In Texas, UCC filings are handled by the Secretary of State, not by the counties, with one real property exception. The office is the central place where lenders file financing statements and where anyone can search them.
Two things set Texas apart. A search costs $1. And since August 29, 2025, every UCC filing must go through the online portal. See the UCC search guide for what a UCC search finds in general, and the Texas office guide for the rest of the office.
What does a Texas UCC search find?
A UCC search lists financing statements filed against a debtor name. A creditor files one to tell others that it has a claim on the debtor's assets. If you plan to lend, buy a business, or take collateral, the search shows who got there first.
The Texas search ignores certain business endings. The office publishes that list as its Ending Noise Words. Read it before you decide that a name has no record.
| Who takes UCC filings | Texas Secretary of State, Uniform Commercial Code section, Austin (sos.state.tx.us, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Search UCC records | sos.state.tx.us/ucc/index.shtml (sos.state.tx.us, checked ) |
| Search fee | $1 per search, paid before the search runs (sos.texas.gov, checked ) |
| Copies and certified searches | Certified search report $15.00 per debtor, certified copy $1.00 per page (sos.texas.gov, checked ) |
| File a UCC-1 | $5.00 for a UCC-1 filed online (from an older fee page, check the portal) (sos.texas.gov, checked ) |
| Filing online | Online only through SOSPortal. Paper filings stopped after August 29, 2025 (sos.state.tx.us, checked ) |
| Worth knowing | Fixture and as-extracted collateral filings go to the county clerk. All other filings go to the Secretary of State. (sos.texas.gov, checked ) |
How do you run the search?
- Create a SOSPortal account if you do not have one.
- Open the UCC area and choose Search and Orders.
- Enter the debtor name or a filing number.
- Pay the $1 search fee before the search runs.
- Open the results, and order copies or a certified report if you need them.
The fee is not charged again when you place an order from the results page. A search that finds nothing still costs $1 and returns No records found.
Certified searches and copies
A plain search is enough to look. A lender or a court may want something certified. The older published fee schedule listed a certified search report at $15.00 per debtor and a certified copy at $1.00 per page. Because the portal replaced the older system, check the fee on screen.
How do you file a UCC-1 in Texas?
Filing is online only. You need a SOSPortal account, and the old SOSDirect accounts were no longer usable for UCC after August 29, 2025. The portal shows the status of your filings from the past 90 days on a page called My UCC Filing History.
The older schedule listed $5.00 for a UCC-1 filed online. There is no extra charge for additional debtor names, and the form has no debtor signature line. The filer is responsible for having authority to file. Read our UCC-1 filing guide for the form itself.
When the county clerk gets the filing
Most financing statements go to the Secretary of State. A county clerk takes the filing when it is recorded as a mortgage on the related real property: collateral that is as-extracted or timber to be cut, or a fixture filing on goods that are or will be fixtures. If your lien touches land or buildings, ask a lawyer where to file.
You can search and file at the state yourself, and state fees are separate from anything we do. If you would like help, you can ask our private filing service.
Sources
- www.sos.state.tx.us/contact.shtml: office name, division, mailing address, street address, phone, contact page, hours. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/about/sosbio.shtml: officeholder. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/index.shtml: business search, online filing. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/namefilingsfaqs.shtml: name check, search disclaimer, name rule, name reservation term, assumed names (DBA). Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/instructions/304.shtml: LLC name endings. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/formationfaqs.shtml: corporation name endings. Checked .
- www.sos.texas.gov/corp/instructions/205.shtml: restricted words, registered agent rule. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/forms/806_boc.pdf: name reservation fee, LLC filing fee, corporation filing fee, nonprofit filing fee, foreign LLC fee, expedite fees, certificate fee. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/forms_boc.shtml: name reservation form. Checked .
- comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/franchise/: report fee, report due date, late penalty, franchise tax. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/copies.shtml: good standing certificate. Checked .
- comptroller.texas.gov/taxes/franchise/coas-instructions.php: certificate ordering. Checked .
- direct.sos.state.tx.us/help/help-corp.asp?pg=ov: status terms. Checked .
- www.sos.state.tx.us/ucc/index.shtml: who takes ucc filings, search ucc records, filing online. Checked .
- www.sos.texas.gov/ucc/faqs.shtml: search fee, worth knowing. Checked .
- www.sos.texas.gov/ucc/formfees.shtml: copies and certified searches, file a ucc-1. Checked .