How to PPSR check a caravan
Before any money moves.
Two dollars and a VIN tell you whether someone else still has a claim on the van.
Updated . 11 min read • Buying Guide
A PPSR search tells you whether the register holds a security interest, such as a loan, against the caravan. The certificate is your legal record.
It costs $2.00 online, and you search the VIN or chassis number rather than the plate. The register does not tell you the amount owing or the van's condition.
- Search by - the VIN or chassis number (never the number plate, and a caravan has no engine number)
- Cost - $2.00 online, $7.00 by phone (no GST, the certificate is included)
- Does not show - how much is owed (nor ownership history, odometer or fines)
What a PPSR check shows
The Personal Property Securities Register is the national register of security interests. In plain terms, it records when someone other than the owner has a claim on a thing. Most often that claim is a loan secured against it. Search a caravan's VIN and the register tells you whether it holds a security interest against that van. If one exists and the seller does not clear it before you pay, the lender can still come for the van. Whether you knew makes no difference.
You also get a search certificate. The register describes it as a legal record of your results, and that is exactly what it is for: proof of what the register said on the day you checked. Keep it with the sale paperwork.
The register cannot see the van
The PPSR tells you about paper, not plywood. It says nothing about water damage, chassis rust, brake wear or whether the fridge works. Going to see a caravan covers the physical inspection. This page covers the records, and you need both.
What it does not show
This is the part that saves you from a false sense of safety. The register itself lists these as information a search does not give you.
- How much is owed. A security interest tells you a claim exists. The size of it stays with the lender, and the certificate gives you their details so you can ask.
- Ownership history. The PPSR is not a title register and does not name the owner or any owner before.
- Odometer readings and outstanding fines. Neither is recorded against a caravan on the PPSR.
It is also not a stolen-vehicle database in its own right. Stolen and written-off flags come from the state and territory road authorities through a national database called NEVDIS, and that has gaps for caravans that we cover further down.
The number you search
You search the VIN, the 17-character vehicle identification number, on anything built from 1989 onward. On an older van you search the chassis number instead. You cannot search by number plate, and you cannot search by engine number, which on a caravan does not exist anyway.
Where the VIN lives varies by maker and era. It is usually stamped on the chassis, often on the drawbar, and printed on the compliance plate. Our compliance plate guide shows what to look for and where.
Why a serial search can come back with several vehicles
Some older vans and trailers carry only a manufacturer's number rather than a true VIN. The register's own warning is that those numbers are often not unique, so searching on one alone may not protect you, and a search can return more than one vehicle. If that happens, do not pick the one that looks right. Go back to the seller for every number on the van, search each, and if the result is still ambiguous, treat the certificate as unfinished business rather than a clean bill.
What it costs and how to run it
A search on the official register costs $2.00 online or $7.00 by phone, and the fee carries no GST. The certificate is included, and a copy of a previous certificate is free. You pay by card, and the register is open around the clock.
Run it at ppsr.gov.au, which is the only place this page links to for a search. Plenty of sites offer a check built on the same register. The search itself, run on the register, is two dollars and takes a couple of minutes.
- Find the VIN or chassis number on the van and on the paperwork, and check they match.
- Go to ppsr.gov.au and choose the used car or vehicle search.
- Enter the number, pay the fee, and download the certificate.
- Read the result with the next two sections open.
- Keep the certificate with your sale documents.
When to run it
The day you buy, or the day before. The register's protection for a buyer is tied to a search on the day or the day before the sale. A search you ran three weeks ago when you first saw the ad is a record of three weeks ago, and a security interest can be registered at any point in between.
The certificate is a snapshot. It is never updated after you download it, and downloading it does not by itself give you legal protection; the timing of the search does. If the sale drags out, spend another two dollars.
Reading the result
The certificate has two halves, and they come from two different places.
The security interest half comes from the PPSR itself. If a security interest is recorded you will see the secured party's details. No interests recorded means nothing was on the register against that number at the moment you searched.
The vehicle details half comes from NEVDIS, the national database the state road authorities feed. Stolen and written-off flags appear there, along with make, model and year.
One word trips people up. "Registration" on the PPSR means a security interest has been registered against the van. It has nothing to do with whether the van is registered for the road. Those are different registers run by different people.
A written-off flag comes in two kinds, and the certificate shows which. A repairable write-off can be repaired, inspected to that state's rules and registered again. A statutory write-off is the category a state has ruled cannot be re-registered. The state that recorded the flag holds the detail.
The parts that only apply to caravans
Most PPSR guides are written about cars. Four things are different for a van, and every one of them is in the register's own guidance.
- No engine number. A caravan does not have one, so that field on the certificate reads "no data recorded", which is not a fault in the search.
- An unregistered van may return no vehicle details at all. A van that was never registered, or has sat unregistered for a long time, can come back with no NEVDIS information. The security interest half still works, because that is keyed to the serial number and not to registration. So an empty vehicle-details section is neither a clean result nor a failed search, and you need a second source for the stolen and written-off questions.
- Trailer serials are often not unique. See the number section above. A multi-vehicle result on a van is common enough that the register names trailers as prone to it.
- Tasmania keeps its own stolen data. NEVDIS covers stolen status for every state and territory other than Tasmania. A Tasmanian-registered van needs a separate search on the Transport Tasmania website.
If something shows up
A result with something on it still leaves you options, and the certificate tells you who to take each one up with.
- A security interest. The secured party's details are on the certificate. Ask the seller to have the registration removed before you pay, then search again to see that it is gone. Paying first and trusting it will be sorted is how people lose vans.
- A written-off flag you think is wrong. Take it to the road authority in the state that recorded it. The PPSR displays the flag; it does not own it.
- A stolen flag. That is a matter for the police in the state concerned. Do not try to sort it out privately with the seller.
- More than one vehicle. Get every number off the van, search each, and if two vans share a number, ask the secured party in writing which vehicle their interest attaches to.
- Details that do not match the van in front of you. A make, model or year on the certificate that does not match what you are looking at can mean a typo, or it can mean the VIN has been altered. Do not guess. A free registration check by plate on the state's own site is a quick cross-check.
Buying from a dealer or privately
The register's own wording is that a buyer from a licensed dealer is generally protected, and may also be protected against an unregistered interest. Generally, and may, are the register's words and we keep them. Two dollars covers the cases those words leave open, whoever you are buying from.
The private-versus-dealer guide goes through the rest of that trade-off.
The state checks that sit beside it
Every state and territory offers a free registration check by plate on its own site. It is worth running beside the PPSR search because it answers a different question: whether the van is currently registered, and until when.
Written-off vehicle registers are run by the states. New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia, Tasmania and the ACT each publish that caravans are within the scope of theirs. Victoria's own vehicle-report page says its report does not cover trailers or caravans, so in Victoria the written-off question needs another route: ask the seller for the van's history and inspect with that in mind.
Next in the used-buying run: the used caravan buying guide for the full checklist, going to see a caravan for the inspection, and where to buy used caravans if you are still looking.
PPSR check questions, answered
What does a PPSR check show on a caravan?
It shows whether a security interest, such as a loan, is recorded against the caravan's VIN or chassis number, who the secured party is, and the vehicle details the state road authorities hold on it, including stolen and written-off flags where they exist. You also receive a search certificate as a legal record of the result.
How much does a PPSR check on a caravan cost?
$2.00 online or $7.00 by phone on the official register, with no GST. The certificate is included, and a copy of a past certificate is free.
Can you do a PPSR check on a caravan without a VIN?
Yes. On an older van you search the chassis number, and a manufacturer's number can be searched as a fallback. The register warns that manufacturer's numbers are often not unique, so a search on one alone may not protect you and can return more than one vehicle.
Do you need the registration number or the VIN for a PPSR check?
The VIN, or the chassis number on a van built before 1989. A number plate cannot be searched on the PPSR.
When should you run the PPSR check when buying a caravan?
On the day you buy, or the day before. The register ties its protection for a buyer to a search on the day or the day before the sale, so an older search leaves a gap.
Does a PPSR certificate expire?
The register does not describe the certificate as valid for a period. It is a record of what the register held at the moment you searched, it is not updated after you download it, and the protection comes from the timing of the search rather than from holding the document. If time passes, search again.
What does it mean if a caravan has a security interest registered against it?
Someone other than the seller, usually a lender, has a claim recorded over the van. Unless it is removed before you buy, that party can still enforce it after the sale. The secured party's details are on the certificate, so the seller can have it discharged and you can search again to confirm.
Does a PPSR check tell you how much money is owing on the caravan?
No. The register records that a security interest exists; the amount is never part of the record. The certificate gives you the secured party's details, and the amount is a question for them or for the seller.
What is the difference between a statutory write-off and a repairable write-off?
Both mean a state road authority has recorded the van as written off. A repairable write-off can be repaired, inspected to that state's rules and registered again. A statutory write-off is the category a state has ruled cannot be re-registered. The certificate shows which applies, and the state that recorded it holds the detail.
Why does my caravan's PPSR result say "no data recorded"?
Most often because the field is the engine number, and a caravan does not have one; the register gives caravans and trailers as its own example. If the whole vehicle-details section is empty, the van may never have been registered or may have been unregistered for a long time. The security interest part of the result is still complete either way.
Why did the PPSR search return more than one vehicle?
Because the number you searched is not unique. Manufacturer's numbers and some older chassis numbers are shared across vehicles, and the register names trailers as prone to this. Search every number on the van and, if it is still unclear, ask the secured party in writing which vehicle their interest attaches to.
Do you still need a PPSR check when buying a caravan from a dealer?
The register says a buyer from a licensed dealer is generally protected, and may also be protected against an unregistered interest. Generally and may are the words to hold onto. For two dollars most buyers run it anyway and keep the certificate.
Is a PPSR check the same as a REVS check?
REVS is an older name you will still see, including on some state agency pages. Today the search that shows security interests over a vehicle is run on the national PPSR, and that is where to go.
Do you need a PPSR check on an unregistered caravan?
Yes, and with more care than usual. The security interest search works on the serial number whether or not the van is registered. The vehicle-details half may come back empty for an unregistered van, which means the stolen and written-off questions need a second source, such as the state's written-off register where caravans are in scope.