Who can search the PPS Register?

The two most common kinds of searching on the PPS Register are likely to be made by:

• potential buyers of personal property, and
• potential lenders or creditors.

Who is a grantor?

In simple terms, a grantor is a debtor, borrower, customer or lessee. A grantor may be a company, individual or other entity that grants a security interest over personal property to another party.

A grantor includes those who:

• use their personal property as security for a loan, for example a secured car loan
• use their business assets as security for a loan, for example a fixed and floating charge
• receive goods on credit terms, or
• lease personal property from another party for an extended period.

Why would a potential lender or creditor search the register?

A secured party is likely to search the PPSR as part of the process leading up to entering into a security agreement in order to:

• decide whether to provide credit to a person or organisation 
• decide whether to invest in, with or through a person or organisation 
• establish whether personal property is subject to an existing security interest.

Why would buyers of personal property search the register?

As a buyer of personal property, you would need to make sure that the personal property you are planning to buy does not have a security interest over it. For example, if you buy a car that still has money owing on it - the car could be repossessed by the person who lent money against it. By searching the PPS Register you can be sure that the property you buy is free from a security interest.

Is there a fee for a ‘search’ on the PPS Register?

There is a small fee for each search you make. You can either create an account or search as a casual user. If you don’t have an account, you will need to pay by credit card each time you search.

For information about the PPS Register fees you can visit the fees page.

What information do you need to search the PPS Register?

Buyers of personal property can search the register for a security interest in personal property using different search criteria, including:

• grantor details, or 
• the serial number of certain types of property.

What information about a grantor is kept on the PPS Register?

A secured party will sometimes be required to record information about the grantor on the PPS Register, for example, where collateral cannot be described by a serial number.

The grantor’s information that is recorded includes:

• the grantor's identifier - ABN/ACN(for an organisation that is a grantor), or
• the grantor's name and date of birth (for individual grantors).

The grantor's details and the proper source of those details will vary, depending on whether the grantor is an individual, company or other organisation.

Lawful searching of the PPS Register

The Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) protects grantors and other members of the public from misuse of the PPS Register. The PPS Act has penalties to protect people’s privacy. For more information see the privacy page.