The Office of the Secretary of State receives and maintains certain lien records through the North Dakota Central Indexing System (NDCIS) which fulfills state law requirements that lien filings must be completed online. This system may also be used to search lien records.
Lien records filed with the Secretary of State include:
- Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
- Transmitting Utilities
- Farm Products Central Notice (CNS)
- Miscellaneous Statutory Lien (MSL)
- Agricultural Statutory Lien Notice (ASL)
- State Tax Lien
- Federal Tax Lien and Judgments
Various central indexing statutes pertain to UCC and other lien filings.
A lien is a legal claim to the assets used as collateral to satisfy a debt. Common types of liens are bank liens, real estate liens, and tax liens. A lien can be established by a lender, through legal judgment, or a taxing authority. If the debt is not satisfied, the lienholder may be able to seize the collateral.
There are several parties involved in the filing of a lien.
- Debtor - the borrower
- Secured party - the lender or lienholder
- State agency or county - the office that provides the process and systems for notices to be filed by secured parties and searched consistently
Initial Filing
Filing a public notice is the action taken to achieve priority as a secured party. The notice, also known as perfection, informs creditors and others about the lender’s security interest. Financing statements provide notice that a security interest may exist.
Duration of a Lien
The duration and effectiveness of a lien vary depending on the type and jurisdiction. A lien lapses when the expiration date passes without a continuation being filed. This means the lender no longer has a secured interest in the collateral and is considered an unsecured creditor.
Continuation
The lender can extend the secured interest by filing a continuation statement within 6 months before the lien's expiration date. Continuations are filed throughout the loan term to maintain the security interest until the duration of the loan/relationship ends.
Other Lien Filings
Other actions related to a lien include:
- Amendment - filed to change the debtor information, collateral, or secured party information.
- Assignment - filed to transfer a portion or all rights to the collateral to another secured party by adding the assignee as a secured party.
- Termination - filed to end the original filing when the debt has been paid in full or the collateral is returned.
- Information (Correction) Statement - filed to correct a filing that was entered inaccurately or wrongfully filed.
- A debtor may file an Information Statement with respect to a record indexed under that person's name if the person believes the record was inaccurate or wrongfully filed,
- A secured party may file an Information Statement with respect to a record if the person is a secured party of record regarding the financing statement to which the record relates and believes that the person who filed the record was not entitled to do so.
- A debtor may file an Information Statement with respect to a record indexed under that person's name if the person believes the record was inaccurate or wrongfully filed,