Ark. Code Ann. § 4-9-311 (2026)
Perfection of security interests in property subject to certain statutes, regulations, and treaties
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Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, the filing of a financing statement is not necessary or effective to perfect a security interest in property subject to:
- a statute, regulation, or treaty of the United States whose requirements for a security interest's obtaining priority over the rights of a lien creditor with respect to the property preempt § 4-9-310(a);
- any other laws of this state which provide for central filing of security interests or which require indication on a certificate of title to property of such interest, including but not limited to §§ 27-14-801 — 27-14-807 and §§ 27-101-1014 — 27-101-1019; or
- a statute of another jurisdiction which provides for a security interest to be indicated on a certificate of title as a condition or result of the security interest's obtaining priority over the rights of a lien creditor with respect to the property.
- Compliance with the requirements of a statute, regulation, or treaty described in subsection (a) for obtaining priority over the rights of a lien creditor is equivalent to the filing of a financing statement under this chapter. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) and §§ 4-9-313 and 4-9-316(d) and (e) for goods covered by a certificate of title, a security interest in property subject to a statute, regulation, or treaty described in subsection (a) may be perfected only by compliance with those requirements, and a security interest so perfected remains perfected notwithstanding a change in the use or transfer of possession of the collateral.
- Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) and § 4-9-316(d) and (e), duration and renewal of perfection of a security interest perfected by compliance with the requirements prescribed by a statute, regulation, or treaty described in subsection (a) are governed by the statute, regulation, or treaty. In other respects, the security interest is subject to this chapter.
- During any period in which collateral subject to a statute specified in subdivision (a)(2) is inventory held for sale or lease by a person or leased by that person as lessor and that person is in the business of selling goods of that kind, this section does not apply to a security interest in that collateral created by that person.
History. Acts 2001, No. 1439, § 1; 2013, No. 138, § 7; 2019, No. 733, § 2.
Amendments. The 2013 amendment substituted “State” for “state” in (a)(2); and, in (a)(3), deleted “certificate-of-title” preceding “statute” and substituted “on a certificate of title” for “on the certificate”.
The 2019 amendment inserted “of this section” in the introductory language of (a); and inserted “and §§ 27-101-1014 – 27-101-1019” in (a)(2).
Case Notes
Applicability.
Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code applies to the filing and perfection of security interests in proceeds from farm crops and is not preempted by federal law. Nef v. Ag Servs. of Am., Inc., 79 Ark. App. 100, 86 S.W.3d 4 (2002).
There was no merit to a trustee's claim that he was allowed under 11 U.S.C. § 544 to avoid liens the U.S. Government and a bank held on farm equipment owned by debtors who declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and on rice the debtors had harvested that was in storage, because the debtors borrowed money and executed security agreements in the name of a joint venture they created; however, neither the Government nor the bank had a secured interest in vehicles the debtors owned which had titles that did not show a lien in favor of the Government or the bank because Arkansas law provided that creditors' security interests in registered vehicles had to be shown on the vehicle's title. Bank of Eng. v. Rice (In re Webb), 520 B.R. 748 (Bankr. E.D. Ark. 2014).
Judgments and Causes of Actions.
Section 16-65-120 was not impliedly repealed by enactment of former § 4-9-102 and was the applicable local law; therefore, cause of action assigned to bank as collateral for loan prior to filing of federal tax liens by federal government against assignor, and for which bank did not file a financing statement to perfect its interest under this section, took precedence over tax liens that arose out of unsecured obligation. Brown & Root, Inc. v. Hempstead County Sand & Gravel, Inc., 767 F.2d 464 (8th Cir. 1985) (decision under prior law).
Chapter 7 debtor maliciously injured farm equipment that was pledged as collateral for various bank loans within the meaning of 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6); even though the bank's security interest therein was not perfected by the placement of evidence of the lien on the certificate of title per § 4-9-310(b), this section, and § 27-14-801 et seq., the security interest was still valid as between the parties to the agreement per § 4-9-317(a)(2)(A) and § 4-9-322. Southern Bancorp South v. Richmond (In re Richmond), 430 B.R. 846 (Bankr. E.D. Ark. 2010).