How To Access the Filing Office Website

The kind of access to the Filing Office website that you need depends on what you want to do, and on whether you are going to use it to register notices regularly or only once or infrequently.

• If all you want to do is to search for existing notices, return to the Welcome screen and select the Search option to go to the Search screen. In that case, there is no need to log in, and no fees are charged.
• If you are with a company or financial institution that will register notices of security interest on a regular basis, the company or institution should open a client account, which will allow you and its other authorized users to log in to the website to register notices and to request certified search reports. Fees for registering and for requesting certified search reports are automatically accrued to the client account, and a statement is generated for the client at the end of each month. Payments are made by cash or check to the Filing Office account through the office of the Ministry of Commerce, Industries, Labour & Immigration. To set up a client account, return to the Welcome screen and select the How to Set Up a Client Account option. It will lead you to the Client Account application, which you can complete and submit on-line. The Filing Office will assign a number to your client account, which you must provide to the office to which you make payments on the monthly statement.

How to Set Up a Client Account

If your business becomes a client of the Filing Office, the account may have any number of individual authorized users (for example, managers, loan or credit officers, accountants, etc.). At least one of those authorized users will be designated as a client security administrator, which means that the user will have additional rights beyond those of general users. Those rights will include the right to add or delete authorized users, and to update information about the client account (for example, an address change). General users will have the right to file notices, search for notices and change their own passwords.

A client is responsible for the security practices of its users and for all fees charged for transactions by its users.

The Filing Office will provide a monthly statement to each client on the Filing Office website, and will send an e-mail notification to the client that the statement is available. Only authorized users of the client account may view the statement. The client must pay the amount due within 30 days after the statement date. If it fails to do so, the Filing Office will suspend the client's right to charge fees to the account until the amount is paid. Any authorized user of the client account may view the client information, current balance and prior statements at any time.

You may now Apply for a Client Account, or return to the Welcome page.

How To Change Your Password

When you are first assigned a temporary password by the filing office administrator and at any time you want thereafter, you may change your password by yourself, as follows:

• Go to the filing office website at http://www.stfosi.com
• Log in to the Registry website as a client by entering your login id and password in the top of the screen and click sign in.
• Click 'My Accounts' link on the top right of the screen .
• Click on Change Password to open the Change Password screen.
• Enter your old password in the first space, and enter your new password in the second and third spaces, as indicated.
• Click on the Submit button on the top left of the screen.
• If you made an error in entering either the old or new password, the system will give you an error message to tell you what you must correct.
• Once the password has been successfully updated, the system will display a confirmation message.
• You may log out by clicking the log out button on the top right of the screen.

How To File a Change Notice

To register a change to an existing notice, you must log in to the website, whether you are a user of a client account or a one-time user who has pre-paid fees. Once you log in, you will be on a Home page from which you can select the action you want to do. If you want to amend, continue or terminate an existing notice, select the Register a Change Notice option to go to the Register Change Notice screen. If you are a debtor named on an existing notice and you want to object to something in the notice, select the Register a Change Notice option as well.

The Register Change Notice screen is used to add notices that relate to an existing notice of security interest. The types of change notices are Amended Notice, Continuation Statement, Termination Statement, and Correction Statement. In the first Register a Change Notice screen, you must provide the registration number of the initial notice to which the change relates, and select the type of change notice you want to register. Then click the Next button to proceed to the second change notice screen, which will indicate the type of change notice you are entering.

• For an amended notice, first mark the name or names of each secured party who authorizes the Change Notice at the bottom of the screen. You may then add, delete or change information on debtors, secured parties and collateral by using the Add buttons in the control bar at the top of the screen or by selecting the tab for the type of information to be added, deleted or changed.
  • If the Change Notice adds a debtor, secured party or vehicle serial number, click the appropriate Add button.
  • If the Change Notice deletes a debtor, secured party or vehicle serial number, select the appropriate tab and click the X icon beside the entry for the item to be deleted.
  • If the Change Notice changes information about a debtor or secured party, select the appropriate tab and click the Edit (pencil) icon beside the entry to be amended. The information will appear in the Add screen where you may change the information and then click the Update button.
  • If the Change Notice changes the narrative description of collateral, click the Collateral tab and make the change to the description in the text box. If the Change Notice replaces an attached PDF document in the collateral tab, click on the browse button and select the new document. When its name appears in the box and you are sure it is the right document, click the Add Attachment button. The new document will then replace the old document.
• For a continuation statement, first mark the name or names of each secured party who authorizes the continuation at the bottom of the screen. No further data entry is required, so you may then click the Review button, and then click the Confirm button in the Review screen. If the change is accepted by the system, it will automatically extend the period of effectiveness of the filed notice by five years. If the current date is not within the six-month period that ends on the lapse date of the initial notice, the system will refuse to accept the notice.
• For a termination sttatement, first mark the name or names of each secured party who authorizes the continuation at the bottom of the screen. No further data entry is required, so you may then click the Review button, and then click the Confirm button in the Review screen.

How to File Notices

To file notices of security interest, you must log in to the website using your client account credentials. Once you log in, you will be on a Client Home page from which you can select the transaction you wish to complete. If you want to register an initial notice of security interest, select the Register a New Notice option to go to the Register Initial Notice screen. The registration screens are quite simple and intuitive to use.

The File Initial Notice screen has five tabs that you can choose in any order.

• The first tab that is displayed when you open the screen is automatically filled with information about you or your company or institution and the type of notice you are registering. There is a '+Add Registrant As Secured Party' that you may click if the secured party is the same as the registering party. If you click this button, you may then bypass the Secured Party tab.
• The second tab is the Debtors tab. It is used to enter one or more debtors, that is, the obligors on the obligation. To add a debtor, first click the '+Add Additional Party' button to open the add screen. Then select the type of debtor to be added.
  • If a debtor is a company or organization, enter its name exactly as it appears on the records of the national or state Corporation Registry where it is registered.
  • If a debtor is an individual, enter his or her name.
  • If a debtor is an other entity, enter its name exactly as it appears on the records of the Registry where it is registered.

In all cases, provide the debtor’s address in the address fields. If there are two or more debtors, you can continue to add debtors by clicking the Add Debtor button after you have added a debtor’s information.

• The third tab is the Secured Party tab. It is used to enter one or more secured parties. If you did not click the button indicating that the registering party is the secured party in the first tab, or if there are additional secured parties, click the Add Secured Party button to open the add screen. Enter the secured party’s name and address in the indicated fields. If there are more secured parties, you can continue to add them by clicking the Add Secured Party button.
• The fourth tab is the Collateral tab. It is used to enter a description of the personal property that secures the obligation. The description of the collateral may be general or specific, so long as it informs a person who reads it whether particular property is covered by the security interest. There are three ways in which you can enter collateral information, and you may use any one, two or all three of them. You may enter a narrative description of any length in the text box.
• The fifth tab is the Other Information tab. It is used to enter any additional information deemed relevant to the notice. You may enter a narrative description of any length in the text box.

Once all notice information has been entered, you may press “Review” on the registration to review all notice details. If the notice looks correct upon review, then press the “Confirm” button to submit the notice. Otherwise, press the “Edit” button to return to the tabbed form and make corrections.

Upon submitting the registration, a registration confirmation page will be displayed. This page contains all information on the registration, and may be printed. It also contains an Access Number associated with the registration number. The Access Number is required to submit change notices for the initial registration. This number is confidential and should not be provided to any other person, including debtors on the registration. Registrants should make sure they retain the Access Number in their files.

How to Search for Notices

If you want to search for notices that identify a particular debtor or that include a particular motor vehicle serial number, or if you want to find a notice by its registration number, you may select the Search option either from the Welcome screen without logging in or from the Home Page while you are logged in. However, if you want a certified search report of your search, you must be logged in and select it from the Home Page, because there is a fee for a certified search report. After you select the Search option, the search screen will open.

Whether or not you are logged in, the search screen includes tabs for the different types of search criteria from which you may select.

• If you know the registration number of the initial notice, select the registration Number tab, enter the registration number in the displayed registration number field and click the Submit button.
• If you are searching for notices that name a particular debtor, click the Debtor tab. In the Debtor tab, select the type of debtor on which you want to search.
  • If the debtor is a company or organization, enter its name as it appears on its organizational document in the displayed field, and click the Submit button.
  • If the debtor is an Individual, select appropriate option. Enter the Individual’s name in the indicated fields and click the Submit button. You must enter at least the surname exactly, and it is recommended that you also enter the first and middle names if you know them exactly. If you do not know the first and middle names exactly, you may enter the initial or leave them blank. By leaving the first or middle name blank or using an initial, you will find all notices that name the debtor, but may also find other notices that name other persons who have the same surname and initials.
• If you are searching for notices that include a particular motor vehicle serial number (VIN) in the collateral description, click the Vehicle Serial Number tab. Enter the serial number in the displayed field and click the Submit button.

When the search is submitted, the system will identify all matching notices and display all information for each notice in registration number sequence, with all change notices for each initial notice following the initial notice to which they are related.

If you are logged in, the search screen will permit you to request the results to be certified. If you request a certified search report, the results of the search will include certification language and facsimile signature of the authorized official in the Companies Haus. It will also include a unique number for the certified search report that can be used to retrieve the report from the Registry database if needed later. The certified search report is an official record of the Filing Office, and you can use the printed report as evidence of the state of the record on the date of the certified report. If a court should refuse to recognize the certified report, you may request an originally signed certificate of authenticity from the Filing Office representative in the Companies Haus by providing the number of the certified search report.