What does inact/ua mean?

What does inact/ua mean?

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"Inact/UA" is a business entity status meaning "Inactive/Unavailable." For alternative business lenders, this status signals that the entity is no longer operational, but its business name is being held by the state for a statutory period—making it unavailable for new use or registration.​

What "Inact/UA" Means

• An entity labeled "Inactive/UA" (or "INACT/UA") has been dissolved or otherwise ceased operations, either voluntarily or through administrative action, yet its business name remains reserved and cannot be adopted by another party during this statutory holding period.​
• This status is most commonly encountered in states like Florida, where after entities are administratively dissolved (often for failing to file annual reports or fees), the business name is locked for up to a year. This gives the original registrants a chance to reinstate the company while also preventing immediate reuse by other businesses or bad actors.​

Why It Matters to Underwriting

• An "Inactive/UA" entity is not in good standing with the Secretary of State and cannot legally conduct business or enter new contracts during this period.​
• The unavailability of the name signals ongoing regulatory linkage: if you see this status, the entity cannot be considered current, and any lending applications should be treated with extreme caution or outright declined until the status is resolved.​
• The reserved name status means that, even after dissolution, a period of liability and record retention still applies, creating both compliance and reputational risks for lenders—especially in states that report extensive entity history via APIs like Cobalt Intelligence.​

Typical Lifecycle of Inact/UA Status

• Dissolution: Entity fails to meet state requirements (e.g., missing annual filing).
• Inact/UA Assigned: The Secretary of State marks the entity as inactive; the name is locked and unavailable.
• Name Hold Period: Statutory holding period (often 120 days to a year) allows the entity to reinstate if issues are remedied.
• Post-Hold: If not reinstated, the name eventually becomes available and the entity status typically updates to just "Inactive" or "Dissolved".​

Underwriting Guidance

• Treat "Inact/UA" as high-risk: The entity legally cannot transact, posing severe collection and enforceability complications.
• Investigate reason for status and consider the statutory hold period to evaluate reinstatement risk and potential name confusion for new businesses.
• Use modern business verification APIs to distinguish between "Inactive/UA," "Dissolved," and "Active" designations as part of your risk and compliance pipeline.​

This nuanced understanding of "Inact/UA" will help your underwriting team avoid regulatory pitfalls and improve risk management when leveraging Secretary of State records for decision-making.​

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What does "Inact/UA" mean in High-Velocity Lending?

• What It Actually Means: "Inact/UA" (Inactive/Unavailable) is not “risky”—it’s dead. The entity has no standing; its legal existence is gone, and the name is locked out for reuse. That’s a hard stop.​
• An entity with "Inact/UA" status cannot hold debt, execute contracts, or secure collateral. You can’t file a valid UCC. Funding this is not “high-risk,” it’s a complete write-off—no collections, no enforceability, just instant loss.​
• Underwriting Rules for Top Shops:
  
  • Rule #1: AUTO DECLINE – The status triggers an immediate, non-negotiable decline. No manual review. No exceptions. No underwriter time wasted on “reasons” or “potential reinstatement”.​
  • Rule #2: Burden Is on the Merchant – The decision isn’t paused or held for the applicant. If they become "Active" and “Good Standing,” they must reapply from scratch.
  • Rule #3: API-First Execution – Your tech stack must enforce this with an auto-KO in milliseconds. If your API or SoS data feed says “Inact/UA,” the file goes to auto-decline. This is where business verification APIs deliver their real value—clear, actionable status feeds that keep humans out of the process.​

• If you are spending labor hours "investigating," you are already losing money compared to the competitor next door who relies on clean, automated KO rules.​
• "Inact/UA" isn’t a nuance. It’s an instant DQ—a weed to be culled without a second’s thought.

This is lending at an operational scale. Strip it down, automate it, and enforce it. Every minute you hesitate is margin lost. 

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