Insight
PPSR Check Australia: How to Search the Personal Property Securities Register
08 Jan 2026
A PPSR check — a search of the Personal Property Securities Register — is the single cheapest piece of legal due diligence available in Australia. For a few dollars, it tells you whether the car, machine, boat or business asset you're about to buy is already collateral for someone else's loan. Skip it, and you can lose the asset after you have paid for it in full.
What is the PPSR?
The Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) is Australia's national online register of security interests in personal property. It was established by the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) ("PPSA") and is administered by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) at ppsr.gov.au.
"Personal property" under the PPSA means almost anything other than land — motor vehicles, plant and equipment, boats, aircraft, inventory, crops, livestock, intellectual property, shares, and contractual rights. If it can be owned and moved (physically or legally), the PPSR is where security interests over it are recorded.
PPSR Australia at a glance
- Register operator: AFSA (federal government agency)
- Governing law: Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth)
- Search cost: $2.00 per basic search (as at 2026)
- Registration cost: $6.80 for up to 7 years; $34.00 for 7–25 years
- What it covers: Every state and territory — the PPSA replaced 70+ separate state registers in January 2012
- Who uses it: Banks, finance companies, equipment lessors, suppliers on retention of title, and any buyer doing due diligence
Why a PPSR check matters before you buy
Under section 43 of the PPSA, a properly registered security interest generally survives the sale of the asset. If you buy a ute with an outstanding chattel mortgage registered against it, the financier can repossess the ute from you — even though you paid the seller in full and had no idea a security interest existed.
The register exists so that this risk is knowable. A $2 search is your protection. In the second-hand car market alone, thousands of vehicles are sold each year with undisclosed PPSR registrations against them.
There are limited "taking free" rules — for example, buyers of motor vehicles in the ordinary course of a dealer's business, or purchasers of consumer property under $5,000 — but relying on those rules without searching first is a poor risk trade for a few dollars.
How to do a PPSR search: step by step
- Go to ppsr.gov.au — you can search as a casual user without opening an account.
- Choose the correct search type. The three main types are:
- Motor vehicle — search by VIN or chassis number (17 characters).
- Serial-numbered goods — for boats, aircraft, watercraft, and other listed goods.
- Grantor — search against an individual's name and date of birth, or an organisation's ACN/ABN/ARBN.
- Pay the $2 fee by credit card.
- Download the search certificate immediately. The certificate is time-stamped and is admissible evidence.
- Store the certificate. It is your proof of the "buyer in the ordinary course" defence if a dispute arises later. Keep it with the bill of sale.
State-specific PPSR searches
The PPSR is a single national register, but many buyers still search by state name out of habit. If you're looking at a specific state, see our dedicated guides:
How to read a PPSR search result
A search certificate will show either "no registrations found" or one or more registrations. Each registration lists:
- Secured party — the party with the interest (usually a bank or financier)
- Grantor — the party who granted the security (usually the current or previous owner)
- Collateral class — the type of property covered (e.g. "motor vehicle", "all present and after-acquired property")
- Registration date and expiry
- Whether it's a PMSI (purchase money security interest)
An "all present and after-acquired property" (AllPAAP) registration against a company is common — it usually means a bank has a general security agreement over that company. It doesn't automatically mean the specific asset is encumbered, but you should ask the seller for a release before settling.
Registering your own security interest on the PPSR
If your business does any of the following, you should be registering on the PPSR:
- Selling goods on retention of title (ROT) — until the buyer pays in full
- Hiring out equipment for more than one year (or where the hirer is a company, more than one year is now the trigger — the two-year rule was repealed in 2017)
- Taking security for a loan or trade credit
- Consignment sales where risk of loss stays with the consignor
- Deferred purchase price arrangements
Failure to register — or registering late, in the wrong collateral class, against the wrong grantor, or without perfecting a PMSI within the strict timeframes — can leave you unsecured in an insolvency. The consequences are stark: in the Forge Group case, an equipment lessor lost $50 million of turbines to the liquidator because of an unperfected security interest.
PMSIs and the 15-business-day rule
A purchase money security interest (PMSI) is a special class of security interest that gives super-priority — it beats an earlier AllPAAP registration if it's perfected correctly and on time. For inventory, the PMSI must be registered before the grantor takes possession. For non-inventory collateral, registration must occur within 15 business days after the grantor takes possession. Miss the window, and you lose PMSI priority.
Common PPSR mistakes we see
- Registering against the trading name instead of the company's ACN
- Registering against a director personally when the customer is a company
- Failing to tick the PMSI box
- Registering after the goods are delivered (missing the 15-business-day window)
- Not renewing before the seven-year expiry
- Registering against the wrong collateral class
Frequently asked questions
How much does a PPSR search cost in Australia?
A basic PPSR search costs $2.00 per search. Larger businesses can open a customer account for bulk searching and receive itemised invoices.
Is the PPSR the same in every Australian state?
Yes. The PPSR is a national federal register. It replaced more than 70 separate state and Commonwealth registers when it commenced on 30 January 2012.
How long does a PPSR registration last?
You can register for up to 7 years ($6.80), up to 25 years ($34.00), or indefinitely for consumer property. Registrations can be renewed before expiry.
What happens if I don't check the PPSR before I buy?
If a security interest is registered against the asset and you don't fall within one of the narrow "taking free" rules in the PPSA, the secured party can repossess the asset from you even after you've paid the seller in full.
Can I remove a PPSR registration against my property?
Yes — the secured party is required to discharge the registration once the debt is paid. If they don't, you can serve an amendment demand under section 178 of the PPSA. If they still don't act within five business days, you can apply to AFSA for administrative removal.
Get help with PPSR registrations or a dispute
Envision Legal advises businesses on PPSR strategy, registers PMSIs and general security interests, reviews existing registrations for validity, and acts in PPSR disputes and priority contests. If you are unsure whether your registrations are valid — or you have discovered a registration against an asset you've bought — get advice before the position gets worse.
This article contains general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Envision Legal accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on this content. You should seek independent legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances. For enquiries, contact Envision Legal.
Talk to us
Ready to talk it through?
Send us a note about what you're working on. We'll respond within one business day and, if we're a fit, book a free 15-minute consultation with a senior lawyer.