Oregon Secretary of State Corporation Division OFFICIAL Government website

About the Uniform Commercial Code Section

Mission
UCC is a ministerial agency operating within the Corporation Division, under the auspices of the Secretary of State of Oregon. Its purpose is to Record, Retain, and Retrieve information concerning Uniform Commercial Code filings. It exists to reduce the risk of creditors by a) establishing a security interest incurred by a debtor, so that priority of claim may be proved in case of bankruptcy or default; and b) by providing information on financing statements and liens to interested parties.

Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 79 Administration
The Uniform Commercial Code is an eleven article collection of model statutes that have been enacted by the 50 states in hope of developing a standard, or uniform method of dealing with business law questions involving commerce.

Our office administers only Article 9. In the Oregon Revised Statutes, the Model Act was incorporated by adding the digit 7 before each article number, e.g., Article 9 became Ch. 79. UCC also administers the parts of ORS Chapter 87 that relate to Agricultural Services Liens, Grain Producer's Liens, and IRS tax liens, as well as miscellaneous liens and warrants from other statutes.

The Central Filing System for Farm Products - The Central Filing System, a program recommended by federal statute, the Food Security Act, was adopted here in 1986. Better known as EFS, it includes notice of UCC financing statements on farm products. In 1988, the Secretary of State picked up the Agricultural Services Lien from the counties, and placed under UCC's purview in 1989.

We administer three major programs: UCC, EFS, and ASL

The UCC program covers secured transactions on personal, or "moveable" "property".
We call it a "lien," but it is really just a record of a secured obligation. It may also be referred to as a security agreement or a financing statement, depending on the situation. Much like a mortgage is a lien filing with the county on real property, a state UCC filing is a security filing on personal property not affixed to the land or covered by title laws. In other words, if you sell a piece of farm equipment like a plow on credit, you have a security interest in that property. One way to make sure you get the money that's owed to you should the farmer sell out or go bankrupt is to file a UCC form with the plow as collateral. This "perfects"; the security interest and puts you in line with other creditors of the farmer. UCCs are effective for five years and can be renewed indefinitely. We also file federal and state tax liens and Employment Division Warrants.

Effective Financing Statement (EFS)
EFS is the Central Farm Product System for the State of Oregon. It is essentially a record of notices that effective financing statements (EFS) concerning farm products have been filed with UCC. Its major purpose is to inform buyers of farm products of the existence of a security interest on the crop or livestock they are interested in purchasing.

Subscription service: A unique feature of the Central Farm Products System is the EFS subscription service. Known in the statutes as the master list of farm products, it gives a report of all the EFS notices for a particular product code or codes. It enables a buyer to know what, if any, security interest is on a farm product. If the seller does not appear on the list, the buyer has clear title to the product. Otherwise, if the seller is on the list, the buyer must take care of the interest in some way (through co-payee, or other negotiation).

Farm products buyers may subscribe to the notification system by filing the Farm Products Registration form. The Farm Products master list comes monthly on a CD-ROM disk and is thoroughly searchable and cross-indexed.

Statutory Liens
UCC administers several statutory liens, including state and federal tax liens, employment warrants and farm liens. Perhaps the most prevalent filing by the public is the Agricultural Services Lien (ASL).

ASL is the record of Agricultural Services Liens, which are statutory liens (under ORS Ch. 87) claiming a security interest on crops or livestock because of labor performed, materials supplied, or services provided to aid the growing or harvesting of the crops or the raising of animals.

SOME DIFFERENCES - As a statutory lien, Ag. Services Lien has a different priority than a financing statement. It also is subject to different laws regarding foreclosure and duration of lien.