Washington has adopted minor changes to RCW 62A-9A (Washington’s version of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC Article 9) regarding secured transactions) through Substitute House Bill 1115. The changes I point out here deal with the debtor’s name and additional information as required on a financing statement and the form of the financing statement.
Effective as of July 1, 2013, the newly revised RCW 62A-9A-503(a)(4) provides that, if the debtor is an individual and if the individual has a current, unexpired Washington State issued driver’s license or identification card, the name of the debtor used on the financing statement must be the name found on the driver’s license or identification card. If a license or identification card has not been issued or is expired, then RCW 62A-9A-503(a)(5) requires the financing statement to include the individual debtor’s name or surname and first personal name. The requirement to use the name listed on a driver’s license or identification card is new and will require the secured party to obtain a copy of the debtor’s driver’s license or identification card.
Please note that as of July 16, 2013, the Washington State Legislature website provides the incorrect version of RCW 61A-9A-503 under “Effective July 1, 2013.” For the correct version, click on the hyperlink to Substitute House Bill 1115.
In addition to changes to RCW 62A-9A-503, the revisions to RCW 62A-9A affect disclosures related to organizational debtors. RCW 62A-9A-516(b)(5) no longer requires that the financing statement indicate the type of organization, the jurisdiction, and the organization’s identification number in its jurisdiction. As such, the national UCC-1 form has been revised such that no location exists to specify the entity type, jurisdiction, and identification number. The Washington Department of Licensing now provides a link to the updated form instead of the old form.
Please contact me or another attorney at MPBA for any questions related to the UCC or securing loans with personal property or real property.