What is a PPSR check?

The register behind the check

The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is the Australian Government’s national register of security interests in personal property. When a bank or finance company lends money against a car, or a dealer sells one under finance, they register their interest on the PPSR against the car’s VIN. The register is run by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) and anyone can search it for a government fee of A$2.00.

The PPSR started on 30 January 2012 and replaced the state-based REVS registers (Register of Encumbered Vehicles) along with dozens of other registers. That is why people still say “REVS check”: today every REVS check is a PPSR search.

What a PPSR check on a car shows

• Money owing. Every current security interest registered against the VIN, including the secured party’s name and address for service, when the registration started and when it ends.
• Stolen records. Whether police have recorded the vehicle, its engine or its plates as stolen, via the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS).
• Written-off records. Whether the car has been declared a statutory or repairable write-off, with the incident, damage location and severity codes.
• Vehicle details. Make, model, year, colour, body type, engine number, plate number, registration expiry and the state of registration, so you can confirm the VIN belongs to the car you are looking at.
• A search certificate. The PPSR issues a certificate for every search. It is the legal record of what the register showed at that moment.

Why it matters when you buy privately

If you buy a car that still has a registered security interest and the seller stops paying the loan, the financier can repossess the car from you. You would lose the car and the money. The PPS Act protects a private buyer who searched the register by the car’s serial number and found no registration, provided the search was done at the right time, so run the check as close to handover as you can: on the day of the purchase or the day before.

What it costs

Searching directly at ppsr.gov.au costs A$2.00. VinClear charges A$2.99, which covers the government fee, card processing, a plain-English result page with the written-off codes decoded, and the official PPSR certificate as a PDF. Other sites bundle the same search into reports costing A$6 to A$40.

What a PPSR check does not tell you

It is not a mechanical inspection or a full history report. It will not show service history, odometer readings, accident damage that did not lead to a write-off, outstanding fines, or safety recalls (the PPSR does not supply recall data). Use it alongside a test drive, an inspection and a look at the service book.

When to run it

Run a check when you first get serious about a car, and again on the day you hand over the money if more than a day has passed. Keep the certificate with the receipt and the transfer papers. If the seller will not give you the VIN, treat that as a warning sign. Here is where to find the VIN.