REVS Check QLD

Check any Queensland car for money owing, write-offs and theft before you pay for it

Enter the rego plate and state, or the 17-character VIN, and you get a REVS Check report for $7.90 in about 60 seconds – with the official PPSR certificate attached. It works for cars registered in Queensland and for cars from any other state you are thinking of bringing here.

This page explains what a check actually finds on Queensland cars (from our own lookups, not guesses), what the free Queensland Government rego check does and does not tell you, and the Queensland rules a buyer is expected to know.

What our own Queensland checks found

Between 1 January 2024 and 26 October 2026 we ran 15,297 checks on Queensland-registered vehicles through NEVDIS and the PPSR. This is what came back:

Two things stand out. First, a Queensland car checked by a buyer is more than twice as likely to carry a written-off record as a New South Wales car (12.9% against 5.7% in the same period). Second, the car being checked is typically about 13 years old – exactly the age where a cheap price and a hidden history meet. Write-off records on Queensland plates are not only Queensland write-offs: we regularly see cars now registered in Queensland that were written off in Victoria or South Australia before they were repaired and moved. The history follows the VIN, not the plate.

Source: Revs Check Report lookups of Queensland-registered vehicles, 1 Jan 2024 – 26 Oct 2026, aggregate figures only. No individual vehicle or customer data is shown.

The free QLD rego check, the $2 PPSR search, and this report

There are three ways to check a Queensland car. They answer different questions, so it helps to know which is which.

Use the free check first – it costs nothing and tells you the registration is current. Then run a REVS check before you hand over money: it does the plate-to-VIN lookup for you, runs the PPSR search, and sends you the certificate with a summary you can read standing next to the car.

What a written-off record means in Queensland

Queensland keeps its part of the national Written-off Vehicle Register (WOVR), which is shared with every other state and territory and is what the PPSR reads. There are two kinds of record:

• Statutory write-off – assessed as damaged beyond safe repair. It cannot be re-registered anywhere in Australia. If your check returns a statutory write-off, walk away whatever the seller says.
• Repairable write-off – declared a total loss by an insurer, but repairable. In Queensland it can only go back on the road after it passes a safety certificate inspection and a written-off vehicle inspection (WOVI), which checks that stolen parts were not used in the repair.

A repaired write-off can be a fair buy at the right price – but the price should reflect it, insurers may treat it differently, and you should be the one who knows, not only the seller. Our report shows the date, the state and the category of each write-off record, so you can ask the seller the right question: “Where is the WOVI and the repair invoice?”

Queensland rules a buyer should know

• Safety certificate. A private seller must obtain a safety certificate before disposing of a registered vehicle (selling to a licensed dealer is the exception) and must give it to you before the sale is completed. A private seller’s certificate is valid for 2 months or 2,000 km, whichever comes first, and covers one transfer only; a dealer’s is valid for 3 months or 1,000 km. The inspection looks at tyres, brakes, steering, suspension, body rust or damage, windscreen and lights – the Queensland Government’s own words are that it is “not a comprehensive mechanical inspection on the quality, or life expectancy of a vehicle”. A seller who disposes of a vehicle without one can be fined over $700.
• Transfer within 14 days. Once you buy a second-hand vehicle in Queensland you must transfer the registration into your name within 14 days, in person with form F3520 or online after the seller starts the transfer. Transfer fee and vehicle duty apply.
• Plates do not date a car. Queensland general-issue plates have run through 123·ABC (1977–2018), 123·AB4 (from September 2020) and a 2AA·00 series from September 2024, and personalised plates move between cars. The VIN on the compliance plate is the only identity that follows the vehicle; check that the VIN on the car, on the registration papers and on your report all match.
• Interstate cars. A car moving into Queensland must be re-registered here. Our check works on any Australian registration, so you can check a car from another state before it is brought over.

How to do a REVS check in QLD

1. Enter the registration plate and choose QLD as the state – or enter the 17-character VIN. The VIN is on the compliance plate (usually in the engine bay or driver’s door frame), at the base of the windscreen on the driver’s side, and on the registration papers.
2. Confirm the make and model we show you is the car in front of you, then pay $7.90 by card or PayPal.
3. Your report and the PPSR certificate arrive by email, with a text message to your phone, usually within 60 seconds.

Before you buy in Queensland: the short checklist

1. Run the free Queensland rego check for status and expiry.
2. Run a REVS check on the plate or VIN for money owing, write-off and stolen records – and read the write-off category if there is one.
3. Match the VIN on the compliance plate to the papers and the report.
4. Ask for the safety certificate (private sale) and check its date and odometer reading against the car.
5. If the car has ever been written off, ask for the WOVI and repair invoices.
6. Transfer the registration within 14 days of buying.

Questions Queensland buyers ask us

Is a REVS check free in Queensland?
The Queensland Government rego check is free but only shows registration details. The PPSR search that shows money owing, write-offs and theft costs $2 from the government by VIN, or $7.90 here by plate or VIN with the certificate and a summary included.

What is the difference between a REVS check and a PPSR check?
None today. REVS was the old state Register of Encumbered Vehicles; since 2012 that information lives on the national PPSR. People still say “REVS check”, and every REVS check is a PPSR search.

Can I check a Queensland car with only the number plate?
Yes. We look up the VIN from the plate and state, then run the PPSR search on the VIN. The government’s own $2 search needs the VIN.

Does the report show who owns the car?
No. Owner details are private and are not released by Queensland Transport and Main Roads or the PPSR to anyone.

The car was written off in another state. Will a Queensland check find it?
Yes. The written-off register is national and is searched by VIN, so a Victorian or South Australian write-off shows on a Queensland-registered car.

Is the PPSR certificate in the report the official one?
Yes. The certificate is issued by the PPSR for your search and is your legal record of the result on that date.

Written by Abdul Rehman Khoso, founder of Eprotech Pty Ltd, which has run Revs Check Report since 2016 and has delivered more than 275,000 reports. Figures on this page were last checked on 27 October 2026 against the Queensland Government, Transport and Main Roads and PPSR websites, and against our own lookup records.