When a lender makes a loan to your business, and in the loan agreement takes a security interest (as collateral) in one or more of your assets, it may include a completed UCC-1 financing statement (UCC-1). A UCC-1 is a document that, when properly filed with the state (often the secretary of state’s office), provides notice to potential buyers of those assets, and notice to future creditors of your business that the earlier lender has a priority interest in those assets. Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code governs business or commercial transactions (loans, extensions of credit) that are secured by collateral, and provides for use of the UCC-1 filing. Vehicles, office equipment and fixtures, inventory, investment securities, accounts receivable, machinery, letters of credit, and other moveable, tangible items of value often serve as the collateral for a UCC-1.

In West Virginia, when a lender provides a loan to a business and secures the loan with the business's assets, the lender typically files a UCC-1 financing statement. This filing is done with the West Virginia Secretary of State's office and serves as a public notice that the lender has a secured interest in the collateral specified in the agreement. The UCC-1 is an essential part of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), which regulates secured transactions involving personal property. The types of assets that can be used as collateral and are subject to a UCC-1 filing include vehicles, office equipment, inventory, investment securities, accounts receivable, machinery, and other tangible items of value. Filing a UCC-1 helps the lender establish priority over the assets in the event of default or bankruptcy, and it alerts other potential creditors or buyers of the business's assets to the lender's secured interest.