On July 1, 2013, amendments to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which governs using personal property as collateral, will become effective in many jurisdictions. The changes to Article 9 will affect both existing and future transactions. This article summarizes the changes most likely to affect new transactions and the transition rules that will apply to bringing existing transactions into compliance with the new requirements.

It has been 12 years since major revisions to UCC Article 9 were enacted in all jurisdictions, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories and possessions. The 2001 revisions made significant changes in the types of personal property and types of transactions covered by Article 9, in the rules for determining where to file a financing statement to perfect a security interest, and in the UCC forms to be filed. The transition from the rules in effect prior to the 2001 revisions to the 2001 revisions’ requirements was complicated and, fortunately, almost all jurisdictions enacted the 2001 revisions at the same time, minimizing the problems that would have been created by having two very different sets of rules in effect.