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Stolen car check

Find out whether a vehicle is recorded as stolen before you buy it. A$9.00, by rego or VIN.

Is this car recorded as stolen?

A stolen car sold privately looks like any other car. The price is fair, the seller is pleasant, and there is a reason the paperwork is thin. If it is later identified, it goes back to its owner or their insurer, and the buyer is left without the car or the money.

Stolen vehicles are reported nationally by the police. A PPSR search returns that record on the official certificate, alongside finance owing and write-off history.

Run a PPSR check

$9.00 for one certificate. No account needed — emailed to you the moment it is ready.

Which state is it registered in?

Your card is only charged if the search returns a certificate.

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

On the certificate

What a stolen car check shows

Police in each state and territory report stolen vehicles to NEVDIS, the national vehicle database. A PPSR search pulls that record onto the certificate. With nothing recorded it reads: Not recorded as stolen.

When something is recorded, each notification shows:

  • What was reported: the vehicle itself, its engine, or its plates. One theft is often listed as two or three notifications for that reason.
  • The date and the state or territory of the report.
  • A police reference number to quote if you make an enquiry.

Being straight about it

What it cannot tell you

The certificate carries its own warning, and it is worth repeating: a notification, or the lack of one, does not by itself settle whether a vehicle is stolen. A car taken last night may not be on the record yet.

At the time of writing, certificates also note that stolen-vehicle information from Tasmania is not available through this service. For a Tasmanian vehicle, check with that state’s transport authority as well.

And the search is only as good as the identity you search on. Plates can be moved from one car to another, so a clean result for the plates on a car says nothing if they are not that car’s plates.

Before you hand over money

Check the car matches the certificate

The certificate lists the vehicle’s recorded make, model, body type, colour and engine number, and the VIN the register matched. Compare them with the car in front of you:

  • The VIN on the certificate against the VIN stamped on the vehicle, not only the one on the paperwork.
  • The engine number, if you can reach it.
  • The colour and body type.

A VIN plate that looks disturbed, or details that do not line up, are the signs of a vehicle wearing another one’s identity. If you only have the plate and want the VIN first, a rego-to-VIN lookup returns it.

FAQ

Stolen car check questions

How do I check if a car is stolen in Australia?
Run a PPSR search by the registration number and state, or by the VIN. The certificate reports any stolen-vehicle notification recorded against the vehicle on the national vehicle database. It costs A$9.00 here.
What does a stolen record look like on the certificate?
Each notification says what was reported stolen (the vehicle by its VIN, the engine, or the number plates), the date, the state or territory, and a police reference number.
Does a clear result prove the car is not stolen?
No, and the certificate says so itself: a stolen vehicle notification, or the absence of one, does not necessarily mean a vehicle is or is not stolen. A theft that has not been reported yet, or a car carrying another vehicle’s identity, will not show. It is strong evidence, not a guarantee.
What should I do if the car comes back as stolen?
Do not buy it and do not confront the seller. Contact the police in the state or territory named in the notification and quote the reference number on the certificate.
What happens if I buy a stolen car without knowing?
In general a stolen vehicle still belongs to the person it was taken from, or to their insurer, and it can be recovered from whoever has it. You would be left to pursue the seller for your money. That is the loss the check exists to prevent.

The same certificate also answers

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.

Check it is not stolen

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

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