Is a REVS check the same as a PPSR check?

It is the same job under a new name. REVS, the Register of Encumbered Vehicles, was a state register. On 30 January 2012 the state registers were closed and their records moved to one national register, the PPSR. A PPSR check is what a REVS check became.

Can I still get a REVS check?

Not by that name: the REVS registers no longer exist. The check people mean when they ask for one is a PPSR search, which you can run here by rego or VIN for A$9.00.

Do I need a separate REVS check for each state?

No. That was the old problem: a car financed in one state and sold in another could look clean. The PPSR is national, so one search covers a vehicle wherever in Australia the finance was registered.

What does the check show?

Any security interest (finance owing) registered against the vehicle, whether it is recorded as written off, and whether it is recorded as stolen, on an official search certificate.

What do I need to run it?

The registration number and the state it is registered in, or the 17-character VIN. Either is enough.

REVS check

The REVS check is now the PPSR check. Same purpose, one national register. A$9.00, by rego or VIN.

Looking for a REVS check?

If someone has told you to “get a REVS check” before buying a car, this is it. REVS was the old state register of vehicles with finance owing. It was replaced in 2012 by the Personal Property Securities Register, and the check is now a PPSR search.

The purpose has not changed: finding out whether money is owed on a vehicle before you pay for it. The search is run the same way, by registration number or VIN.

One certificate covers finance owing, written-off and stolen records together.

What changed

From REVS to the PPSR

Before 2012, a loan secured against a vehicle was recorded by the state the vehicle was in. New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia each ran a Register of Encumbered Vehicles; Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania ran vehicle securities registers of their own. A buyer checked the register for their state.

On 30 January 2012 those registers were closed and their records transferred to the Personal Property Securities Register, a single national register. Since then there has been one place to look, and one search covers the whole country.

The name “REVS check” outlived the register by more than a decade. Dealers, finance brokers and plenty of buyers still say it. What they mean is a PPSR search.

What you get now

More than the old REVS check gave you

A REVS check answered one question: is there money owing on this vehicle in this state. A PPSR certificate answers that for the whole country, and adds the national record for the vehicle itself:

Finance owing: every security interest registered against the vehicle, and who holds it.
Written-off records: whether it has been written off, when, where and with what damage.
Stolen records: any police stolen-vehicle notification.
The vehicle’s recorded make, model, colour, engine number and registration details, to check against the car.

How to run it

Enter the rego and state, or the VIN, in the form above. The certificate is emailed to you as a PDF and shown on screen, with its own certificate and search numbers. No account is needed, and your card is only charged if the search returns a certificate.

Run it as close to the sale as you can. The certificate is true for the moment of the search, and finance can be registered against a vehicle at any time.

FAQ

REVS check questions

Is a REVS check the same as a PPSR check?: It is the same job under a new name. REVS, the Register of Encumbered Vehicles, was a state register. On 30 January 2012 the state registers were closed and their records moved to one national register, the PPSR. A PPSR check is what a REVS check became.
Can I still get a REVS check?: Not by that name: the REVS registers no longer exist. The check people mean when they ask for one is a PPSR search, which you can run here by rego or VIN for A$9.00.
Do I need a separate REVS check for each state?: No. That was the old problem: a car financed in one state and sold in another could look clean. The PPSR is national, so one search covers a vehicle wherever in Australia the finance was registered.
What does the check show?: Any security interest (finance owing) registered against the vehicle, whether it is recorded as written off, and whether it is recorded as stolen, on an official search certificate.
What do I need to run it?: The registration number and the state it is registered in, or the 17-character VIN. Either is enough.

Everything a certificate covers is on the PPSR check page. If you need to know what the vehicle is rather than what is attached to it, that is a VIN check.

Run the check REVS became

A$9.00 for the official certificate, by rego or VIN. You are only charged if the search returns one.

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