Save and Open draft registrations

PPRS enables you to save an in-progress registration (Save Draft) and open it later (Open Draft).

To save a draft: From the Draft Registration Details page, click Save Draft.  Specify a directory and filename for the draft.

To open a draft:  From the Enter a Registration page, enter the saved filename or use the Browse button to find and select the file.  The file must have been created using PPRS.

Notes:

1.  The file is transferrable between users. For example, another user can open a file that you saved.

2.  The saved data (file) is not editable except within PPRS. Draft registrations that you save are stored as java serialized objects (file extension is ".ser"). This file is not editable by external applications.

Enter accurate serial number information

Because they are the data values that determine whether a registration will or will not be revealed in a PPRS search, debtor names and serial numbers are arguably the most important information to be entered accurately in a PPRS registration or as search criteria. Here are some tips to help you enter accurate serial number information:

1.  Determine the collateral type and the appropriate serial number according the rules prescribed in the PPSA [General] Regulations. Read the Regulations and use them!

2.  Recognize that PPSA Regulations define whether collateral should be described under the general description of collateral or as serial numbered goods.  For example, consumer goods, equipment and inventory have different rules:

• consumer goods that are serial numbered goods are entered by serial number
• equipment that is serial numbered goods may be entered by serial number or under the general description of collateral
• inventory that is serial numbered goods are entered under the general description of collateral 

3.  PPSA Regulations designate that only the following types of goods are “serial numbered goods” for purposes of registering and searching in the PPR:

• motor vehicle
• trailer
• mobile home
• aircraft
• boat
• outboard motor

4.  By creating registrations that enter serial numbers only where necessary, you will have more time to concentrate on achieving greater accuracy for those (fewer) serial number records.

5.  The serial numbers for automobiles and trucks may be evident – the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) that appears on the vehicle frame and on vehicle registration documents – but serial numbers for other collateral may not be evident. Be sure to use the correct values for tractors, trailers, mobile homes, boats, planes, etc. For example, in the New Brunswick PPSA General Regulation see section 25.

6.  If you are still not sure which of two or more serial numbers to use for an item, you may include multiple serial number records in a registration and you may perform multiple searches using the alternative serial numbers.

7.  When you enter a serial number in a registration or as search criteria, use only alphanumeric characters (letters and numbers). PPRS will not permit you to enter spaces, hyphens or other symbols.

8.  When entering a serial number in a registration, you may use both upper case or lower case letters. Case will be ignored for purposes of close matching. For example, search criteria “abc123” will return the registered serial number “ABC123” as a close match and vice versa.

9.  Copy and paste serial numbers from source documents when possible to avoid typing errors.  If the source serial number contains non-alphanumeric characters such as spaces, hyphen or other symbols, you will be able to paste the serial number into the serial number field, but you must then remove the non-alphanumeric characters before you save the serial numbered collateral record or search criteria.

10.  If you type a serial number into a registration, use the optional Rekey Serial Number field to help check that you entered the serial number correctly. PPRS will display an error message if the two serial numbers do not match.

11.  When entering a long serial number, be most careful with the last 8 characters (last 6 for Yukon) of the serial number. The last 8 characters (last 6 for yukon) are the characters used to determine whether two serial numbers are a close match to one another. (All characters in the serial number are used to determine if two serial numbers are an exact match of one another.)

12.  If you are entering a serial number that is longer than 25 characters, enter only the last 25 characters. Again, remember that it is the last 8 characters (last 6 for Yukon) which are most important.

Use secured party numbers

Secured party numbers are an optional feature within ACOL PPRS that have the following benefits:

• improve the accuracy of the data in your registrations
• help you manage a large number of registrations for the same secured party
• enable you to receive Notice to Secured Party reports electronically

About secured party numbers:

• A secured party number is a record issued to an ACOL PPRS client to represent a secured party’s name, address, telephone, and email address.
• A secured party number is specific to the province or territory Registry where it is created.
• When you use a secured party number,  PPRS will look up the secured party number information from the database in order to populate the name and contact information fields.
• The Global Change of Registered Interest function will only change secured party records that were created using secured party numbers. This powerful functions allows you to update hundreds or thousands of registrations in a single action.  Global Change serves two purposes:
  • Update out-of-date secured party name or contact information to new, current information.
  • Replace one secured party with a different secured party. For example, to reassign (transfer) a set of property interests between parties.
• To help you find secured party numbers that were created by your client account, use the List Available Secured Party Numbers button on the Secured Party Information screen.
• Not everyone can create and update a secured party number. The user must be assigned the Secured Party Number Administrator access privilege.
• Only the Secured Party Number Administrator who created the secured party number is authorized to update the secured party number record’s name, address, telephone, and email address.
• If you need to reassign the Secured Party Number Administrator, or if you need to activate or deactivate a secured party number, use the PPR Amend Secured Party Administrator User ID form.
• Any registrant, including from any client account, can view secured party number information and use a secured party number in a registration.  To clarify: the same secured party number can be used by registrants from different client accounts.
• IMPORTANT: Using a secured party number in a registration will affect the way that Notice to Secured Party reports are delivered to the secured party.

About Notice to Secured Party reports and use of secured party numbers:

• Within PPRS, a Notice to Secured Party is a system-generated report sent to every secured party listed in a registration when the registration is amended, discharged or re-registered.
• The Notice to Secured Party includes the registration family history and all registration details at the time of the amendment, discharge or re-registration, including identification of the registrant. This provides the secured party with the opportunity to correct an accidental, incorrect or fraudulent registration change.
• The Notice to Secured Party is sent as follows:
  • If a secured party listed in the registration has selected the "Send NSP by Email" checkbox, the Notice to Secured Party is sent to the email address provided.
  • If a secured party listed in the registration was entered via the use of a secured party number or the "Same as Registrant" facility, the Notice to Secured Party will be available to the secured party number administrator through Retrieve Reports. An exception to this rule is that if the secured party number has been made inactive (see help for ACOL CSC Update), the Notice to Secured Party will be sent either by email, if that delivery option was chosen, or by surface mail to the name and address listed in the registration.
  • If a secured party listed in the registration was entered without using a secured party number (by typing the name, address and contact information), and if the email delivery option was not chosen, the Notice to Secured Party will be sent by surface mail to the name and address listed in the registration.

Review and save your Verification Statement

A verification statement is a system-generated report available to the registrant after completing a PPRS registration.  A link to the verification statement is provided in the confirmation page following successful registration. The verification statement is also stored in the document respository where it is available via Retrieve Reports.

We strongly recommend that you to review and save your verification statements.

1.  The verification statement is your documented confirmation that your registration was successfully completed.  Screen images and Draft Registration Details reports are not adequate evidence of a registration having been performed.

2.  The verification statement provides the registration number assigned when the registration was recorded in the Registry. This is a required identification number if you ever need to change the registration.

3.  The verification statement presents the data that was registered. If you entered anything incorrectly, or in the rare instance of a system error affecting the data that you entered, then the verification statement is your opportunity to catch the error and to make a correction.

4.  The Personal Property Security Act (PPSA) mandates that the secured party provide a copy of the verification statement to each debtor named in the registration (unless the debtor has waived the right to receive a verification statement).  For example, see New Brunswick PPSA subsection 43(11).

Use the Additional Information field when required

The Additional Information field is not simply an "optional" data field.  There are circumstances in which you are instructed by PPSA [General] Regulations to use the Additional Information field in order to enter specific information.  Read the Regulations and use them!

Some of the circumstances requiring use of the Additional Information field are listed below.

Amendment requirements, including for PPSA Financing Statements:

1. If renewing, discharging or amending a registration as a result of a court order relating to the registration.

2. If Amending a registration that involves any of the following:

• If a registration relates to or no longer relates to a security interest under a trust indenture.
• If disclosing a transfer to a new debtor of only part of the collateral to which the registration relates.
• If disclosing a transfer of only part of the interest of a secured party.
• If disclosing a subordination of a registered interest.
• If disclosing a change not otherwise dealt with in the PPSA [General] Regulation.

Registration requirements (new or amendment) for registration types other than a PPSA Financing Statement:

3. For a New Brunswick Enforcement of Money Judgments Act Notice of Judgment or Nova Scotia Creditors’ Relief Act Notice of Judgment:

• Where the name of judgment debtor or judgment creditor as named in the judgment is different from the name as entered in the registration.

4. For a Nova Scotia Creditors’ Relief Act Notice of Claim:

• In the case of a warrant for the arrest and imprisonment of a debtor.
• In the case of an assignment for the general benefit of creditors.

4A. For a New Brunswick Enforcement of Money Judgments Act Notice of Claim:

• When entering a preservation order to which the notice of claim relates.

5. For a New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island Notice of Appointment of Receiver:

• Where the receiver is court-appointed.
• Where the receiver is appointed under a security agreement.

6. When registering a notice of order for any of the following registration types:

• New Brunwick Marital Property Act Household Goods Order Lien
• Nova Scotia Matrimonial Property Act Notice of Order
• Northwest Territories or Nunavut Children’s Law Act or Family Law Act Financing Statement

7. For a Northwest Territories or Nunavut Federal Writ of Execution or Territorial Writ of Execution:

• Where the name of party to the writ as listed in the writ is different from the name as entered in the registration.
• If the registrant could not indicate the name of the court on the screen displaying the list of courts.

8. For a Northwest Territories or Nunavut Maintenance Orders Enforcement Act Order:

• Where the name of the party to the order as named in the order is different than the name of the party as entered in the registration.

More information on the Additional Information field

• For a more detailed version of the list produced above, including a summary of the information to be entered, see the PPRS Online Help page regarding entry of Additional Information (opens in new tab).
• Disclaimer: Information provided here is provided for PPRS user awareness and training. There are additional requirements for using the Additional Information field not disclosed here. Consult the relevant PPSA and PPSA [General] Regulations for more information.

Perform a multi-jurisdiction registration

ACOL PPRS serves multiple provinces and territories, but each has its own, separate Personal Property Registry.  There is no single function in ACOL PPRS that allows you to register in multiple jurisdicitons via a single request. However, PPRS does facilitate reusing registration details in order to create more or less equivalent registrations in muliple jurisdictions.

The following instructions apply to registering a PPSA Financing Statement.  Other registration types have registration details which differ between jurisdictions.

1.  Draft your first registration: Using Enter a Registration as you normally would, select the jurisdiction and registration type (PPSA Financing Statement). From the Draft Registration Details screen enter all of the registration details (term, file number, debtors, secured parties, collateral, and additional information), but do not yet submit the registration.

2.  Save the draft registration details: From the Draft Registration Details screen, select Save Draft. Specify a filename for the saved draft.

3.  Complete the first registration: Verify your registration details, perform the registration, receive confirmation, and review your verification statement.

4.  Reuse the saved draft for the next jurisdiction’s registration: Return to Enter a Registration. Select the next jurisdiction where you want to enter a registration. Select Open Draft in order to reuse the registration details from the file saved in step 2.

5.  Complete the next registration: If applicable, revise the registration details for any differences applicable to this jurisdiction. Complete the registration.

6.  Repeat as required for all jurisdictions where you wish to register: Repeat steps 4 and 5 until you have registered in all jurisdictions where you wish to register.

Know when serial numbers are required

PPRS provides two ways for collateral to be described:

• Serial numbered collateral: One or more rows listing goods by serial number. These values are searchable via the PPRS Serial Number Search (also known as "Serial Numbered Collateral Search") and via the Lien Check Service.
• General description of collateral: A single, large text field permitting summary or detailed description of the collateral.  This value is NOT searchable via the PPRS Serial Number Search.

Just because an item of collateral has a serial number does not mean that the collateral must be entered in a PPRS registration as serial numbered collateral.

The rules for how collateral should be entered into a PPRS registration are defined in the PPSA and the PPSA [General] Regulations. Important terms for understanding those rules -- such as "goods", "consumer goods", "equipment", "inventory" and other types of collateral -- are defined at the beginning of the PPSA.

Here are two of the important distinctions that you should learn about from the PPSA and PPSA [General] Regulations:

1. Not everything with a serial number is "serial numbered goods". Serial numbered goods, as defined in PPSA [General] Regulations, means "a motor vehicle, trailer, mobile home, aircraft, boat or an outboard motor for a boat" [New Brunswick PPSA General Regulation, section 2]. Though a computer, television, appliance, machine, document, or other collateral item may have a serial number, if it is not within the definition of "serial numbered goods", it is to be included within the general description of collateral, not within the list of serial numbered collateral.

2. The rules for describing serial numbered goods vary depending upon whether the goods are "consumer goods", "equipment" or "inventory".  Generally speaking: "consumer goods" are to be listed under serial numbered collateral; "inventory" is to be described under general description of collateral; and, "equipment" might be described either way.  Review the PPSA and PPSA [General] Regulations to learn the specific rules applicable for your situation.

Copy and paste into PPRS screens

Most PPRS screens permit you to copy and paste information into data fields rather than retyping the information.

We encourage you to use copy and paste where applicable in order to reduce errors caused by mistyping.

Restrictions for invalid characters

• PPRS supports an extensive character set (ISO-8859-1) including accented characters used in French and other European languages.
• PPRS does not support certain special characters used by Microsoft Office and some other applications, such as directional quotation marks, non-breaking spaces, and the elipsis (three dots). Pasting such characters into fields other than the General Collateral Description and Additional Information fields (see below) may result in an error message.
• The Serial Number field does not permit characters other than alphabetic and numeric characters. The characters may be pasted into the field, but not saved. If you paste such characters, you must manually remove them from the Serial Number field before you register or search (PPRS will display an error message stating that you have entered invalid characters).

Special handling provided for General Collateral Description and Additional Information fields

• In the General Collateral Description and Additional Information free-text fields, PPRS will automatically convert some invalid characters to valid equivalent characters. Special characters used by Microsoft Office and some other applications, such as directional quotation marks, non-breaking spaces, and the elipsis (three dots) will be automatically converted to equivalent characters such as standard quotation marks, spaces, and three dots. For more information see the PPRS Character Set page.

General Collateral Description and Additional Information fields may not retain special text formatting

• The General Collateral Description and Additional Information fields are long, but simple, text fields. Carefully aligned columns of data from your source document may not look the same after being copied into the General Collateral Description or Additional Information field. In order to see what your copied text will look like in a completed registration, do the following:
  • Continue to the Submit Registration screen.
  • Before you submit the registration, click on the View Details button. This will present your draft registration details approximately the same way they will look in a Verification Statement or Search Result Report.
  • If you do not like the presentation, after returning to the Submit Registration screen, click the Revise Registration Details button in order to return the Draft Registrations Details screen and edit the pasted data.

Create a PPRS registration template

A registration template is a saved set of draft registration details that you can reuse to create new PPRS registrations.

A registration template is particularly valuable if you regularly enter PPRS registrations that contain the same or similar information. It can save you time when entering information, and can help you avoid errors by starting with the same information in the draft registration.

1. Use Enter a Registration to start creating a new registration. Select the jurisdiction (province or territory) and the registration type, and continue to the Draft Registration Details screen.

2. Enter only the information that is common to most of your registrations, such as the registration term, secured party record(s), and general collateral description text.

3. Near the bottom of the Draft Registration Details screen, click the Save Draft button. Choose a directory location and file name for the draft registration details (template) to be stored. The file will be stored as a java serialized object file (file extension is .ser). You may create as many templates as you need.

4. To use your registration template, return to the Enter a Registration screen. Enter the saved template’s file name or use the Browse button to find the file. Next, click on the Open Draft button. This will copy the previously saved information into the Draft Registration Details screen. Continue to the Draft Registration Details screen in order to complete the registration.

Notes:

1. Templates (saved files) are sharable and transferrable between users. For example, all of the users within your account can use the same templates.

2. The Save Draft and Open Draft functions can also be used to save a partial registration for completion at a later date and time.

Enter accurate debtor information

Because they are the data values that determine whether a registration will or will not be revealed in a PPRS search, debtor names and serial numbers are arguably the most important information to be entered accurately in a PPRS registration or search. Here are some tips to help you enter accurate debtor information:

1. Determine the type of debtor (individual or enterprise) and the correct name of the debtor according the rules proscribed in the PPSA [General] Regulations. Read the Regulations and use them!
2. For enterprise debtors, the Regulations will tell you things like the following:
   • How to determine whether the debtor should be entered as an individual or an enterprise. This is not always obvious. For example, look up the rules for how to enter the estate of a deceased or bankrupt person.
   • For different types of enterprise debtors -- corporations, estates, trade unions, trusts, trustees, bankrupts, partnerships, syndicates, and other enterprises -- how to enter the name(s) for that enterprise.
   • For some types of enterprise debtors, when you need to enter the names of representative persons as individual debtors.
   • For a corporation with names in multiple languages (e.g. English, French and bilingual), which forms of the names should be entered.
   • For a corporation, which words like "Limited", "Incorporated" and "Company" may be abbreviated, and if so, what valid alternative abbreviations may be used.
3. For individual debtors, the Regulations will tell you things like the following:
   • What documentation -- birth certificate, passport, citizenship document, etc. -- you should use to determine the name of the debtor. Answer: there are different documentation priorities depending upon whether the person was born in Canada and is a Canadian citizen, but a driver’s license is typically NOT the best way to determine the name of the debtor for the purposes of the PPSA.
   • What to do for someone with has changed his or her name by marriage or otherwise.
   • What parts of the individual name -- first, middle, and last -- need to be entered. Answer: all of them that apply! If someone has a middle name, don’t leave it out.
   • How to enter titles like "Mr", "Mrs", and "Dr". Answer: don’t enter them at all.
   • How to enter designations like "Junior" or "Jr". Answer: it varies by jurisdiction. Atlantic Provinces do not include such designations as part of the name. Northwest Territories and Nunavut require a designation such as "Junior" or "Jr" that is included in source documentation to be entered as part of the First Name field.
4. For both enterprise and individual debtors, you may enter multiple debtor records in the same registration or perform multiple searches using different names. In other words, you are not limited to registering or searching only one form of the name; you may register or search for all that apply.

Verify registration details before changing the registration

When you are performing an Amendment, Discharge, Re-registration or Renewal, verify that you are changing the correct registration.

To identify the registration to be changed, you enter the jurisdiction and registration number. There have been instances where a user specifies the wrong jurisdiction or registration number and then proceeds to change that registration.

This error is rare with Amendment because the registrant must use screens that display the current registration details. The registrant will notice that the debtor, secured party or collateral are not as expected and will then cancel the change.

The error is more common with Discharge, Re-registration and Renewal because it is possible to proceed with the change based on the jurisdiction and registration number alone.  To avoid this mistake, always view the registration details before continuing with the change.

If you’ve already made this mistake, see what to do if you’ve changed the wrong registration.

You’ve changed the wrong registration: what now?

When you are performing an Amendment, Discharge, Re-registration or Renewal, it is possible to accidentally change the wrong registration. To avoid doing this, always verify the registration details before changing a registration.

What should you do if you realize that you have accidentally changed the wrong registration?

We recommend that you inform the secured party of the accidental change.  For more information on informing the secured party, click here.

See additional recommendations below based upon the registration action performed.

Renewal -  Of the various types of accidental changes to a registration, renewal is the one least likely to harm the secured party. You have extended the term of the registration. The extension may or may not be of value to the secured party, but it does not reduce the effectiveness of the registration. However, it is still valuable to inform the secured party. The secured party may later need to manually discharge the registration because it will not lapse on the previous (pre-renewal) expiry date. Actions:

• No additional registration actions. The renewal action to extend the term of the registration cannot be reversed.
• Inform the secured party of the accidental renewal.

Discharge - Of the various types of accidental changes to a registration, discharge is the one most likely to harm the secured party. Though the affected registration will continue to be revealed in search result reports for an additional thirty days, registrations performed while the registration is discharged may take priority over the discharged registration. After thirty days, the registration will be permanently discharged without ability to re-register (reactivate) the registration.

If you have inadvertently discharged a registration, we recommend that you re-register it immediately, i.e. without awaiting communication with the secured party. The re-register action will return the registration to an "active" or "effective" state. The shorter the period that the registration remains discharged, the less likely it is the accidental discharge will have a negative impact on the secured party. Actions:

• Re-register the registration ASAP and definitely within 30 days of the accidental discharge.
• Inform the secured party of the accidental discharge and of your re-registration action.

Re-register - Only a registration that was discharged or lapsed (expired) during the last thirty days can be re-registered, so re-registration is the accidental change least likely to occur.

If the registration was discharged, then the re-registration will have returned it to an "active" state until it expires. To "correct" such a condition, the registration would need to be discharged again.

If the registration had lapsed, then the re-registration will provide a 24-hour period during which the registration may be renewed. To "correct" such a situation, no explicit action is necessary. If the registration is not renewed during the temporary re-registration period, it will return to a lapsed (expired) state.

If you have inadvertently re-registered a registration, we recommend that you inform the secured party, but we do NOT recommend that you attempt to correct the situation via another registration. Instead, we recommend that you leave the decision to the secured party. Actions:

• No additional registration actions (at least not without the approval of the secured party). Leave the registration in its "active" state.
• Inform the secured party of the accidental re-registration.

Amendment - Accidentally amending the wrong registration is very rare because the registrant must view registration details prior to making any registation changes. Unfortunately, if a registration has been amended in error, the additional amendment(s) to correct the errors may be complicated, so they could lead to compounding the problem. For this reason, we recommend that you always attempt to contact the secured party before proceeding with any attempts to correct the registration.

The severity of the possible harm to the secured party depends upon what was changed:

Most severe risk: A debtor or serial number record (a searchable value) has been deleted, i.e. a partial discharge. Note that "changing" an existing debtor or serial number record has the effect of deleting the existing record and adding a new record. In this instance, like Discharge, it is very important that the error be corrected as soon as possible and definitely within 30 days of the accidental change.

Moderate risk: A change to other existing registration details -- such as secured party records, court information, general description of collateral, or additional informationny -- is likely to misinform a searcher, but the searcher will at least have been made aware of the registration. The error should be corrected as soon as possible.

Least risk: A debtor, serial number, or secured party record has been added. In this instance, the secured party is least likely to be harmed by the "extra" information included within the registration. These changes are also the easiest to correct -- the extra records may simply be deleted by a subsequent amendment.

Actions:

• Inform the secured party of the accidental amendment.
• Approach additional amendment(s) to correct erroneous changes very carefully. If re-entering deleted records, for example, ensure that new records exactly reproduce the previous registration details.
• Consider adding a description of the accidental amendment and its correction within the "Additional Information" field. For example:
  • "Amendment registration <registration number> on <date> contained inadvertant, erroneous changes to this registration which should be ignored. This amendment on <date> corrects those erroneous changes."

Inform the secured party

Here are more detailed recommendations if you are in the difficult situation of needing to inform a secured party that you have inadvertantly changed a registration:

1. Documentation: All secured parties listed in a registration that has been amended, discharged or re-registered will receive a PPRS Notice to Secured Party (NSP) report informing them of the change. However, we do not recommend you rely upon or wait for the secured party(ies) to receive the NSP.  Instead, you should provide a copy of the PPRS Verification Statement report for the erroneous registration. If you have performed any subsequent registrations to attempt to correct the problem, also provide copies of those Verification Statements. If you do not have a copy of an applicable Verification Statement, you can retrieve the current status of the registration, including the erroneous registration, by performing a PPRS Registration Number Search.

2. Contacting the secured party: The secured party record should contain contact information including one or more of the following: contact person’s name, telephone number, fax number, email address, and mailing address. We recommend you use the most expedient methods available such as telephone, email and fax. The mailing address may be helpful to lookup telephone information if it was not provided within the registration or if it is out of date.

3. If there is more than one secured party: If there is more than one secured party, we recommend that you attempt to reach all secured parties until you make positive contact with at least one. Consult with that secured party regarding whether or not you should additionally contact other secured parties.

4. If not able to contact a secured party: If you are not able to contact the secured party, the registrant who performed the original registration may be a valuable alternative. For help identifying the previous registrant(s) for the registration contact the ACOL Client Support Centre. Explain to the agent why you are attempting to learn the identity and contact information for the registrant. The agent should be able to help you reach the registrant.