Searching for a motor vehicle

How to get the best results

When making a motor vehicle search you’ll need to enter one or more of the following identifiers:

  1. Registration number
  2. Chassis number
  3. Vehicle identification number (VIN)

The motor vehicle search is an ‘or’ search. This means it will return registered financing statements that match any one of your search criteria.

The more search criteria you enter, the wider your search becomes. So it's best to enter as many details as you can.

New Zealand Companies Office

View transcript

Transcript

Duration: 3:20

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Welcome to this short video on how to make a quick search for motor vehicles on the PPSR.

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website on mobile phone

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If you wish to search the PPSR as an individual user, you can now log in with your Google or Facebook username and password. If you are an organisation, please use RealMe to log in. For this video, we'll be logging in with Google.

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Choose an account

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Once you've logged in, you'll be taken to the register new user screen.

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Scrolling down new user screen

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You'll be asked for your name, address, and contact details.

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Filling in contact information

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Check your user details, and then if necessary, confirm that you've read and agreed to the terms and conditions and privacy statement, and click on Create. Registering is something you will need to do just once. You'll be taken straight to the Motor Vehicle search screen. First, confirm that you are conducting the search for a legitimate reason.

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Ticking privacy statement box

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Then enter the necessary information, registration number, vehicle identification number, and chassis number. You should provide as many of the identifying numbers as you can. The search will return financing statements for any of the numbers you've entered.

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Clicking proceed to payment, breakdown of fees, fee details

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On the payment screen, you have a choice of three options, credit card, debit card, and internet banking. Direct debit is also available, but you need to set it up beforehand. If you choose to pay by credit card, tick Retain Credit Card for Future Payment. This will speed things up the next time you need to search.

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Using drop down to select credit card

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Enter your credit card details

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Typing credit card information and clicking red submit button

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and click Submit.

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Search results appear

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Once you've completed payment, you'll be taken to the search results screen where you can see a summary of the search. On this occasion, the search has produced no results. With our new mobile friendly search, you can immediately download, print, or email a list of the results in PDF format. To make another search, click the Search Again button. You can view your recent searches by clicking on the Visit my Recent Searches link at the bottom of the screen.

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My recent searches, date, type, criteria

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Your search results are saved for a period of 14 days. The results are accurate as at the time and date of the search. By clicking on the search ID, you may view your search result again.

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Clicking menu, dashboard, my tools, recent searches

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You can also access your search history from your dashboard under My Tools, and My Recent searches. If you have any questions about the quick search service or anything to do with the PPSR, contact the Companies Office.

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N.Z.B.N. business

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Check out our Contact Us page for details.

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Logo, New Zealand Companies Office. Personal Property Securities Register. ppsr.govt.nz

A vehicle’s registration number is easily accessible and is therefore commonly used for search purposes. However, whereas a registration number can change, the unique 17-character VIN does not, making it the best way to identify a vehicle.

Where do I find a vehicle’s VIN?

The owner’s manual will tell you where to locate the VIN. Generally, it can be found in one of the following places:

  • Stamped into the vehicle structure (often the firewall)
  • Stamped on a metal plate and fixed onto the vehicle body
  • Etched on to the rear window of the vehicle.

How to search for a motor vehicle

To conduct a motor vehicle search:

  1. Log in to the PPSR.
  2. From the dashboard, choose the motor vehicle search.
  3. Confirm that you are conducting the search for a legitimate reason.
  4. Enter your search criteria.
  5. Pay the search fee - $2 (plus GST).
  6. View, email, print or download the search results.

You can view your search results on the dashboard’s ‘My Recent Searches’ for a further 14 days.

Motor Vehicle Search

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