REVS checks are now PPSR checks
If someone told you to do a REVS check before buying a used car, they mean a PPSR check. The state registers people called REVS closed in 2012 and their records moved to one national register.
What REVS was
Before 2012, each state kept its own register of cars with money owing on them. Several were called the Register of Encumbered Vehicles, or REVS, and the name stuck. Others were called vehicle securities registers. A REVS check meant searching your state's register to see if a lender had a claim on the car.
What happened on 30 January 2012
The national Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) started on 30 January 2012. The state registers closed, and their records of money owing on cars moved to the PPSR. Since then there has been one register for the whole country, so it no longer matters which state a car is registered in, or which state it came from.
What replaced each state's register
| State | Former register | Today |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) | PPSR |
| Queensland | Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) | PPSR |
| Western Australia | Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) | PPSR |
| Victoria | Vehicle Securities Register (VicRoads) | PPSR |
| South Australia | Vehicle Securities Register | PPSR |
| Tasmania | Motor Vehicle Securities Register | PPSR |
The ACT and the Northern Territory records also moved to the PPSR.
Is a PPSR check the same as a REVS check?
It answers the same question, and more. A REVS check told you if money was owing on a car in one state. A PPSR check covers the whole country and tells you:
- whether a lender has a security interest registered against the car
- whether the car is recorded as written off
- whether the car, its engine or its plates are recorded as stolen
- the car's registration details as the register holds them
How to do a REVS check today
Enter the rego and state, or the VIN, on PPSR.org. You see the car before you pay, and get a report with the PPSR certificate for $9.95 including GST.
Whatever it's called, the finance owing answer comes from the PPSR.