What was REVS?
REVS, the Register of Encumbered Vehicles, was the New South Wales register that recorded money owing on vehicles. Buyers ran a “REVS check” to make sure a car wasn’t still under finance before they bought it. Other states had their own registers, such as Victoria’s Vehicle Securities Register.
What replaced REVS?
On 30 January 2012 the state registers were replaced by one national register, the Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR), run by the Australian Financial Security Authority. Security interests recorded on the old registers were moved across to the PPSR.
The name stuck, so a “REVS check” today means a PPSR search.
REVS check vs PPSR check
| REVS (before 2012) | PPSR (today) | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Mainly NSW-registered finance | National |
| Finance owing | Yes | Yes |
| Written-off and stolen status | Separate checks | Included in the search |
| Certificate | Yes | Yes, time-stamped |
When to run your check
On the day you pay. Finance can be registered against a vehicle at any time, so an older search may already be out of date. Our reports are emailed within 60 minutes, so you can order before you meet the seller.