Running a PPSR check before you buy a used car privately
Search the PPSR by VIN close to the day you pay, read the registration, written-off and stolen details, and keep the certificate.
A private used car sale has fewer protections than buying from a licensed dealer. The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is the Australian Government register where lenders record security interests, and an inexpensive search on the vehicle identification number shows whether someone could still repossess the car after you have paid. This guide explains what to search, when to do it, how to read the certificate and what to do when the result raises questions.
What a PPSR search tells you, and what it leaves out
A PPSR search reports whether a security interest is registered against the vehicle's serial number, which is usually a VIN or chassis number. A security interest means money may be owing on the car, typically a secured car loan, and the secured party could repossess it even though you have paid the seller. Where the national vehicle database NEVDIS is available at the time of the search, the certificate also lists the make, model and colour, the registration plate and its expiry, and whether the car is recorded as written off or stolen. It does not show how much is owing, who has owned the car, the odometer reading or any outstanding fines, so it complements a mechanical inspection and a road registration check rather than replacing them. The same search covers motorbikes, caravans, campervans, camper trailers, boat trailers and horse floats. When this guide was checked, the online self-service search cost $2 and the assisted phone service $7, paid by credit or debit card. Search fees are non-refundable, so enter the details carefully.
The official explanation of what a search shows, what it costs and what you need before you start.
PPSR: do a used car or vehicle searchFind the VIN and search close to the day you pay
You cannot search the PPSR by number plate or engine number. Most cars built after 1989 have a 17-character VIN, and older cars usually have a chassis number. Read it from the car itself, under the bonnet, at the base of the windscreen on the inside, or in the driver's door closure area, and compare it with the registration papers rather than copying it from the advertisement. PPSR recommends searching on the day you buy or the day before, because the closer the search is to the purchase, the more up to date the result. A certificate from weeks earlier, including a copy of the seller's search, shows the register only as it was on that date. If you buy from a licensed motor vehicle dealer you are generally protected from repossession even when a security interest exists, which is why the timing rule matters most in private sales. Have your card and the serial number ready, and choose the correct serial type, VIN or chassis, when you search.
How searches by VIN, chassis or manufacturer's number differ from searches on a person or organisation.
PPSR: serial numbered and non-serial numbered searchesRead the PPSR registration details first
The key line on the certificate sits under the heading PPSR Registration Details. If it says there is no security interest or other registration kind registered against the serial number, nobody has a current registered claim on the car through the register. If instead the certificate lists a registration, it names the secured party, usually a bank or finance company, and shows that someone may have the right to repossess the vehicle. PPSR advises buyers to talk to the seller about having that registration removed before buying. A seller who has already paid out the loan can ask the lender to remove the registration, and the register has a dispute process if a lender will not act. The certificate uses the word registration in two ways: PPSR registration refers to security interests, while state vehicle registration and registration expiry refer to ordinary road registration.
Explains each section of the certificate, with sample certificates showing a clear result and a registration.
PPSR: understand your car search resultCheck the written-off and stolen fields
Under the heading Additional Motor Vehicle Details, the certificate shows whether NEVDIS records the car as written off. A statutory write-off has been damaged so badly that it is not safe to repair for the road and can only be used for parts, so it cannot be registered again. A repairable write-off was usually uneconomic to repair, hail damage being one example, and in some states and territories it can be repaired to a required standard, inspected and re-registered. The result may include a written-off code made up of an incident type letter (D for dismantled, F for fire, H for hail, I for impact, M for malicious damage and W for water), a damage location number and a severity letter. The stolen field draws on police data from each state and territory except Tasmania, so a Tasmanian-registered car needs a separate check with Transport Tasmania. Any stolen indicator for the engine, vehicle or plates means you should contact police before going further, and PPSR warns that a car not recorded as stolen may still be stolen, in which case a private buyer can lose both the car and the money. Because road agencies and police maintain NEVDIS, PPSR cannot correct or explain that data; the seller can ask the road transport authority to fix a written-off error, and state or territory police handle errors in stolen indicators.
The difference between statutory and repairable write-offs and the incident, location and severity codes.
PPSR: understanding written-off codesWho to contact when the certificate shows a registration, a write-off, a stolen indicator or details that do not match.
PPSR: concerned about a used car search resultMatch the certificate to the car in front of you
Compare the make, model, colour, plate number and registration expiry on the certificate with the car and its registration papers. If they do not match, first confirm that you entered the correct VIN or chassis number and selected the right serial type, and search again if you made a mistake. If the VIN is correct and the details still differ, treat that as a warning sign, because PPSR notes it is one possible indication that the identifier has been altered. It can also be a NEVDIS data error, which the seller would need the road transport authority to correct. Consider an online registration check with your state or territory road transport authority using the plate number, which is usually free. A certificate with no NEVDIS details at all can mean the wrong VIN, a vehicle that has never been road registered or has been unregistered for a long time, or a temporary NEVDIS outage; the security interest result still stands. More than one vehicle under the NEVDIS heading means the serial number is not unique, which happens with trailers and some specialised machinery, so check which description matches yours before relying on the written-off or stolen fields.
Keep your own certificate and refresh it if needed
The search certificate is your legal record of the result, so save the PDF or have it emailed to you, and keep it with the sale paperwork. A copy of any past search, including one the seller shows you, can be retrieved free of charge with the search number, which also lets you verify a certificate supplied by a car history report service. A copy shows the result as it was on the original date, not current information, so a seller's certificate from a few weeks ago is not a substitute for your own search close to the purchase. If you searched a motor vehicle within the previous 14 days, PPSR's search refresh, offered through its retrieve search result service, tells you whether any registrations have been created, changed or ended since, though not what changed and not any update to stolen or written-off information; if it flags a change, run a new search. Keep the certificate after you buy. If a lender later claims an interest in the car, the certificate showing no registration at the time of your search is your evidence of the result.
How to retrieve or verify a certificate by search number and how the 14-day search refresh works.
PPSR: get a copy of a PPSR search resultYour quick checklist
Tick these off as you go. This checklist resets when you leave.
Useful starting points
General information to help you ask questions. Check requirements for the particular service and your state or territory.