UCC lapse and continuation, explained
UCC-1 filings lapse after five years unless continued in the six months before. How lapse dates work, what a continuation means, and what it tells a lender.
By Ayman Tai, Founder, UCC Scout · Updated September 26, 2026 · Colorado figures as of November 12, 2026
Every UCC-1 financing statement has a built-in expiry. Five years after it was filed it lapses, unless the secured party files a continuation in the six months before. The rules are short, strict and in UCC 9-515.
The lapse date
A financing statement is effective for five years from the date of filing (9-515(a)). The lapse date is the fifth anniversary. There are exceptions: public-finance and manufactured-home transactions get 30 years, and filings against a transmitting utility don't lapse at all. Most states print the lapse date on the filing record; the lapse date calculator works it out from the filing date.
| 2026-11 | 560 |
|---|---|
| 2026-12 | 1387 |
| 2027-01 | 1221 |
| 2027-02 | 1244 |
| 2027-03 | 1640 |
| 2027-04 | 1795 |
| 2027-05 | 1790 |
| 2027-06 | 1738 |
| 2027-07 | 1589 |
| 2027-08 | 1804 |
| 2027-09 | 1673 |
| 2027-10 | 1658 |
The continuation window
A continuation can only be filed within the six months before lapse (9-515(d)). One filed earlier is ineffective, and nothing can be filed after lapse to revive the old statement. An effective continuation extends the filing for five years from the date it would have lapsed, not from the date of the continuation (9-515(e)). Lenders can continue a filing again and again, each time in the window.
What happens at lapse
The financing statement stops being effective and the security interest becomes unperfected. Against a buyer of the collateral for value, it is treated as if it had never been perfected (9-515(c)). The debt itself is unaffected: a lapsed filing says nothing about whether the loan was paid.
What lapse and continuation tell a prospector
Looking back at Colorado equipment filings made five to six years ago shows how filings end in practice:
- Lapsed without a termination10,775 · 40.2%
- Terminated by the lender9,580 · 35.8%
- Continued for another 5 years7,599 · 28.4%
- Lapsed with no termination (40%): the most common ending. Many lenders never bother to terminate after payoff and let the five years run out.
- Terminated (36%): the lender released the lien, usually at payoff. A recent termination is a good reason to call: the business just finished paying for a machine.
- Continued (28%): the lender still wants its lien. That usually means the loan runs longer than five years, the collateral was refinanced, or it's a blanket lien behind a revolving line.
For timing, lapse is a lagging signal. By the time a five-year filing lapses, a 36 or 48 month loan ended long ago. That's why UCC Scout scores filings on age from the filing date and treats a continuation as a sign the filing isn't ending, rather than waiting for lapse.