PPSR check ACT: $2 government certificate included, from $12.95

The certificate reports security interests registered against the VIN, with each secured party named. It shows the stolen status held nationally and any write-off entry, statutory or repairable, with incident codes and the recording state. It also prints the plate, expiry, make, model and colour held against the VIN.

For a Canberra car, the recording state on a write-off entry is the detail to read first. An ACT entry and a NSW entry mean different things for what can be registered where, and a car bought in Queanbeyan may carry either.

A PPSR search costs $2.00 at ppsr.gov.au and returns the certificate we deliver. The Access Canberra free rego check prints no VIN, so to use the $2 option you need the seller to show you the compliance plate or the registration papers.

Our $12.95 certificate includes the plate lookup, the certificate unaltered, a one-line verdict and a free re-run if you mistype. The $27.95 report decodes write-off codes, lists open recalls, adds build and identity data for 2021-onward cars and includes a free finance re-check within 14 days. Every receipt separates the $2.00 search fee from our fee.

The ACT allows a repairable write-off to be registered again once it passes an identity and repair inspection. Unlike the identity-only inspections in some states, the ACT inspection also looks at the repair itself. A statutory write-off cannot be registered in the ACT or anywhere else.

The contrast with NSW is sharp. Across the border a repairable write-off generally cannot be re-registered at all. A repaired write-off that is legal on ACT plates may not be transferable to NSW registration later. If you live in Queanbeyan or plan to move, that affects resale.

The PPSR entry stays with the VIN whatever inspection it passes.

Private buyers run hand searches from listings, often for cars advertised in both Canberra and NSW. Licensed dealers must sell cars free of encumbrances and search their stock. Lenders search before approving finance and register their own interest. Auction houses supply certificates with lots.

Insurers and assessors notify ACT write-offs, which reach the certificate through the national data.

1. Enter the ACT plate and select ACT, or type the VIN.
2. Confirm the make, model and year returned by the plate lookup.
3. Choose the certificate at $12.95 or the report at $27.95 and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
4. Read the verdict; the certificate PDF and its 16-digit search number arrive by email within minutes.

• The payout figure on any finance. Ask the secured party.
• Owner count. No public ACT report lists it, and the PPSR holds none.
• Whether repairs after an ACT inspection will satisfy another state later.
• Service history, odometer accuracy or unreported damage.