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August 8, 2006

Elizabeth Kaufman

Jesse White Announces Business Transactions for
Uniform Commercial Code Can Be Filed Online

SPRINGFIELD — Secretary of State Jesse White announced that businesses are now able to register their Uniform Commercial Code via the Internet.

"This is part of our ongoing strategic plan to make business transactions more efficient and convenient by using electronic records management with the Internet," White said. "It saves paper and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

The Uniform Commercial Code is a record showing that a loan for personal property has been made and is documented with the state. Filing the UCC assists with minimizing the losses in bankruptcy and default cases.

Prior to this announcement, filings had to be made by mail and processed by the Secretary of State's office within 48 hours from the time it was received. Depending on mail delivery the entire process could take up to 10 days. The new electronic filing system is in real time, meaning it's processed at the time it's received.

The UCC filings and amendments can be accessed easily from the home page of the Illinois Secretary of State website at www.CyberdriveIllinois.com. A $1.00 transaction fee is assessed to each transaction.

• Last fiscal year 186,716 UCC documents were filed.
• On the average 700 UCC documents are filed each day.
• Service companies, financial institutions, and attorneys are the largest users of the UCC system.
• Some large volume filers are able to submit filings in batches up to 100 electronically using the site's Business to Business service.

In addition to the online services for UCC, White has continued to innovate services offered in the Secretary of State's Department of Business Services including:

• Expedited services for businesses to file annual reports. In Springfield expedited service is offered at 501 S. Second St., Suite 350, Springfield, (217) 524-5248 and for UCC call (217) 785-2235 and in Chicago, service is offered at 69 W. Washington, Suite 1240, (312) 793-3380. The reports are processed within 24 hours for an additional fee.
• New workflow imaging system in UCC and Corporation Divisions resulting in increased productivity
• New remittance processing automated system resulting in faster processing of annual reports
• New fax filing service resulting in simpler filing for customers
• Database available through the Internet resulting in more accessibility for customers
• Updated telephone system with new features answering specific consumer questions