What happens to a registered security interest if the debtor corporation changes its name?

Because Ontario's PPSA registry is indexed and searched primarily by the debtor's exact legal name, a registration that was accurate when filed can become seriously misleading once the debtor corporation changes its name — someone searching under the new name might not find the existing registration filed under the old one, which undermines the whole purpose of the public registry.

To protect its priority, a secured party generally needs to file a financing change statement updating the debtor's name in the registration once it learns of the name change, and there are practical reasons not to delay: the longer an outdated registration sits without being corrected, the greater the risk that a search under the corporation's new name won't turn it up, potentially prejudicing the secured party's position against new creditors dealing with the corporation under its updated name. Lenders with an ongoing security interest in a corporation should generally keep an eye on whether their debtor's legal name changes and act promptly to update the registration, rather than assuming the original filing remains fully effective indefinitely.