This section provides information on how to file liens in the North Dakota Central Indexing System (NDCIS). For more information, review the NDCIS User Manual and Central Indexing Online Instructions.
State law requires that all central indexing filings be completed online. To file liens, you will need to set up a login for the system. Fees apply to certain filings, secured party searches, and subscriptions.
Required Lien Filing Information
When filing a lien, the debtor’s social security number or federal employer identification number is required to complete the filing.
The UCC filing location varies based on the following:
- If the debtor is a "registered" organization, the UCC is filed in the state of organization/registration.
- If the debtor is an individual, the UCC is filed in the state of legal residence.
PDF Attachments
The Central Indexing System does not support the uploading of fillable PDF forms. The completed forms must be printed or saved to standard PDF before uploading. If you upload fillable PDFs, they will be blank.
Payment and Refunds
Filings may be paid by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express) or eCheck. Payment information must be entered each time you complete a filing. Users who make bulk filing submissions may pay by ACH.
The Secretary of State issues refunds under limited circumstances, including system and administrative errors.
Contact us if you believe you have been overcharged and have not received a refund.
Real Estate Filings
Lienholders must file the UCC fixture filings portion of real estate liens in the NDCIS. The real estate portion of the filing should continue to be recorded with the county recorder’s office where the real estate is located.
The following forms may be used for county real estate filings:
- Financing Statement for Real Estate and UCC Filing/UCC-1A (SFN 17832)
- Real Estate and UCC Filing/UCC-3A (SFN 17830)
Uploading Bulk Filings
If you have several filings to complete, you may upload them using bulk filing. Users must contact the Secretary of State to request the ability to submit bulk filings.
These are examples of XML files that contain the acceptable format for bulk filing:
- UCC-1 Single Debtor
- UCC-1 Multiple Debtors
- UCC-3 Amendment (add debtor)
- UCC-3 Amendment (change debtor)
- UCC-3 Amendment (add secured party)
- UCC-3 Amendment (delete secured party)