1999 Minnesota Statutes

     336A.09 Inquiries. 

    Subdivision 1.    Procedure.  (a) Oral and written 
 inquiries regarding information provided by the filing of 
 effective financing statements or lien notices may be made at 
 any filing office during regular business hours. 

    (b) A filing office receiving an oral or written inquiry 
 shall, upon request, provide an oral or facsimile response to 
 the inquiry and must mail a confirmation of the inquiry in 
 writing by the end of the next business day after the inquiry is 
 received.  

    (c) A filing office shall maintain a record of inquiries 
 made under this section including:  

    (1) the date of the inquiry; 

    (2) the name of the debtor inquired about; and 

    (3) identification of the person making the request for 
 inquiry.  

    Subd. 2.    Searches; fees.  (a) If a person makes a 
 request, the filing officer shall conduct a search of the 
 computerized filing system for effective financing statements or 
 lien notices and statements of continuation of a particular 
 debtor.  The filing officer shall report the date, time, and 
 results of the search by issuing: 

    (1) a certificate listing the file number, date, and hour 
 of each effective financing statement found in the search and 
 the names and addresses of each secured party on the effective 
 financing statements or of each lien notice found in the search 
 and the names and address of each lienholder on the lien notice; 

    (2) photocopies of the original effective financing 
 statement or lien notice documents on file; or 

    (3) upon request, both the certificate and photocopies of 
 the effective financing statements or lien notices. 

    (b) The uniform fee for conducting a search and for 
 preparing a certificate is $15 per debtor name if the request is 
 in the standard form prescribed by the secretary of state.  This 
 uniform fee shall include ten photocopies of original documents. 
 If the request for information is made on a form other than the 
 standard form prescribed by the secretary of state, the fee is 
 $20 per debtor name and shall include ten photocopies of 
 original documents.  An additional fee of $1 per page must be 
 charged for each photocopy prepared in excess of the first ten.  
 If an oral or facsimile response is requested, there is an 
 additional fee of $5 per debtor name requested.  

    (c) A county recorder shall forward $5 of each search fee 
 collected under this subdivision to the secretary of state.  
 Surcharge amounts shall be collected quarterly by the secretary 
 of state from each county recorder.  The secretary of state 
 shall send each county recorder an invoice at the end of each 
 fiscal quarter and each county recorder shall forward payment to 
 the secretary of state within 30 days of the date of the invoice.
 The surcharge amounts received from county recorders and the 
 surcharge amounts collected by the secretary of state's office 
 must be deposited in the state treasury and credited to the 
 general fund.  The balance of the search fees collected by a 
 county recorder must be deposited in the general fund of the 
 county. 

    HIST: 1992 c 525 s 10; 1993 c 369 s 125; 1994 c 438 s 15