How to Do a UCC Search in New Jersey
A UCC search tells you what financing statements are on record against a debtor in New Jersey — who claims an interest in their equipment, inventory, and receivables, and in what order. Here's how to run one correctly in NJ: the official portal, the exact steps, the fees, and the one detail (the debtor's exact name) that decides whether your search result means anything.
| Filing office | New Jersey Department of the Treasury — Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services (DORES) |
|---|---|
| Official portal | NJ UCC Online Services (njportal.com/UCC) |
| Account needed? | You can search and file through the portal; a free Payment Management Services (PMS) account is optional but useful for frequent filers. |
| Search fees | Certified search certificate: $25 per certificate plus $1 per page (plus a $5 portal admin fee). Status reports and relative-to-filing certificates are priced in the portal. |
| Where UCC-1s are filed | Central filing through DORES's UCC Online Services. UCC-1: $25 statutory fee + $5 portal fee; UCC-3: $25 + $5. |
How to run a New Jersey UCC search, step by step
- Open the official UCC Online Services portal above (Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services).
- Choose the UCC database search and search by the debtor's exact legal name or by filing number.
- Review the results: original UCC-1 details plus every UCC-3 (amendment, continuation, assignment, termination) recorded against it, with file dates and lapse dates.
- Download the documents you need directly from the portal, or order a certified search certificate if the search supports a closing or a credit decision.
- Save the search results with your file — and note the through-date of the data, since filings can be recorded after you search.
New Jersey quirk: Treasury, not the Secretary of State
New Jersey is one of the states where UCC does not live with the Secretary of State — it's the Department of the Treasury's Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services. Searchers who start at the wrong agency waste days. The same portal also takes UCC-1 and UCC-3 filings, so filers and searchers use one system.
What a NJ UCC search does — and doesn't — prove
A search shows the financing statements a filing office has on record for the name you searched, as of the search's through-date. It is only as good as the name: under §9-506, a filing with a seriously misleading debtor name is ineffective, and a standard search under the debtor's correct name that wouldn't disclose it is the legal test. So always search the exact legal name (§9-503) — and when a result matters (a loan, a purchase, a credit decision), get the certified/official search rather than relying on a quick online look. A search also won't show filings in other states: a debtor is searched where the debtor is legally located under §9-307 — see the UCC search hub for other states.
Go deeper than a search
A search tells you what's on record. The Private Money Rights Playbook teaches you how to be the secured party — UCC filing, trusts, private records, and the $10,000-a-Month Blueprint — and the UCC Talk24 Toolkit gives you the working tools: UCC-1 checklist, Articles 1–9 lookup, stamp and document generators.
Start with the filing guide: How to File a UCC-1 Financing Statement — and keep it alive with the UCC-3 Continuation rules.
New Jersey UCC search FAQ
How do I do a UCC search in New Jersey?
Through the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services' UCC Online Services at njportal.com/UCC: search the database by debtor name or filing number, download documents, or order a certified search certificate.
How much does a New Jersey UCC search cost?
A certified search certificate is $25 plus $1 per page, with a $5 portal admin fee. Filing a UCC-1 or UCC-3 is $25 plus the $5 portal fee.
Where are UCC-1s filed in New Jersey?
Centrally, through DORES's UCC Online Services — not the Secretary of State. Fixture filings are the exception and are recorded at the county level.
Other states: Pennsylvania • New York • Ohio • Florida • Texas • California