PPSR search before you buy a business in Australia: search the seller, not the coffee machine
By Grig Kochedykov · . Registry pages, fees and search figures reviewed against ppsr.gov.au on 29 October 2026.
Before you pay for a business in Australia, search the PPSR against the seller. It costs $2.00 online and shows whether anyone has registered a claim over the seller's equipment and other goods. A coffee machine, a computer or a pump cannot be found by its serial number: only a search on the seller finds it.
Start here: the registry's page for an organisation search (a company) or an individual search (a sole trader). Each page has a button to start the search. Step 1 lists what you need first.
General information, not legal advice. Registry pages and fees as published on ppsr.gov.au on 29 October 2026.
What the search protects you from
The PPSR (Personal Property Securities Register) is "the official government register of security interests in personal property" (About the PPSR). A security interest is a claim over goods that back a debt, for example equipment bought on finance. The register covers things like cars, company assets, boats and used goods, but not land or fixtures (things built into the premises).
In the registry's words: "If you don't do a search and buy property that has a security interest registered over it, you're at risk of the goods being repossessed even though you've paid for them" (Searching).
Step 1. Get the seller's details in writing
The search needs exact numbers and names, and a listing may show only a trade name. So first ask the seller, in writing, for:
- the company's ACN (Australian Company Number, the company's registration number), and its ABN (Australian Business Number, a second number many businesses also have) if it has one;
- for a sole trader, the full name and date of birth as on their ID;
- the serial number of every vehicle, trailer and boat in the sale;
- a list of what is on finance, lease, rental or hire purchase: which items, with whom, and how much is owed on each.
Ask before exchange: the day the sale contract becomes binding on both sides.
Step 2. Search the seller, not only the serial numbers
The registry finds goods in two ways: by the item's serial number, or by the details of the grantor, "usually the seller" (Serial numbered vs non-serial numbered search). What is in the sale decides which one you need.
| What is in the sale | How to search |
|---|---|
| A coffee machine, a computer, a pump, other machinery and equipment | The seller's details only. The registry: "jack hammers, irrigation pumps, computers and coffee machines are not considered serial numbered goods" |
| A car, van, ute (pickup truck), trailer or boat | Its serial number (for a vehicle: the VIN, chassis or manufacturer's number), one search per item |
| A bobcat, excavator or backhoe | Both ways. The registry says a bobcat "may not be regarded as a motor vehicle; but an excavator, harvester or backhoe might be" |
Who the seller is decides how you search the seller (Do an organisation search, Do an individual search):
| The seller is | Search | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| A company | organisation search | its ACN |
| A sole trader, even one with an ABN | individual search | full name, spelt exactly, and date of birth |
| A partnership with an ABN | organisation search on the partnership's ABN; the registry's individual search page says you "may consider searching on each partner as an individual" too | the ABN; each partner's full name and date of birth |
| A trust with an ABN | organisation search on the trust's ABN; the registry's individual search page says you may also consider "searching on the individual" | the ABN; who the trustee is |
| A partnership without an ABN | individual search on each partner | each partner's full name and date of birth |
| A trust without an ABN | a search on the trustee; the registry's individual search page: "The trustee may be an individual or organisation" | who the trustee is; ask the seller for the documents that show it |
Three things decide whether the search finds anything:
- The right number. For a company, search its ACN. If it also has an ABN, search that too. The registry says a registration made against the wrong number "will be defective and have no legal effect", but it suggests searching it "to avoid potential future disputes" (Do an organisation search).
- Exact spelling. The PPSR uses "exact match searching" (How the PPSR searches the database). A wrong letter in a name or a wrong date of birth can hide a registration. The registry suggests checking both against the person's ID, such as a driver licence.
- A reason for an individual search. You need an authorised purpose. Checking whether a security interest is registered against the person's property is one the registry lists. "Searching for an individual without an authorised search purpose can attract serious penalties" (Do an individual search).
The cost. A search is $2.00 online and $7.00 through the contact centre. "PPSR fees are not subject to GST." A search certificate, new or a copy, has no fee (Fees for using the PPSR).
Step 3. Read the certificate
Every search ends with a search certificate. The registry calls it "your legal record of the search".
- Nothing registered. For an organisation, the certificate says: "There is no security interest or other registration kind registered on the PPSR against the organisation grantor identifier in the search criteria details." That covers only the number you typed. The registry also warns that some security interests take effect without being registered: "You may not receive protection from these security interests." A search can "reduce your risk"; it does not end it.
- A registration. It "means someone claims to have an interest in the property of the organisation". It is a claim, not a proven debt. The certificate names who registered it and how to reach them.
- No amounts. "A PPSR search won't tell you the value of any interests or assets." It tells you whom to ask.
- Several registrations. The search certificate shows only one registration at a time. If the search finds several, open each one and save a certificate for it.
Put the certificates next to the seller's finance list from Step 1. A registration the seller did not mention is your first question.
Step 4. If a registration comes up: three ways out
Settlement is the day you pay and take over the business.
| Way out | What to ask for in the contract |
|---|---|
| The lender is paid from the price at settlement | settlement only after the lender releases its claim over the items you buy in writing and ends the registration |
| The item comes out of the sale | a lower price, by the item's value |
| You take over the finance | the lender's written consent, and a lower price, by the amount owed |
Have a solicitor put these into the contract.
Ending a registration costs the lender nothing: "There's no fee to end a registration." The lender does it online, in its PPSR account. The registry says registrations "should be ended as soon as practicable - generally within 5 business days" after the claim ends. The same page sets a firm 5-business-day deadline for two kinds of goods: serial-numbered property, and property used mainly for personal, domestic or household purposes (End a registration). Our reading: a café's coffee machine is neither, so put a date for ending the registration into the contract.
Step 5. Search again just before settlement
For a car, van or ute, the registry says the lender generally cannot repossess it from you if you search its correct serial number "on the actual day or day before the sale" and the search shows nothing registered against that number. For a boat and other serial-numbered goods, the search must be done "immediately before" you buy. There are exceptions, for example if you knew about the claim, or if the seller is the one listed as holding the claim (How the PPSR protects buyers and lessees).
For all goods, the same page says you generally keep them if nobody registered a claim, unless it took effect another way. There are exceptions, for example if you knew about the claim or bought the goods as inventory, that is, stock you mean to sell. So run the seller search again on the same day: a claim registered after your first search shows up there.
Where the listing fits
A listing may show only a trade name. A PPSR search needs a number or a full name. So your questions start with the listing.
Our free extension for Chrome and Edge reads a business-for-sale listing. "Open a business-for-sale listing and press “Download PDF”. You get a report on the 12 things a check of the business needs: what the listing says about each, and which ones it does not say." The report "reads only the listing page and no official records", so the PPSR search is a separate step. The gaps it shows go on the same list as the ACN and the finance questions.
Keep that PDF with your PPSR certificates and the seller's written answers. Together they show what you were told, what the register held, and on which date.
- The extension. Add to Chrome — free or Add to Edge — free. "The extension works in Chrome or Edge on a computer."
- Your account. "Saving a listing takes a My list account. In it, the listings you save from different sites sit in one place." Create my account.
What else to look at before you buy, from the lease to the permits, is in our due diligence guide.
For scale: from July 2025 to June 2026 the PPSR ran 13,675,502 searches, 5,511,493 of them against an organisation (our sum of its monthly figures). Lenders run searches too, not only buyers.
Sources
- PPSR, About the PPSR (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, Searching (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, Fees for using the PPSR (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, Serial numbered vs non-serial numbered search (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, Do an organisation search (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, Do an individual search (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, How the PPSR searches the database (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, How the PPSR protects buyers and lessees (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR, End a registration (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- PPSR statistics, Searches by type (monthly CSV); the 12-month sums are ours (retrieved 29 October 2026)
- Provenance Diligence, Free extension (retrieved 29 October 2026)