Also known as:initial financing statements · original financing statement
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A record that functions as the foundational component of a financing statement. It supplies the debtor name, secured party name, and collateral description that later filed records such as amendments or continuations identify by file number and relate back to.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Schedules Added to Master Filing
Aurora Capital Corporation filed an initial record naming SolarPeak LLC as debtor and describing the master assignment agreement for solar service contracts. Over the following year Aurora filed several schedules that each listed specific customer accounts and referenced the original file number. When another creditor challenged perfection, the court treated the initial record plus the schedules as one financing statement because the later records related back to the initial filing.
Termination Statement Linked by File Number
A secured party filed a termination statement that identified the initial financing statement by its file number and stated that the identified financing statement was no longer effective. The court held that the termination statement qualified as a filed record relating to the initial financing statement and therefore formed part of the overall financing statement.
Put it into practice
Test Yourself
10
Practice Questions5
· 8 primary sources
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Course Outlines
Study Supplements
AEG Liquidation Trust v. Toobro N.Y. LLC252 B.R. 404 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2000)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What distinguishes an initial financing statement from later related records?+
An initial financing statement is the first record that names the debtor, secured party, and collateral. Later records such as amendments or continuations must identify the initial financing statement by file number and are treated as part of the same financing statement.
Supporting sources
Does a record need to use the words initial financing statement to qualify?+
No. A record qualifies as an initial financing statement if it supplies the required debtor name, secured party name, and collateral description and is accepted for filing. Later records that reference its file number become part of the financing statement regardless of labels on the initial record.
Supporting sources
How does the definition affect priority disputes between secured parties?+
The definition allows multiple records filed at different times to form one financing statement when they are linked by file number. The date of the initial financing statement therefore determines the perfection date for priority purposes against later creditors.
Supporting sources
Secured TransactionsApplicability and definitions (§ 9-101, et seq.) · Definitions: “account”; “purchase money security interest”; “control” (§§ 9-102 through 9-107)UBEFoundational