
authorized to adopt practices and procedures to accomplish receipt, processing,
maintenance, retrieval and transmission of, and remote access to, Article 9
filing data by means of electronic, voice, optical or other technologies and,
without limiting the foregoing, to maintain and operate, in addition to or in
lieu of a paper-based system, a non-paper-based Article 9 filing system
utilizing any of such technologies.
