R 4525.Copies of statements under article nine of the uniform commercial code

Secured lenders and their lawyers frequently need to prove what a UCC-1 financing statement said and when it was filed, without hauling the filing officer into court. CPLR 4525 supplies the shortcut. A copy of a statement filed under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, noted or certified by the filing officer under UCC section 9-523 as a true copy, is prima facie evidence of the facts in that notation or certification, and of the further fact that the copy truly reflects what was filed.

This dovetails with how Article 9 filings work: a secured party files a financing statement with a filing officer, who indexes it and can later certify copies on request. Litigation over priority among competing secured creditors, or over whether a security interest was properly perfected, often hinges on exactly what was filed and when. CPLR 4525 lets the certified copy answer that question directly, rather than requiring live testimony from the filing office.

Like the article's other prima facie evidence rules, this one does not foreclose a challenge. A party can still contest whether the underlying filing was accurate or effective; the certified copy establishes, in the first instance, what the filing officer's records show.