Different PPSR search options
A PPSR search is an inquiry conducted to find out the outstanding loan on a personal property, which could be a tangible or intangible asset. An affirmative result is a PPSR search shows that there is a money owing against the property. In short, it means that when you lease or buy the property, the lender who had the property listed as a security interest can repossess it should the seller default on payment. PPSR searches are important in knowing the financial owing on personal property prior to leasing or purchase.
Different personal properties can be run under the PPSR search. These include:
- Car searches: these are searches conducted on cars. Typically, PPSR searches on cars are undertaken using the vehicle’s VIN
- Motor vehicles: motor vehicles are any machines that can move on the road and have a power greater than 200W. PPSR searches involving motor vehicles include those for trucks, motorcycles, caravans and trailers
- Watercraft: these include boats taken as security for loans
PPSR checks come in handy when you want to purchase an expensive property from a private seller (worth more than $5,000), provide credit or even invest in, with or through a person or organization.
These different types of PPSR searches are conducted using various criteria. Below are the PPSR search options commonly used to retrieve data from the government’s Personal Property Securities Register.
Search by Serial Number
Serial numbers vary depending on the type of property you want to search for in the PPS Register. For instance, the serial number for a car or any other motor vehicle is its VIN whereas that of a boat is its Hull Identification Number (HIN) or official number. Intellectual properties are identified using their patent, design, plant breeder’s or trademark number depending on the type of product you are looking for. Aircraft and their parts have their manufacturer’s number or registration marks combined with the Aircraft nationality as their serial numbers.
Search by Grantor
These refer to the individuals or organizations acting as lenders. For individual grantors, you will need the date of birth and name of the person whereas only the organization number or identifier will be needed to run a company search.
Search by Point in Time
You can search for a personal property based on the time it was most likely registered, or any other significant period. For this search, you will need the timeline, as well as the name and date of birth if the individual in question. In case you are looking for an organization, you will need its identifier. The serial number of the property in question also comes in handy in this search.
Ordinal Search
This is whereby you look up a property using two PPSR numbers. You can use this option if you are sure there are two secured parties for a single property.
Search by PPSR Registration Number
The PPSR registration number is the identification used to pull up records of financial owing of a property using the number assigned to it during registration. For cars, this number is usually the VIN/Chassis Number.