Car history check: what you can get free, and what a report adds

Buyers often expect an Australian car history check to work like an American one. It does not. There is no title system here, so no "salvage" or "rebuilt" title follows a car. There is no public accident or police-report feed. There is no national odometer record, and no central store of service records.

What does exist is narrower. The PPSR records finance and, through NEVDIS, stolen and written-off status. Each state holds registration data, and a few sell parts of it. The Register of Approved Vehicles holds identity data for cars first supplied from about 2021. Recall notices are published nationally.

The "history" sold by the larger report brands fills the gaps from private sources. Equifax draws on an insurer-fed database and industry data; carsales draws on its own listing archive. Those sources are useful, but they are indicative, not a register, and the terms do not allow us to resell them.

• Every state runs a free rego check by plate: status, expiry and basic vehicle details, with the VIN shown in full only in Victoria
• Service NSW adds up to three yearly odometer readings for NSW-registered cars
• The PPSR search costs $2.00 at ppsr.gov.au if you have the VIN: finance, stolen and written-off status
• The Register of Approved Vehicles is free by VIN for 2021+ cars: make, model, build date and import pathway
• vehiclerecalls.gov.au lists safety recalls by make and model; Takata airbag status is checked by plate at ismyairbagsafe.com.au
• Our free VIN check validates and decodes any VIN and runs the RAV lookup in one step

Because the records are spread across several sources, the best order is free checks first, then the paid search, then the questions for the seller. The whole process takes a few minutes and costs $27.95 for the report, or $2.00 if you only run the PPSR search yourself.

1. Run the free rego check on your state's transport site to confirm the car is registered and the plate matches the ad.
2. Enter the plate and state, or the VIN, in our search box. We show the make, model and year before you pay.
3. Choose the $27.95 car check report and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
4. Read the verdict. Then use the "Not in this report" list to ask the seller for the logbook and, if finance shows, a payout letter. Order the state owner-count report if you want one.

The report starts with the PPSR certificate, unaltered, with its search number. Everything else sits under a heading that says it comes from sources other than the PPSR, so you always know which part is the government record.

• The official PPSR certificate PDF: finance owing, secured party, stolen and written-off status, registration details
• Write-off damage codes decoded: impact, fire, flood, hail, water, and where on the car
• Vehicle identity, build date and grey-import flag for 2021+ cars from the Register of Approved Vehicles
• Manufacturer and model-year decode for older cars
• Open safety recalls for the make, model and year, with a link to each notice
• Fuel use and CO2 for 2004+ cars from the Green Vehicle Guide
• Odometer readings we found, each with its date and source, or a plain statement that none were available
• A free 14-day finance re-check before you hand over the money
• A "Not in this report" section so you know what to ask the seller

Owner counts come only from two state reports, and neither sells them to us wholesale. Service NSW sells a vehicle history report by NSW plate for roughly $22 to $27. It shows the number of registered operators, the first NSW registration and past use. VicRoads sells a vehicle report for $29.95 with the number of Victorian operators, transfer history and roadworthy readings.

Queensland releases historic registration information only by application, and South Australia, the NT and WA do not provide owner information to buyers. Service history lives in the logbook and the dealer's system, so ask for both. Fines and tolls follow the person, not the car, but confirm with the seller anyway.

• Number of owners: Service NSW vehicle history report (NSW cars) or VicRoads vehicle report (Victorian cars)
• Service history: the logbook, dealer invoices or the manufacturer's owner app
• Accident damage not recorded as a write-off: an independent pre-purchase inspection
• Amount owing on any finance: a payout letter from the secured party named on the certificate
• Takata airbag status: the plate check at ismyairbagsafe.com.au