FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 17, 2000

Barry Wilkes, Clerk of Superior Court of Liberty County, in partnership with the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority (Clerks' Authority), is using technology to upgrade services offered to the citizens of Liberty County. The latest venture offers Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) forms on-line, at no charge to the public.

Primarily used by the financial and legal institutions, UCC/financing statement forms are filed generally with the clerk of superior court to secure a lender's interest in personal property pledged by a borrower as collateral for a loan.

"Until we made these forms available on-line, anyone needing to file had to find a vendor who carried the approved forms and then purchase the forms, usually in a large quantity," said Wilkes. "Not only is there a cost savings to the public, but accessibility has been greatly enhanced by offering the forms on-line."

David Williams, executive director of the Clerks' Authority, stated that the forethought and desire of clerks of superior court to improve services to the public brought about this needed service. "The offering of on-line UCC forms is just the most recent upgrade to the local Clerk of Superior Court's office. In the past year, new faster and more reliable computer equipment has been installed for public use," Williams said.

Citizens can now access the UCC and real estate (deed) statewide indexes for free by simply using one of the public access search terminals located in the clerk's office. The Clerks' Authority also provides personal, on-line access to UCC and real estate indexes over the Internet. The cost to access the system is $9.95 per month, per user, for unlimited use. In addition, there is a charge of .25 per page for each document image retrieved and printed by a user. Wilkes explained, "Using this service, you are able to view and copy both statewide UCC and real estate filings on-line. It enables you to obtain a UCC 'certified search' on-line- wherein the Clerks' Authority certifies the existence of any and all UCC filings on file in the state, eliminating the need for a business or individual having to pay exorbitant charges for searching for filings of record in the 159 superior court clerks' offices of the state." The charge for certified searches is $10 per debtor name.

To download and print UCC forms and to apply for on-line access to the statewide UCC and real estate indexes, visit www.gsccca.org on the Internet.

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