Legal Name in the United States

Name to be Provided on a Financing Statement When the Debtor is an Individual (relating to the Filing Rules)

The Uniform Commercial Code establish the name to use when filing a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement against a debtor who is an individual.

Still, in some US States there is no law that establishes the “legal name” of an individual. Many official documents issued to the same person – birth certificate, passport, and driver’s license –
frequently appear with different names, or variations of names. None of these may correspond
with the name actually used by that person for business transactions.

Foreign naming conventions further complicate matters, as the person’s family name, rather than the given name, may appear first. Yet it is the responsibility of the secured party making a Uniform Commercial Code financing statement filing to establish the correct legal name of the individual, at the risk of making a filing that is legally ineffective.

To provide greater guidance, the following name for an individual debtor would be
sufficient as the debtor’s name on the financing statement: the debtor’s name as shown on the
debtor’s driver’s license if the debtor holds an unexpired driver’s license (or non-driver photo
identification card that has not expired) issued by the state whose law governs perfection under
Article 9’s conflict of laws rules. If the individual does not have such driver’s license or nondriver
photo identification card, the financing statement must include the individual name of the
debtor or the surname and first personal name of the debtor.