(a) Financing statements shall remain active and searchable for one year after they lapse. The following describes the maintenance of archives of inactive financing statements and the ability of those archived records to be searched.

(1) Paper UCC records shall be on file in the filing office for at least six years, and shall include an additional one year after the record has lapsed. After the six years has lapsed, the records shall be purged and recycled. Paper UCC records may be searched by submitting an Information Request Form to the filing office.

(2) Microfilm of all UCC records dating from 1960 shall be kept on file for public inspection in the record and research areas in the filing office. The availability of these microfilmed records shall be kept until these UCC records are imaged in the information management system. The microfilm shall also be sent to the state records center for archiving. Searches on UCC records on microfilm may be conducted in the filing office.

(3) Electronic images of UCC records dating from 1998 shall be available through the information management system and may be searched through the filing office's web site.

(b) Data in the UCC information management system relating to financing statements that have lapsed shall be retained for five years from the date of lapse and shall thereafter be maintained in archives.

(c) For data that has been placed in an archived status may be searched by submitting an Information Request Form to the filing office.

History Note: Authority G.S. 25-9-522; 25-9-526;

Temporary Adoption Eff. July 2, 2001;

Eff. August 1, 2002;

Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. November 12, 2014.