Car finance check: is there money owing on the car?

When someone borrows against a car, the lender registers a security interest on the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR). The interest attaches to the car, not the borrower. If the car is sold without the loan being settled, the lender's claim travels with it, and the new owner can lose the car.

This is why a car finance check, an encumbrance check, a REVS check and a PPSR check are all the same search. REVS was the old state-based register, replaced by the national PPSR in 2012. "Encumbrance" is the older word for a security interest.

A clear certificate states that "there is no security interest or other registration kind registered on the PPSR against the serial number". Otherwise it lists each registration. For each one you see:

• The secured party: the organisation that claims to be owed the money, with its name, ACN or ABN and an address for service.
• The registration period: when the interest was registered and when it ends.
• The collateral class: for a car this is "motor vehicle", and the VIN is the serial number the interest is registered against.
• The PPSR registration number, which the seller or lender will need when the interest is discharged.

The register does not record the loan balance. No PPSR certificate from any provider shows how much is owing, because the field does not exist. The PPSR's own advice is to talk to the seller about having the registration removed before you buy. If a website claims to show the amount owing on a car, ask where the number came from.

The practical answer is a payout letter. The seller asks the lender for a letter stating the amount required to discharge the loan on a given date. That letter, not the certificate, tells you the balance.

1. Enter the number plate and state, or the 17-character VIN, in the search box above. We look up the plate and show you the make, model and year to confirm.
2. Choose the $12.95 certificate or the $27.95 report, which adds a free 14-day finance re-check, and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
3. Open the report. The finance section shows "no security interest" or lists each secured party, registration period and collateral class, and the unaltered certificate PDF is attached.
4. If an interest shows, ask the seller for a payout letter from the named lender before you agree a price.
5. Re-run the search on the day you pay. An interest can be registered at any time, and the certificate is only true at the moment of the search.

Finance on a private-sale car is common and not in itself a reason to walk away. Finance the seller will not discuss is.

• A payout letter from the lender named on the certificate, dated within a few days of settlement.
• To settle at handover: pay the lender the payout figure directly and the seller the balance, so the loan is cleared before you drive away.
• Confirmation that the lender will discharge the PPSR registration once paid, and the registration number so you can check later that it has gone.
• A new PPSR search after discharge. Our $27.95 report includes a free re-check within 14 days for exactly this moment.

Licensed dealers must sell cars free of encumbrances, so the risk sits mainly with private sales and online marketplaces. For a private sale, search on the day you pay, not the day you first look. If you have the VIN you can do that yourself at ppsr.gov.au for $2. If all you have is the plate, we convert it for you.