What is the PPSR, and what does a PPSR check show?

The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is the Australian Government register of security interests over personal property, including cars. If you only have the number plate, our PPSR check page runs the search for you and includes the $2 certificate.

Updated 20 October 2026

What the PPSR is

The PPSR is a single national online register. It started on 30 January 2012 and replaced more than 30 older registers, including the state REVS registers that car buyers used before then. It is run by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA), a Commonwealth agency.

The register records security interests. A security interest is a claim that a lender or other party holds over property until a debt or obligation is met. For a used car, the registered interest is almost always a car loan or a dealer floor-plan arrangement.

The PPSR covers far more than cars. Boats, caravans, motorbikes, farm machinery, business equipment, crops and intellectual property can all appear on it. For a private buyer, though, the motor vehicle search is the part that matters.

What is a PPSR check?

A PPSR check is a search of the register against a specific vehicle. The search key is the VIN, the chassis number or the manufacturer's number. The PPSR cannot be searched by number plate or engine number. A valid VIN is always 17 characters long.

You can run the search yourself at ppsr.gov.au for $2.00. The result appears on screen and a certificate is emailed to you. Private services charge more because they convert a number plate to a VIN, explain the result or add other data.

Every motor vehicle search returns two kinds of information. The first comes from the PPSR itself: whether any security interest is registered against that VIN and who the secured party is. The second comes from NEVDIS, the national vehicle database maintained by Austroads.

Security interests registered against the VIN, with the secured party named on each
Whether the vehicle is recorded as stolen, other than in Tasmania
Whether it is on the Written-Off Vehicle Register, and whether the write-off is statutory or repairable
The registration number, expiry, make, model and colour held against the VIN
A search number that lets you retrieve the certificate again at no charge

What is a PPSR certificate?

The PPSR certificate is the PDF the Registrar issues for every search. It records the search criteria, the exact date and time, a 16-digit search number and the results. It is the official record of what the register held at that moment.

The certificate is the same whoever orders it. A search run through a private service produces the same document as a search run at ppsr.gov.au. What differs is the wrapping: whether someone explains the codes, found the VIN from the plate, or added recall and build data.

A certificate is a snapshot. A security interest can be registered an hour after your search. That is why the usual advice is to search on the day you pay and to keep the certificate.

Why the PPSR matters when you buy a used car

If a car has a registered security interest and the seller does not pay the loan out, the lender's claim stays with the car. The lender can repossess it from the new owner even though the new owner paid in full. The debt belongs to the seller, but the car secures it.

The register also carries the stolen and written-off flags from NEVDIS. A car with a statutory write-off record cannot be re-registered anywhere in Australia. A repairable write-off can only be re-registered after a state inspection, and not at all in most cases in New South Wales.

None of this is visible from the car itself or from a free state rego check. The rego check confirms registration status and a few vehicle details. It does not show finance, and in most states it does not show theft or write-off status either.

PPSR, REVS and VSR: the names you still hear

REVS stood for Register of Encumbered Vehicles. New South Wales, Queensland and several other states ran one, and Victoria ran the Vehicle Securities Register (VSR). All of them closed when the PPSR opened in January 2012, and their records migrated across.

People still say "REVS check" out of habit, and plenty of businesses trade under the name. In practice a REVS check today is a PPSR search. There is no separate REVS database to consult.

What the PPSR does not record

The amount owing. The register shows that an interest exists and who holds it, never the balance. Ask the seller for a payout letter from that lender.
The owner or the number of previous owners. Only Service NSW and VicRoads sell owner-count reports, each for its own state.
Service history, odometer readings or accident repairs that were never reported as a write-off.
Stolen status for Tasmanian records. Tasmania does not supply stolen-vehicle data to the PPSR.
Unsecured debts. A personal loan that is not secured against the car will not appear.

How much a PPSR check costs

The register charges $2.00 per motor vehicle search at ppsr.gov.au. You need the VIN, a card and an email address. Budget Direct also offers the certificate free, limited to two per mobile number and in exchange for marketing consent.

Private services sit above that, from about $5 to about $55. The price buys the plate-to-VIN step, a plain-English reading of the result and sometimes recalls, valuations or odometer data. Whatever you pay, the $2 government fee is inside it.

Our PPSR check runs the search by rego or VIN for $12.95, including the $2 government fee, with the plate lookup and a decoded report.

Run a PPSR check by rego or VIN

PPSR check by state

PPSR check NSWNew South Wales PPSR check VICVictoria PPSR check QLDQueensland PPSR check WAWestern Australia PPSR check SASouth Australia PPSR check TASTasmania PPSR check ACTAustralian Capital Territory PPSR check NTNorthern Territory

Questions people ask

Is a PPSR check the same as a REVS check?

Yes. REVS was the name of the state registers that closed in January 2012 when the PPSR began. A REVS check today is a search of the PPSR, whatever the business offering it calls itself.

Can I search the PPSR by registration number?

No. The PPSR accepts a VIN, chassis number or manufacturer's number only. If you have just the plate, you need to convert it to a VIN first. The free Victorian rego check, the seller or a paid plate-based check can do that.

Does the PPSR show how much money is owing on a car?

No. No PPSR certificate shows a dollar amount. It shows that a security interest is registered and names the secured party. For the balance, ask the seller for a payout letter from the lender.

Who runs the PPSR?

The Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA), a Commonwealth Government agency. The vehicle details, stolen and written-off data on the certificate come from NEVDIS, which Austroads maintains on behalf of the state and territory registration authorities.

What does a clear PPSR certificate mean?

It means no security interest was registered against that VIN at the time of the search, and NEVDIS held no stolen or written-off record for it. It does not mean the car has no accident history, no odometer problems or no unsecured debt attached to its seller.

Does the PPSR cover motorbikes, caravans and boats?

Yes. Anything with a VIN or chassis number can be searched, and boats are searched by hull identification number. The same $2 fee applies at ppsr.gov.au.

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.