REVS check QLD: finance, stolen and written-off, from $12.95

Queensland has one advantage over most states: the free TMR rego check usually prints the full VIN. That gives you two routes to the same certificate, and we explain both below. If you would rather we do the work, follow these steps.

1. Enter the Queensland plate and select QLD, or paste the VIN from the TMR check or the compliance plate.
2. We show the make, model and year the plate resolves to. Confirm it is the car you are looking at.
3. Choose the $12.95 certificate or the $27.95 report, which also decodes write-off damage codes and lists open recalls.
4. Pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The verdict page opens immediately and the PDF is emailed within minutes.
5. Keep the 16-digit search number. It retrieves the certificate free from the PPSR whenever you need it again.

Finance first. The certificate lists every security interest registered against the VIN and names the secured party. A current interest means a lender could repossess the car from you, even though you paid the seller in good faith.

Then the NEVDIS block: stolen status, write-off status and the registration details held nationally for that VIN. Queensland lets a repairable write-off return to the road once it passes a Written-Off Vehicle Inspection, known as a WOVI. So a Queensland car can carry a write-off record and still be legitimately registered. The record tells you to ask for the repair invoices and the WOVI paperwork, and to price the car accordingly.

A statutory write-off is different. It cannot be re-registered anywhere in Australia and should only be sold for parts.

Start with the TMR free rego check on the Queensland Transport and Main Roads site. You accept its terms, enter the plate, and it returns the registration status and expiry, the vehicle description, the CTP insurer and the purpose of use. Purpose of use is worth a look: it reveals a former taxi, hire car or rideshare vehicle that the ad did not mention.

The TMR page does not touch finance, theft or write-offs. For those it points you to the PPSR. It also cannot search cancelled registrations, which is exactly the state an unregistered write-off tends to be in.

There is no free REVS check in Queensland, but there is a cheap one. Because the TMR check often shows the full VIN, you can copy it into ppsr.gov.au and pay the Australian Government $2.00 for the certificate. That is a reasonable path if you are comfortable reading the raw certificate.

We charge $12.95 for the same certificate and $27.95 for the report. For that you get the plate lookup when the VIN is not available and a verdict that says in one line whether the car is clear. The report tier decodes the write-off codes, and both tiers include a free re-run if you mistype. The $2.00 search fee is itemised on every receipt.

Brisbane and south-east Queensland buyers see repaired hail and flood write-offs come to market after each storm season. The certificate records flood damage as a water incident code. On the $27.95 report we decode that code so you know whether the car sat in salt or fresh water.

If you are inspecting a car in Brisbane with the seller present, run the plate before you test drive. If the certificate shows a secured party, you can ask for the payout letter on the spot.

• The amount still owing to the lender. Only a payout letter shows that.
• How many owners the car has had. Queensland does not sell an owner-count report to the public.
• Whether the WOVI repairs were done well. The inspection checks identity and compliance, not workmanship.
• Service history, odometer accuracy or unreported accident damage.