California UCC Lien Search - Debtors, Secured Parties & Collateral

Search the official California Secretary of State UCC filing index (bizfileOnline) by debtor or secured-party name, as structured JSON: file number, UCC type, status, filing date, lapse date, and all debtors and secured parties. There is no open public API for the California UCC index, and other tools make you register for and supply your own key - this actor is the API, and you don't bring your own key.

No login, no API key, nothing to configure - a name in, every matching UCC filing out.

A UCC-1 financing statement is how a lender publicly stakes a claim on a business's assets. A live UCC filing tells you a company already has secured debt against its equipment, inventory, or receivables - an essential signal for credit risk, KYB, collateral, and M&A due diligence.

What data do you get?

One record per UCC filing:

{
  "filingNumber": "U220205120011",
  "uccType": "UCC",
  "status": "Active",
  "filingDate": "06/24/2022",
  "lapseDate": "06/24/2027",
  "debtors": ["CHASE DELANO, LP - GLENDALE, CA"],
  "securedParties": ["IN-N-OUT BURGERS - BALDWIN PARK, CA"],
  "jurisdiction": "California, USA",
  "source": "California SoS UCC filings (bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov)",
  "sourceUrl": "https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/ucc",
  "searchQuery": "IN-N-OUT BURGERS",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z"
}

debtors and securedParties are arrays because a single UCC filing can name several of each (the actor also provides joined debtor / securedParty values for easy table display).

How much does it cost?

Pay per result - you are not charged for Apify platform usage, only per filing. See the Pricing tab on this page for the current figure. The free Apify plan returns a small preview; upgrade for full, uncapped results. No subscription, no minimum.

Is it legal, and where does the data come from?

Data comes from the official California Secretary of State bizfileOnline UCC index at bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/ucc. California UCC filings are a public record open to anyone; this actor reads the open public search and does not log in or bypass any paywall. Scraping public US filings is well-established (public records; post-Van Buren / hiQ v. LinkedIn). Use the data lawfully for KYB / credit-risk / collateral due diligence - this is not a consumer report, so do not use it for FCRA-governed decisions.

How do I use it?

Click Try it and search by a debtor (or secured-party) name:

{ "searchQueries": ["IN-N-OUT BURGERS"] }

Screen several counterparties, keeping only active liens ({ "searchQueries": ["Acme Trucking LLC", "Sunrise Farms Inc"], "activeOnly": true }). The search is a contains-match across both debtor and secured-party names - use a full, specific name.

Input options

Field	Type	Description
searchQueries	array	Debtor or secured-party names. Contains-match across both. A term matching more than 1,000 filings is rejected by the registry.
activeOnly	boolean	Keep only Active filings (drop Lapsed / terminated). Default false.
filedFrom / filedTo	string	Keep only filings in this date window (YYYY-MM-DD).
maxResultsPerQuery	integer	Cap per query after filtering (default 50; 0 = no limit, up to the registry's 1,000 cap).

Pairs with the company scraper (the full due-diligence flow)

This actor is the secured-debt check half of a KYB workflow. Chain it with the identity half:

1. California SoS Business Scraper - confirm the entity exists, its status, standing, and registered agent.
2. This actor - screen the same business name against California's UCC lien filings for existing secured debt.

The same source -> screen pattern powers the whole suite (source the party with a registry/UBO actor, then check it with a debtor/lien screen).

What you can do with it

• Credit risk & lending - see whether a business already has secured debt before extending credit, and find the incumbent lenders.
• KYB / due diligence - screen a counterparty (or officers/UBOs surfaced by the other actors) against California's secured-debt filings.
• Collateral & M&A - identify liens on a target's assets and who holds them.
• Lender & MCA lead generation - find businesses taking on secured financing, and the secured parties competing for them.

Run it from code

# cURL - start a run and get the dataset back
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/regdata~california-ucc-lien-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "searchQueries": ["IN-N-OUT BURGERS"] }'

// Node.js - apify-client
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';
const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('regdata/california-ucc-lien-scraper').call({ searchQueries: ['IN-N-OUT BURGERS'] });
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

# Python - apify-client
from apify_client import ApifyClient
client = ApifyClient("YOUR_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("regdata/california-ucc-lien-scraper").call(run_input={"searchQueries": ["IN-N-OUT BURGERS"]})
items = client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).list_items().items

Integrations

Runs anywhere Apify does: call it from the REST API, schedule recurring lien checks, pipe results into n8n / Make / Zapier, or use it from any MCP client (Claude, Cursor) via mcp.apify.com.

FAQ

Is it legal? Yes. California UCC filings are a public record open to anyone. This actor reads the open public search only. It is not a consumer report - do not use it for FCRA-governed decisions.

Do I need a state API key, an account, or a proxy? No - none of them. Unlike other UCC tools, you never register for or supply a state key. Just an Apify account.

Why was my search rejected? The registry caps a search at 1,000 matches; a term that is too broad is reported back so you can refine it with a fuller debtor name.

Does one filing have multiple debtors/secured parties? Yes - debtors and securedParties are arrays because a UCC filing can name several of each.

What export formats are supported? JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML, or read live via the API.

Related actors

Part of a suite of official government registry actors - no public API, pay per result, no keys to supply.

Country	Actors
Poland	REGON/GUS · KRS financials · KRS board · CRBR UBO · KRZ debtors · MSiG gazette · KNF · PEP · EKW land · UOKiK · BDO waste · Premises
Germany	Handelsregister · Insolvency
Spain	Company directory · BORME acts · Concursal
Italy	Registro Imprese · PEC lookup
Austria	WKO directory · Ediktsdatei
France	Societe.com
Belgium	KBO/BCE
Czechia	ISIR insolvency
Slovakia	RPVS UBO
UAE	ADGM register
USA	California SoS · California UCC liens (this actor)
Global	Adverse media

Common combination: California SoS for identity -> UCC liens (this actor) for secured debt -> adverse media.

Full suite: apify.com/regdata · Callable from any MCP client via mcp.apify.com