The Florida Senate

679.403  What constitutes filing; duration of filing; effect of lapsed filing; duties of filing officer.--

(1)  Presentation for filing of a financing statement and tender of the filing fee or acceptance of the statement by the filing officer and recording in compliance with section 679.4011, where required, constitutes filing under this chapter.

(2)  Except as provided in subsection (6), a filed financing statement is effective for a period of 5 years from the date of filing. The effectiveness of a filed financing statement lapses on the expiration of the 5-year period, unless a continuation statement is filed prior to the lapse. If a security interest perfected by filing exists at the time insolvency proceedings are commenced by or against the debtor, the security interest remains perfected until termination of the insolvency proceedings and thereafter for a period of 60 days or until expiration of the 5-year period, whichever occurs later. Upon lapse, the security interest becomes unperfected unless it is perfected without filing. If the security interest becomes unperfected upon lapse, it is deemed to have been unperfected as against a person who became a purchaser or lien creditor before lapse.

(3)  A continuation statement may be filed by the secured party within 6 months prior to the expiration of the 5-year period specified in subsection (2). Any such continuation statement must be signed by the secured party, identify the original statement by file number, and state that the original statement is still effective. A continuation statement signed by a person other than the secured party of record must be accompanied by a separate written statement of assignment signed by the secured party of record and comply with s. 679.405(2), including payment of the required fee. Upon timely filing of the continuation statement, the effectiveness of the original statement is continued for 5 years after the last date to which the filing was effective whereupon it lapses in the same manner as provided in subsection (2) unless another continuation statement is filed prior to such lapse. Succeeding continuation statements may be filed in the same manner to continue the effectiveness of the original statement. Unless a statute on disposition of public records provides otherwise, the filing officer may remove a lapsed statement from the files and destroy it immediately if he or she has retained a microfilm or other photographic record, or in other cases, 1 year after the lapse. The filing officer shall so arrange matters by physical annexation of financing statements to continuation statements or other related filings, or by other means, that if he or she physically destroys the financing statements of a period more than 5 years past, those which have been continued by a continuation statement or which are still effective under subsection (6) shall be retained.

(4)  Except as provided in subsection (7), a filing officer shall mark each statement with a file number and with the date and time of filing and, if applicable, the official records book and page numbers for filings in the office of a clerk of the circuit court and shall hold the statement or a microfilm or other photographic copy thereof for public inspection. In addition, the filing officer shall index the statements according to the name of the debtor and shall note in the index the file number and the address of the debtor given in the statement.

(5)  The uniform fee for filing, indexing, and stamping a copy furnished by the secured party to show the date and place of filing for an original financing statement or for a continuation statement shall be as provided in chapter 15 or chapter 28. The secured party may, at his or her option, show a trade name for any person, or for more than one name, but an additional fee may be charged with respect thereto.

(6)  If the debtor is a transmitting utility (s. 679.401(5)) and a filed financing statement so states, it is effective until a termination statement is filed.

(7)  When a financing statement covers crops growing or to be grown, timber to be cut, minerals or the like (including oil and gas), accounts subject to s. 679.103(5), or goods which are or are to become fixtures, the filing officer shall index it under the names of the debtor and any owner of record shown on the financing statement in the same fashion as if they were the mortgagors in a mortgage of the real estate described and, to the extent that the law of this state provides for indexing of mortgages under the name of the mortgagee, under the name of the secured party as if he or she were the mortgagee thereunder.

History.--s. 1, ch. 65-254; s. 26, ch. 79-398; s. 473, ch. 81-259; s. 695, ch. 97-102.

Note.--s. 9-403, U.C.C.