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HomeCommercial CodeDiv. 9Ch. 5§ 9519 Filing Office Record Requirements

§ 9519 Filing Office Record Requirements

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

§ 9519 Filing Office Record Requirements

This law tells the filing office how to give each filed record a unique number, create a matching index entry, keep the record available for public view, and use a special check digit in the file number to catch simple mistakes like a wrong digit or swapped digits.

Key Takeaways

  • •Every filed record gets a unique number and a matching index entry that includes the filing date and time.
  • •The file number must contain a check digit calculated from the other digits to help detect simple entry errors.
  • •Records are indexed by the debtor’s name and must be linked together so related documents are easy to find.
  • •The office must keep records public for at least one year after the financing statement expires.
  • •All required actions must be completed within two business days of receiving the record.

Example

A small business files a loan paperwork to secure a loan with its equipment. The filing office gives the paperwork a file number, records the date and time, and adds the paperwork to a public index so anyone can look it up.

When the business submits the loan paperwork, the filing office must assign a unique file number, write that number on the paperwork along with the filing date and time, keep the paperwork accessible to the public, and index it under the business’s name. The file number must include a check digit that is calculated from the other digits so that if someone types the number wrong, the office can spot the error quickly.

How to Calculate

Check digit = (Sum of the other digits) mod 10

  1. List all the digits of the file number except the check digit.
  2. Add those digits together.
  3. Divide the sum by 10 and keep the remainder (the modulus).
  4. The remainder is the check digit that is appended to the file number.

A filing office creates a file number 4837X where X is the check digit.

Result: The check digit is 2, so the complete file number becomes 48372.

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

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 9519 Filing Office Record Requirements

(a) For each record filed in a filing office, the filing office shall do all of the following: (1) Assign a unique number to the filed record. (2) Create a record that bears the number assigned to the filed record and the date and time of filing. (3) Maintain the filed record for public inspection. (4) Index the filed record in accordance with subdivisions (c), (d), and (e). (b) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (i), a file number assigned after January 1, 2002, must include a digit that: (1) Is mathematically derived from or related to the other digits of the file number. (2) Aids the filing office in determining whether a number communicated as the file number includes a single-digit or transpositional error. (c) Except as otherwise provided in subdivisions (d) and (e), the filing office shall do both of the following: (1) Index an initial financing statement according to the name of the debtor and index all filed records relating to the initial financing statement in a manner that associates with one another an initial financing statement and all filed records relating to the initial financing statement. (2) Index a record that provides a name of a debtor which was not previously provided in the financing statement to which the record relates also according to the name that was not previously provided. (d) If a financing statement is filed as a fixture filing or covers as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut, it must be recorded and the filing office shall index it in accordance with both of the following rules: (1) Under the names of the debtor and of each owner of record shown on the financing statement as if they were the mortgagors under a mortgage of the real property described. (2) To the extent that the law of this state provides for indexing of records of mortgages under the name of the mortgagee, under the name of the secured party as if the secured party were the mortgagee thereunder, or, if indexing is by description, as if the financing statement were a record of a mortgage of the real property described. (e) If a financing statement is filed as a fixture filing or covers as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut, the filing office shall index an assignment filed under subdivision (a) of Section 9514 or an amendment filed under subdivision (b) of Section 9514 in accordance with both of the following rules: (1) Under the name of the assignor as grantor. (2) To the extent that the law of this state provides for indexing a record of the assignment of a mortgage under the name of the assignee, under the name of the assignee. (f) The filing office shall maintain a capability to do both of the following: (1) Retrieve a record by the name of the debtor and by either of the following: (A) If the filing office is described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9501, by the file number assigned to the initial financing statement to which the record relates and the date that the record was filed or recorded. (B) If the filing office is described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 9501, by the file number assigned to the initial financing statement to which the record relates. (2) Associate and retrieve with one another an initial financing statement and each filed record relating to the initial financing statement. (g) The filing office may not remove a debtor’s name from the index until one year after the effectiveness of a financing statement naming the debtor lapses under Section 9515 with respect to all secured parties of record. (h) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (i), the filing office shall perform the acts required by subdivisions (a) to (e), inclusive, at the time and in the manner prescribed by filing-office rule, but not later than two business days after the filing office receives the record in question. (i) Subdivisions (b) and (h) do not apply to a filing office described in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 9501. (Amended (as to be added by Stats. 1999, Ch. 991) by Stats. 2000, Ch. 1003, Sec. 39. 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 10, 2026

Key Terms

filed recordunique numberpublic inspectionindexdebtorfinancing statementfixture filingas-extracted collateraltimber to be cutmortgagorssecured partyassignmentamendment

Related Statutes

  • § 9502 Financing Statement Requirements
  • § 9501 Financing Statement Filing Locations
  • § 9505 Financing Statement Filing Terms
  • § 9513 Consumer Goods Financing Termination
  • § 9503 Debtor Name Requirements

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Commercial Code. Section 9519.
View Official Source