How to check if a car is stolen
The national stolen-vehicle data available to buyers sits inside the PPSR certificate, alongside a few physical checks you can do on the car itself. This guide covers both. Our stolen car check runs the PPSR search by rego or VIN if you want it done for you.
Updated 20 October 2026
Where stolen-vehicle records come from
When a vehicle is reported stolen, the police report flows through the state registration authority into NEVDIS, the national vehicle database maintained by Austroads. The PPSR draws on NEVDIS for every motor vehicle search, so a $2 search at ppsr.gov.au returns the stolen flag with the finance result.
The stolen indicators cover three things: the vehicle, the engine and the plates. A car can be flagged because its engine was reported stolen, or because its plates belong to a stolen vehicle. The body itself need never have been taken.
There is one gap. Tasmania does not supply its stolen-vehicle data to the PPSR, and every certificate prints a line saying so. For a car registered in Tasmania, the PPSR cannot confirm it is not stolen.
How to check if a car is stolen
- Get the VIN from the compliance plate and the base of the windscreen, and the registration papers from the seller. All three should show the same 17 characters.
- Run a PPSR motor vehicle search on the VIN at ppsr.gov.au for $2.00, or through a plate-based check if you only have the rego. Read the stolen status in the NEVDIS section of the certificate.
- Compare the make, model, colour and plate the certificate holds against the car in front of you. A mismatch means the VIN you searched is not this car's VIN.
- Run the free rego check for the state on the plate. Confirm the registration is current and the vehicle description matches. In South Australia the check also shows a general warning if the car is recorded as stolen.
- Check the seller's photo ID against the name on the registration papers, and meet at the address on the papers where you can.
- Inspect the VIN plates and stampings for tampering: fresh rivets, paint over the plate, ground or re-stamped characters, or a windscreen VIN tag that looks replaced.
What the free state rego checks tell you
Every state and territory offers a free registration check by plate. They are useful for confirming the car is registered and that the plate matches the make and body type. Most of them say nothing about theft.
South Australia's EzyReg check is the exception. It shows a general warning without details if the car is recorded as suspended, stolen, defected or written off. For other states, the PPSR certificate is where the stolen flag lives.
A rego check that returns "not found" or a different vehicle description for the plate on the car is a warning sign in itself.
Physical checks that catch what the register misses
A stolen car offered for sale often carries another car's identity. The VIN on the windscreen, the compliance plate and the chassis stamping may not agree, or the papers may belong to a wrecked car of the same model. The register cannot catch that; you can.
- Compare the VIN in at least two places on the car and on the registration papers; one mismatch is enough to walk away
- Look at how the compliance plate is fixed; factory rivets are uniform and undisturbed
- Check that the engine number on the papers matches the stamping on the block
- Ask for the original keys, the owner's manual and the service book; a car with one key and no history deserves questions
- Be cautious of a seller who will only meet in a car park, wants cash, or is pushing to settle today
What a stolen record looks like on the certificate
In the NEVDIS section of the PPSR certificate the stolen status shows either no stolen record or the details of the record. Those details are the jurisdiction that reported it, the date, and whether the flag relates to the vehicle, the engine or the plates.
A record does not always mean the car in front of you is stolen. Recovered vehicles are sometimes slow to be cleared, and an engine swap from a stolen donor can flag an otherwise legitimate car. It does mean you do not proceed until the seller can explain it with paperwork from the police or the registration authority.
What to do if you find a stolen record
Do not buy the car, and do not confront the seller. Note the VIN, the plate and the seller's details and report them to the police in the state concerned. If you have already paid, contact the police and your bank straight away.
If you bought a stolen car in good faith, the car still goes back to its owner or the insurer. That is the reason the check is done before money changes hands, not after.
Our stolen car check returns the PPSR stolen, written-off and finance result by rego or VIN from $12.95, with the $2 government certificate attached.
PPSR check by state
Questions people ask
Is there a free way to check if a car is stolen?
The free South Australian rego check shows a general stolen warning for SA cars. For the rest of the country the stolen flag is on the PPSR certificate. That costs $2 at ppsr.gov.au with the VIN, or is free from Budget Direct in return for marketing consent.
Does the PPSR show stolen cars in Tasmania?
No. Tasmania does not supply stolen-vehicle data to the PPSR, and each certificate prints a line saying Tasmanian stolen vehicle information is unavailable. Check with Transport Tasmania or Tasmania Police for a Tasmanian car.
What if only the number plates are stolen?
The NEVDIS stolen indicators cover plates as well as vehicles and engines, so a plate reported stolen can flag the car carrying it. Compare the plate on the certificate with the plate on the car and ask the seller to explain any difference.
Can a stolen car have a clean PPSR certificate?
Yes, if it has not been reported yet, if it is Tasmanian, or if it has been given another car's identity and you searched that VIN. That is why the physical VIN comparison and the seller ID check matter as much as the search.
Can I check if a car is stolen using the rego number?
The PPSR needs the VIN. The free Victorian rego check prints the full VIN and Queensland usually does, so for those states you can go from plate to PPSR yourself. Otherwise ask the seller for the VIN or use a plate-based check.
Related
- Stolen car check: NEVDIS stolen vehicle, plate and engine records
- PPSR check by rego or VIN, $12.95 including the $2 government certificate
- VIN check Australia: decode the VIN free, then check finance and write-offs
- Where is the VIN number on a car, and how do you check it?
- How to do a PPSR check and read the certificate
Ready to check a car?
Rego or VIN. You see the make and model before you pay. From $12.95 including the $2.00 government fee. Or search the PPSR yourself for $2 at ppsr.gov.au.