Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) is a body of recommendations for laws concerning buying and selling in the United States. These recommendations aim to ensure uniformity—that is, that laws are the same from place to place—and fairness in business practices. The UCC consists of nine articles, most of them devoted to particular areas of commercial law. Areas covered by these articles include sales, bank deposits, letters of credit, and investments. All 50 states have adopted the code in their commercial laws, either in whole or in part.
The UCC developed as a joint effort between the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Drafting groups led by the American legal scholar Karl N. Llewellyn began designing the code in the 1940’s. The original code was released in 1952. Individual states, led by Pennsylvania, began adopting laws based on the code shortly after its release.
Due to the changing nature of the business world, the American Law Institute and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws review and amend the code frequently. For example, they have adjusted some of the articles in the UCC several times since the 1980’s after people began using new technologies—such as computers, fax machines, and the Internet—to do business.
