PPSR
PPSR search in New Zealand: registered security interests over personal property
The Personal Property Securities Register tells you who already has a claim over the assets you were counting on, before you spend money finding out the hard way.
What the PPSR records
The PPSR is a public register maintained under the Personal Property Securities Act 1999. It records financing statements registered by secured parties against debtors and against specific collateral such as vehicles, plant, machinery, stock and receivables. Registration is what establishes priority between competing interests, which is why the register is the definitive answer to who ranks where.
A PPSR result is short and consequential. Either there is a registered interest over the asset in question or there is not, and if there is, the registration tells you who holds it and when it was registered.
Where it changes a decision
In recovery work, the PPSR frequently converts an apparently viable file into an unrecoverable one before any cost is incurred. An asset with a prior registered interest over it is not available to you in the way an unencumbered asset is, and knowing that in the first hour is worth more than establishing it in the third month.
In credit and counterparty assessment it works the other way. A clean register against a trading entity, alongside a clear insolvency history and a company record in good standing, is a positive signal you can record and act on.
What a PPSR search returns
- Registered financing statements naming the debtor searched.
- The secured party holding each registration.
- The collateral described in the registration.
- Registration and expiry dates, which establish priority against other interests.
How it fits the rest of the enquiry
Run the PPSR alongside the title and insolvency results rather than on its own. Together they answer the recoverability question in a single enquiry: what is owned, what is already claimed against it, and whether the person or entity is subject to an insolvency event that changes the position entirely.
This source is queried as part of a consolidated skip tracing enquiry, on the same authorised-purpose declaration and the same audit record as every other source. There is no separate account, no separate invoice and no minimum spend against it. What you pay is the monthly subscription plus the searches you run, set out on the pricing page.
Questions about ppsr
What is a PPSR search used for?
To establish whether personal property is already subject to a registered security interest, and who holds it. It is standard practice before lending, before buying secured assets and before committing to a recovery.
Can I search the PPSR by debtor name?
Yes. Registrations are searchable against the debtor, and the consolidated intelID result presents them alongside the other records returned for that subject.
Does a clear PPSR result mean the asset is unencumbered?
It means no financing statement was registered against it at the moment of the search. That is the position the register establishes, and it is the position priority is decided on.
Is a PPSR search logged like other searches?
Yes. Public register searches carry the same authorised-purpose declaration and the same audit record as every other query on the platform.
Request access to intelID
Tell us who you are and what you need to search, and we will set up your account. Verification is part of the process and usually straightforward. Most accounts are verified and issued within 2 business days.