Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

QuickRevs offers a detailed car history report which outlines the officially recorded data on the history of a vehicle registered in Australia. Our reports summarize the result of a Revs Check search in an easy to read format and give a Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) certificate along with the report. You can see a sample of our simple and easy to use report here.

Requesting a car history report is a simple process. To request a car history report online, all you need is a VIN or Rego number for the vehicle you’re interested in and a valid payment method. There are two fields in our search box, so make sure that you put the correct number in the required field.

The VIN is a unique 17-digit alphanumeric identification number assigned to each vehicle. The VIN, however, does not include the letters I, O, or Q. No two vehicle will have the same VIN number which is why it’s considered a unique identifier.

The vehicle identification number can be found on the official car documents such as the car registration certificate or on the insurance papers. You can confirm that the numbers are correct by comparing them to the VIN that is actually found on the vehicle itself. You can find the number at the vehicle door post or on the dashboard. Once you have the VIN, you can run a VIN Check to get your report.

The primary reason that a VIN isn’t 17 digits may be that the vehicle was manufactured before 1989, before the 17-digit identification numbers became widely used. If the vehicle was manufactured after 1989, it might be that you transposed the VIN incorrectly. Double check that the number is the same as what is on the documents you got or contact the seller to verify.

You will need to request certain details about the vehicle – the VIN or rego number – to be able to run the search. So, in that case, you may have to advise the seller that you need these details, or you can get them once you request to see the official documents on the car, truck, or bike that you intend to buy.

Depending on the date of the report, you may not need to get a new one. If it’s on the day of the sale, then you can use the report reference number to double-check the details online. If the date of the report is earlier than this, it’s in your best interest to have a new report generated. Please note that checking a current report is not the same as getting a new report.

Reports don’t take long. When you submit a request, the report will be emailed within minutes if not seconds. A notification text may also be sent to the number you provide at checkout.

Reports are generally emailed within minutes of completing checkout. If you don’t see a report in your inbox, then check your spam or junk folder. You can also check your promotions tab if you use Gmail. You can then mark QuickRevs as a safe sender so that you can receive other car history reports in your inbox or if you sign up for our newsletter.

Our system requires that you input a valid VIN or Rego number to access a report. Double check that you haven’t put in a wrong number or digit which has resulted in a seemingly wrong report. If the details don’t match and you’re certain that the VIN or Rego number you input is correct, then you may need to investigate the vehicle further or report it to the authorities.

Yes, you can check on any vehicle registered in Australia. Use the VIN to search country-wide, or the rego number to search by state.

Free Revs Checks are no longer available as the system has been converted to the PPSR which comes at a cost. You can learn more here at our Free Revs Check page.

The data provided is at the highest standard based on their official government sources. While we cannot guarantee complete accuracy as some data may not be uploaded at the time the report is generated, you can rest assured that they are based on official records recorded by the government. The information provided is current at the date and time at which the report is generated.

The information in your report is valid at the time of purchase. Therefore, it is best to purchase a car history report on the day you intend to buy the car, or at a minimum the night/day before. This way you can determine if important issues such as finance owing are current to protect yourself from potential creditors. Then keep your report as a record of the date and time you ran the check should any future issues arise.

Yes, we accept eCheque payments via PayPal. But, these can take up to 7 days to process and your report won’t be emailed to you until the payment is completed. You also won’t be able to cancel the transaction during the 7 days that the eCheque payment is being processed.

If you want your reports to be delivered immediately, and you need to pay using PayPal, then the best route is to pay using your PayPal balance or by using a credit card or direct debit card linked to your PayPal account. Other than that, you can use a regular credit card or direct debit card to process the payment for immediate access to your report.

PPSR stands for the Personal Properties Securities Register. It is an official government database that records data on personal property used as collateral as part of loan arrangements. Lenders will register their interest in a property such as a vehicle so that potential buyers know that there are loans outstanding on the property.

The PPSR Search is the process by which persons can search the PPS Register for details on a registered property. For vehicles, searches can be run using the VIN number, or the rego number and state details. Persons can also verify a PPSR search result by searching the register using the PPSR Certificate Search Number.

You can request a PPSR search online at www.quickrevs.com.au/ppsr. All you need is the VIN number or the Rego number of the vehicle that you’re interested in.

Click here to see a sample of a PPSR Certificate. As you can see, the certificate shows data on encumbrance, stolen status, write-off history, and more.

Data in our reports are sourced from the Australian Personal Property Securities Register (PPSR) managed by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA). The PPSR also pulls data from the National Exchange of Vehicle and Driver Information System (NEVDIS). The PPSR primarily provides data on the encumbrance history of the vehicle. The NEVDIS database captures data on write-off status and stolen status checks and more.

Yes, they are. A Revs Check is an online service that produces a car history report. This service has been replaced by the PPSR though most persons still search for Revs Check online to access the service to get a car history report.

The essential details that should always be included in a Revs Check Report include:

• Confirmation of the vehicle registration details
• Encumbrance status to confirm if any loans are outstanding on the car
• Write-off status to detail any accidents the vehicle may have been in
• Stolen status details to ensure that the vehicle wasn’t reported as stolen

You need to ensure that the registration, VIN details, and engine chassis numbers are the same on the report as the details or documentation provided by the seller. Once these details are identical, then you can proceed to check the other details on the report.

This means that the car was either used as collateral for a loan or the loan to purchase the vehicle hasn’t be paid off as yet. With a loan outstanding on a car, if the seller does not continue to pay the loan, the financial institution may seek to repossess the vehicle to recoup the arrears.

Sometimes, companies may be late in updating their records online. You can verify the completion of payment with the lending institution and that they’ve updated their records in the PPSR. You can then request a new Revs Check Report with the updated data as confirmation.

Write-off status shows that the car had suffered serious enough damage that required it being reported. Depending on the type of write-off, you may be able to register the car for continued use. If it’s a repairable write-off or an inspected write-off, you may choose to continue depending on the damages that occurred. You should request the relevant documentation from the seller to ensure that the repairs were done according to the manufacturer and state standards.

If it’s a statutory write-off, it means that the car cannot be re-registered for use on the road. The report will explain the type of damage the vehicle suffered that led to the write-off status.

If a report has been made that the vehicle was stolen, you should report the matter to the police station and get further details before doing anything else with the sale.

These aren’t necessities because the results you’re given are often only estimated valuations and estimated odometer readings. These estimates are determined based on industry information and not necessarily based on the actual vehicle details. You’ll see a disclaimer to this effect after you receive reports containing odometer and valuation details.

A vehicle’s service history is not required data by the AFSA or state road agencies. Therefore, our reports won’t include these details.

Yes, the PPSR Certificate that comes with each report is necessary. It stands as proof of your search and the results at a particular point in time. This can help you if there is an issue after the sale. Plus, it is the main way to determine if there is finance owing on the vehicle.

We have reinforced our website with Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) so that all communication between you and our systems are encrypted for security. We also follow international Purchasing Card Industry Data Security Standards for processing transactions.

We don’t store credit card details on our system. Therefore, we only use the data to process the transaction. We won’t keep the details on our system.

We will collect your email address to submit the report to you as well as your telephone number so that you can get a notification once the report is ready. There may be other information required for which you can get the details at our Privacy Policy.

Contact us, and we’d be happy to assist.