§490:9-403 What constitutes filing; duration of filing; effect of lapsed filing; duties of filing officer. (1) Presentation for filing of a financing statement and tender of the filing fee or acceptance of the statement by the filing officer constitutes filing under this Article.

(2) Except as provided in subsection (6) a filed financing statement is effective for a period of five years from the date of filing. The effectiveness of a filed financing statement lapses on the expiration of the five-year period unless a continuation statement is filed prior to the lapse. If a security interest perfected by filing exists at the time insolvency proceedings are commenced by or against the debtor, the security interest remains perfected until termination of the insolvency proceedings and thereafter for a period of sixty days or until expiration of the five-year period, whichever occurs later. Upon lapse the security interest becomes unperfected, unless it is perfected without filing. If the security interest becomes unperfected upon lapse, it is deemed to have been unperfected as against a person who became a purchaser or lien creditor before lapse.

(3) A continuation statement may be filed by the secured party within six months prior to the expiration of the five-year period specified in subsection (2). Any such continuation statement must be signed by the secured party, identify the original statement by book and page or document number and state that the original statement is still effective. Upon timely filing of the continuation statement, the effectiveness of the original statement is continued for five years after the last date to which the filing was effective whereupon it lapses in the same manner as provided in subsection (2) unless another continuation statement is filed prior to such lapse. A continuation statement signed by a person other than the secured party of record must be accompanied by a separate written statement of assignment signed by the secured party of record and complying with subsection (2), of section 490:9-405, including payment of the required fee. Succeeding continuation statements may be filed in the same manner to continue the effectiveness of the original statement. Unless a statute on disposition of government records provides otherwise, the filing officer may remove a lapsed statement from the files and destroy it immediately if the filing officer has retained a microfilm or other photographic record, or in other cases after one year after the lapse. The filing officer shall so arrange matters by physical annexation of financing statements to continuation statements or other related filings, or by other means, that if the filing officer physically destroys the financing statements of a period more than five years past, those which have been continued by a continuation statement or which are still effective under subsection (6) shall be retained.

(4) A filing officer shall record and index each statement in the manner provided in chapter 502. For the purpose of such indexing, each of the debtor (or assignor) and the record owner or record lessee of any real estate described in the financing statement (where the collateral is crops or goods which are or are to become fixtures) shall be considered a grantor with respect to the financing statement and the secured party (or assignee) shall be considered a grantee with respect to the financing statement.

(5) Unless otherwise provided by rules established by the department of land and natural resources, pursuant to chapter 91, the fee for filing, indexing and furnishing filing data for an original or a continuation statement shall be $10.

(6) If the debtor is a transmitting utility and a filed financing statement so states, it is effective until a termination statement is filed. A real estate mortgage which is effective as a fixture filing under section 490:9-408 remains effective as a fixture filing until the mortgage is released or satisfied of record or its effectiveness otherwise terminates as to the real estate.

(7) When a financing statement covers timber to be cut or covers minerals or the like (including oil and gas) or accounts subject to subsection (5) of section 490:9-103, or is filed as a fixture filing, the filing officer shall index it under the names of the debtor and any owner of record shown on the financing statement in the same fashion as if they were the mortgagors in a mortgage of the real estate described, and, to the extent that the law of this State provides for indexing of mortgages under the name of the mortgagee, under the name of the secured party as if he were the mortgagee thereunder, or where indexing is by description in the same fashion as if the financing statement were a mortgage of the real estate described. [L 1965, c 208, §9-403; am L 1966, c 18, §2(d), (e); HRS §490:9-403; am L 1978, c 155, §1(26); am L 1980, c 232, §24; am L 1989, c 47, §3; am L 1991, c 145, §2]