REVS check Money owing? Stolen? Written off?
Know before you buy. Search by VIN or number plate and get the official PPSR search certificate, plus a plain-English summary, emailed in minutes.*
- Cars
- Motorbikes
- Trucks
- Trailers
- Caravans
One-off price. No account or subscription.
- Minutes, not days to your inbox
- All 8 states & territories
- Free re-check for 14 days†
- Email & SMS updates
The name stuck. The register moved on.
Plenty of buyers, and plenty of dealers, still ask for a “REVS check”. Here is why the search you need today is a PPSR search — and why that is good news if the car is interstate.
- REVS
Before 2012
Every state kept its own register
In NSW it was REVS — the Register of Encumbered Vehicles. A car financed in one state could be invisible to a search in another.
- 2012
30 January 2012
One national register replaced them all
The Personal Property Securities Register took over every state register, so one search now covers finance owed anywhere in Australia.
- Now
Today
A REVS check is a PPSR search
Same three questions — money owing, stolen, written off — answered for a vehicle registered in any state or territory.
Everything the old REVS check told you — under today's names
Every check returns the same complete picture, whether you searched by plate or VIN.
Money owing
Any security interest registered against the vehicle, with the lender's name and contact details. If the seller still owes money, the lender can repossess the car from you.
Written-off records
NEVDIS write-off notifications, statutory and repairable, including flood and collision damage reported by any state authority.
Stolen records
Police theft records covering the vehicle itself, its number plates and its engine number.
Registration & vehicle details
State of registration, the plate on record and its expiry, plus make, model, body, colour, year and engine number — so you can confirm the vehicle matches the ad.
Official PPSR search certificate
The certificate issued by the register, as a PDF. It is your legal proof the search was made, and protects your interest if a claim is raised later.
Not included, by anyone honestly: service history, odometer readings and valuations. The register does not hold them, so a check that promises them is sourcing them elsewhere. See exactly what's included
Your REVS check report
19 Oct 2026 · PPSR search 160204417781- Make
- Toyota
- Model
- Hilux
- Colour
- White
- Body type
- Utility
- Plate
- EKL42P · NSW
- Engine number
- 1GD02•••••
Two things arrive, and you keep both
- 1A summary you can actually read
Every result in plain English, with the question that matters most — is there money owing — answered at the top.
- 2The official certificate, attached
The PPSR search certificate itself, as a PDF. If a financier later claims an interest in the vehicle, that certificate is what protects you.
Want it by text as well?
Add SMS at checkout — free — and we'll text you the headline answer and your report link the moment it's ready, and again if the finance changes during the free re-check.
Still negotiating? Re-check it free.†
Where finance is owing, the details can change before you settle. For 14 days we re-check that security interest at no cost and tell you if it changes.
Three steps, about a minute
- 1
Enter VIN or plate
The 17-character VIN, or switch to Number Plate and pick the state it's registered in.
- 2
Pay securely
a one-off fee by VIN, a one-off fee by number plate. Visa, Mastercard or American Express. No account needed.
- 3
Get your report
Emailed — and texted, if you like — usually within minutes.* If a plate matches more than one vehicle, you pick yours before the PPSR search runs.
What buyers ask about REVS checks
Can I still get a REVS check?
Yes — under its current name. REVS, the NSW Register of Encumbered Vehicles, was folded into the national Personal Property Securities Register in January 2012 along with every other state register. A REVS check today is a PPSR search, which is exactly what this is.
Does it cover cars registered outside NSW?
Yes. The PPSR is national, so finance registered in any state shows up. Searching by number plate works for all eight states and territories — just pick the right one.
Can I really search by number plate?
Yes. The PPSR itself only searches by VIN or chassis number, so once you’ve paid we match your plate and state to the vehicle through the national registration database and run the PPSR search on that vehicle’s VIN. If the plate matches more than one vehicle, we stop and ask which is yours first.
Does the seller find out I searched?
No. A PPSR search is confidential. Nothing is sent to the owner, the dealer or the financier, and the search leaves no trace against the vehicle.
What if my report doesn’t arrive?
Check your junk folder first. If it’s not there, use Find my report: your reference opens it straight away, and so does the VIN or plate plus the email address you used.
Five minutes now beats
a repossession later.
A vehicle with finance owing can be taken from you — even if you paid for it in full.
* Delivery time. Reports are issued within minutes while the Personal Property Securities Register is available. The register has scheduled maintenance windows, set out in our Terms & Conditions. A search requested during a maintenance window is issued as soon as the register reopens.
† Free re-check. The 14-day free re-check applies only to vehicles that returned a registered security interest (finance owing). It re-checks whether those security interest details have changed. Stolen and written-off records are not re-checked.