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

WA calls registration a vehicle licence, and the free DoT WA check now masks part of the VIN. That means most WA buyers cannot go straight to ppsr.gov.au with what the free check gives them. Here is the short route.

1. Enter the WA plate and select WA, or type the VIN from the licence papers or the chassis plate.
2. Confirm the make, model and year we return from the plate lookup.
3. Choose the $12.95 certificate or the $27.95 car check report and pay.
4. Your verdict page opens at once. The certificate PDF, with its 16-digit search number, is emailed within minutes.

The certificate covers money owing, theft and write-offs. A security interest means a lender has a registered claim on the car and the right to take it back if the loan is not paid. A stolen flag comes from the national NEVDIS data, which the state police forces supply. A write-off record shows whether the car was declared statutory or repairable.

Western Australia records both kinds on the national register. A repairable write-off has to pass an inspection before the Department of Transport will license it again, and the record stays on the PPSR for life. For a buyer in WA that record is a price and paperwork question rather than an automatic no.

The certificate also prints the plate, licence expiry, make, model and colour held against the VIN, which is a quick way to catch a car wearing someone else’s plates.

The DoT WA free licence check on wa.gov.au confirms the licence status and expiry date and the make, model and colour. It is worth thirty seconds before you drive across Perth to see a car. If the licence lapsed months ago, ask why.

It does not report finance, stolen status or write-offs, and it now prints only part of the VIN. So it cannot replace a PPSR search, and it cannot supply the VIN that search needs. The wa.gov.au page itself tells buyers to use the PPSR for encumbrances.

A free REVS check in WA does not exist, and a page that promises one is usually selling the same certificate we are. The honest minimum is $2.00 at ppsr.gov.au, which you can pay yourself if the seller gives you the full VIN.

What we add for $12.95 is the plate lookup, so you need nothing from the seller before you search. You also get a verdict that reads in one glance and a free re-run if a character was wrong. The $27.95 report decodes the write-off damage codes, lists open recalls and includes a free finance re-check within 14 days. Every receipt shows the $2.00 search fee separately.

Perth is a long way from the eastern-state car markets, and some used cars for sale there arrived from interstate on a truck. A certificate shows the state that recorded a write-off and the plate currently held against the VIN, which tells you whether the car has recently crossed the border.

For a Perth private sale, search once when you first see the car and again on the day you pay. The second search costs the same and closes the gap in which a seller could draw down a new loan.

• The loan balance. The register never records a figure; the secured party does.
• Previous owners. No WA report lists owner counts to the public.
• The quality of repairs after a WA write-off inspection.
• Mechanical condition, service history or odometer accuracy.