What is UCC 9-102

Last updated on August 30, 2023

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The Uniform Commercial Code is a detailed set of laws tasked with governing commercial transitions in the United States. There are many articles, including Article 9, in the UCC, each with distinct sections. One area in UCC Article 9 is UCC 9-102. What exists in this section? What information will you find?

UCC 9-102 is the Definitions and Index of Definitions section of Article 9. It covers the legal definitions surrounding this section, from words dealing with products transferred between parties to titles for participants in various parts of the contract. UCC 9-102 clarifies things for everyone involved.

If you’re curious about UCC 9-102, you’re in the right place. Whether you want to understand this section out of pure curiosity or you’re a law student hunting for more information, it’s good to be informed about the Uniform Commercial Code. Let’s dive into UCC 9-102 and learn more about what this section offers.

What Is UCC 9-102?

UCC 9-102 is a section that serves as a definition and index of definitions for terms found in Article 9. It covers all the confusing terms, clearing them up so everyone involved can understand what they are getting into when they see these words.

There are many, many definitions covered in UCC 9-102. Each plays a valuable role in different Uniform Commercial Code cases. Although there are many, it’s still a good idea to familiarize yourself with as many of them as possible.

What Terms Are Covered In UCC 9-102?

There are many terms covered in this section of Article 9. Each is critical to the article, and it’s good to be familiar with all of them if you will be involved in anything with Article 9 of the UCC.

The following includes the first twenty-six terms on the list in alphabetical order:

• Accession
• Account
• Account debtor
• Accounting
• Agricultural lien
• As-extracted collateral
• Authenticate
• Bank
• Cash proceeds
• Certificate of title
• Chattel paper
• Collateral
• Commercial tort claim
• Commodity account
• Commodity contract
• Commodity customer
• Commodity intermediary
• Communicate
• Consignee
• Consignment
• Consignor
• Consumer debtor
• Consumer goods
• Consumer-goods transaction
• Consumer obligor
• Consumer transaction

These are just the first twenty-six terms out of eighty-one definitions, and more could appear on the list in the coming years.

Some terms discuss definitions surrounding the participants, while others reveal the meaning behind terms used to describe items in commercial transactions. Each is defined to ensure all parties are clear on what they mean.

Definitions of a Few Covered Terms

There are many listed terms, but how do the definitions work? They are specific and to the point, covering every possible meaning a word could have in a UCC case. However, it can be tricky to understand these definitions without seeing an example. There are clear definitions for these terms, set forth by the governing bodies associated with the UCC.

Let’s dive into the definitions for just a few terms in UCC 9-102. There are more than eighty, so it isn’t practical to cover all of them, but this list will give you an idea of the thoroughness expressed within UCC 9-102 for those operating within a commercial translation. All official definitions come courtesy of Cornell.

Accession

Goods that are physically united with other goods in such a manner that the identity of the original goods is not lost.

Account Debtor

A person obligated on an account, chattel paper, or general intangible. The term does not include persons obligated to pay a negotiable instrument, even if the instrument constitutes part of chattel paper.

Authenticate

(A) to sign; or

(B) with present intent to adopt or accept a record, to attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic sound, symbol, or process.

Collateral

The property subject to a security interest or agricultural lien. The term includes:

(A) proceeds to which a security interest attaches;

(B) accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, and promissory notes that have been sold; and

(C) goods that are the subject of a consignment.

Communicate

(A) to send a written or other tangible record;

(B) to transmit a record by any means agreed upon by the persons sending and receiving the record; or

(C) in the case of transmission of a record to or by a filing office, to transmit a record by any means prescribed by filing-office rule.

Debtor

(A) a person having an interest, other than a security interest or other lien, in the collateral, whether or not the person is an obligor;

(B) a seller of accounts, chattel paper, payment intangibles, or promissory notes; or

(C) a consignee.

Farm Products

Goods, other than standing timber, with respect to which the debtor is engaged in a farming operation and which are:

(A) crops grown, growing, or to be grown, including:

(i) crops produced on trees, vines, and bushes; and

(ii) aquatic goods produced in aquacultural operations;

(B) livestock, born or unborn, including aquatic goods produced in aquacultural operations;

(C) supplies used or produced in a farming operation; or

(D) products of crops or livestock in their unmanufactured states.

Mortgage

A consensual interest in real property, including fixtures, which secures payment or performance of an obligation.

Security Agreement

An agreement that creates or provides for a security interest.

State

A State of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

Termination Statement

An amendment of a financing statement which:

(A) identifies, by its file number, the initial financing statement to which it relates; and

(B) indicates either that it is a termination statement or that the identified financing statement is no longer effective.

Transmitting Utility

A person primarily engaged in the business of:

(A) operating a railroad, subway, street railway, or trolley bus;

(B) transmitting communications electrically, electromagnetically, or by light;

(C) transmitting goods by pipeline or sewer; or

(D) transmitting or producing and transmitting electricity, steam, gas, or water.

Reference Legal Explanations

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