LawWiki
HomeCodesSearchGlossaryAPIAbout
LawWiki

Plain English summaries of California law with zero-hallucination AI. Every summary is verified against official source text.

Product

  • Search
  • Codes
  • About

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer

© 2026 LawWiki. All rights reserved.

HomeCommercial CodeDiv. 9Ch. 5§ 9502 Financing Statement Requirements

§ 9502 Financing Statement Requirements

Commercial Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 9502 Financing Statement Requirements

Key Takeaways

  • •A financing statement must include the names of the person who owes money (debtor) and the person who lent the money (secured party).
  • •It must also describe what is being used as security for the loan (collateral).
  • •If the loan is for things like timber or fixtures (like a sink in a house), the statement must also describe the property where these things are located.
  • •You can file the financing statement even before the loan is officially made.

Example

You take a loan from a bank to buy a new kitchen for your house. The bank wants to make sure they get their money back, so they ask you to agree that if you don't pay, they can take the kitchen.

The bank will file a financing statement with your name, the bank's name, and a description of the kitchen. Since the kitchen is attached to your house, they also need to describe your house in the statement.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 9502 Financing Statement Requirements

(a) Subject to subdivision (b), a financing statement is sufficient only if it satisfies all of the following conditions: (1) It provides the name of the debtor. (2) It provides the name of the secured party or a representative of the secured party. (3) It indicates the collateral covered by the financing statement. (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b) of Section 9501, to be sufficient, a financing statement that covers as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut, or which is filed as a fixture filing and covers goods that are or are to become fixtures, must satisfy subdivision (a) and also satisfy all of the following conditions: (1) Indicate that it covers this type of collateral. (2) Indicate that it is to be recorded in the real property records. (3) Provide a description of the real property to which the collateral is related sufficient to give constructive notice of a mortgage under the law of this state if the description were contained in a record of the mortgage of the real property. (4) If the debtor does not have an interest of record in the real property, provide the name of a record owner. (c) A record of a mortgage is effective, from the date of recording, as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut only if all of the following conditions are satisfied: (1) The record indicates the goods or accounts that it covers. (2) The goods are or are to become fixtures related to the real property described in the record or the collateral is related to the real property described in the record and is as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut. (3) The record satisfies the requirements for a financing statement in this section other than an indication that it is to be filed in the real property records. (4) The record is duly recorded. (d) A financing statement may be filed before a security agreement is made or a security interest otherwise attaches. (Amended (as to be added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 991) by Stats. 2000, Ch. 1003, Sec. 35. Effective January 1, 2001. Addition and amendment operative July 1, 2001, by Stats. 1999, Ch. 991, Sec. 75, and Stats. 2000, Ch. 1003, Sec. 56.)

Last verified: January 23, 2026

Key Terms

financing statementdebtorsecured partycollateralas-extracted collateralfixturesreal propertyrecord of a mortgage

Related Statutes

  • § 9519 Filing Office Record Requirements
  • § 9505 Financing Statement Filing Terms
  • § 9513 Consumer Goods Financing Termination
  • § 9501 Financing Statement Filing Locations
  • § 9503 Debtor Name Requirements

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Commercial Code. Section 9502.
View Official Source