Blanket liens vs specific equipment liens
The difference between an all-assets lien and a lien on one machine, why it matters to the next lender, and how to tell them apart in a filing.
By Ayman Tai, Founder, UCC Scout · Updated September 26, 2026 · Colorado figures as of November 12, 2026
UCC filings come in two very different shapes. An equipment lien covers specific machines. A blanket lien covers everything the business owns. Telling them apart is the first step in reading a filing, and it changes what the next lender can do.
A specific equipment lien
CATERPILLAR 236D3 SERIAL NUMBER KXL02265 AND ADDITIONS… THIS IS AN INFORMATION FILING ONLY
One machine, identified by serial number. This is how equipment loans and leases are filed. The lien ends when the loan is paid, and it doesn't touch the rest of the business.
A blanket lien
ALL INVENTORY, CHATTEL PAPER, ACCOUNTS, EQUIPMENT AND GENERAL INTANGIBLES
Everything. A financing statement may describe collateral as “all assets” (9-504(2)), though the security agreement behind it must describe it properly (9-108). Blanket liens usually secure bank lines of credit, SBA loans and merchant cash advances.
- Specific equipment with a serial, VIN or model number9,671 · 18.8%
- Equipment type named, no serial4,809 · 9.3%
- "Equipment", nothing more4,979 · 9.7%
- No collateral text published9,512 · 18.4%
- Blanket lien (all assets)16,348 · 31.7%
- Unclear6,245 · 12.1%
Why it matters to the next lender
A blanket lien already covers any equipment the business buys later. A new equipment lender can still get first priority on the machine it finances by taking a purchase-money security interest and filing before the debtor gets possession or within 20 days after (9-324(a)). Without that, the new lender is behind the blanket lienholder. Many lenders also ask the blanket lender for a subordination or carve-out.
Traps when reading filings
- Deere and others add “all accounts, general intangibles… relating thereto” to machine filings. That's still a specific lien: the list only covers things related to the machine.
- A long list of asset types with no serial numbers is a blanket lien even without the words “all assets”.
- “All equipment now owned or hereafter acquired” is a blanket lien on equipment only; it doesn't date any one loan.
For prospecting, specific liens give you timing; blanket liens tell you who the business banks with. UCC Scout scores specific equipment higher and flags blankets separately. See reading collateral descriptions.