Do a new or used watercraft search

Buying a new or used boat comes with risk – doing a search on the PPSR can help you check if the boat, jet-ski, tinny or other type of watercraft you’re buying has a security interest registered against it. This could mean it has money owing on it and is at risk of being repossessed.

Why do a PPSR boat search?

It’s a good idea to always check the PPSR before you buy a boat or other types of watercrafts.
When you do a search, it will tell you if the boat you’re about to buy has a security interest registered against it meaning there could be money owing on it. If you buy a boat with money owing and the seller stops making repayments, the person who is owed the debt, (such as a bank), may be able to repossess the boat from you.

You’ll also get a search certificate which you can use as a legal record of your results.

What you need to do a search

To do a watercraft search, you’ll need:

a credit or debit card
the serial number of the watercraft – the hull identification number (HIN) or Official Number

Where to find the HIN or official number

Most boats and watercraft under 24 metres will have a HIN (also known as Boatcode) attached or stamped into the hull or back. It’s usually 14 characters and identifies the country, manufacturer, serial number definition and date it was built.

You might also consider requesting the seller to show you the registration definition documents to make sure the HIN listed there matches the one on the boat.

Official number

If the type of watercraft you’re searching for is over 24 metres, such as a yacht or a ship, it may have an official number. This is a unique 6-digit identifier.

If the boat doesn’t have a HIN or official number

If the boat doesn’t have a HIN (usually this happens with older boats) you may need to get a HIN from a Boatcode provider or speak to the seller about getting one. You can contact your state maritime authority site for more information about registering a boat or getting a HIN.

Types of watercrafts you can search for

A PPSR boat search covers many types of watercrafts, including:

Fishing boats, jet skis and tinnies
Yachts, hovercraft and catamarans
Ships, barges and ferries
House boats and tugs.

What’s not included in a watercraft search?

Identifying details of the watercraft

When you do a watercraft search on the PPSR, your search doesn’t return any identifying details of the watercraft, such as make, model or registration status like it does for a PPSR car search.
This means you need to be careful when entering the serial number (HIN or official number) as you won’t be able to cross check the information to confirm you’ve searched for the right boat.

Stolen or damaged boats

Your search won’t tell you if the boat you are looking to buy is stolen or has been badly damaged. To make sure, check the boat’s registration with your state maritime authority or contact the police in your state or territory for information regarding its stolen status.

Outboard motors

If you are buying an outboard motor, any security interests registered against the motor itself won’t appear in a PPSR watercraft search. These would be registered against the individual or organisation that gave an interest in the motor. As this could be the person or organisation selling the boat, you may want to do a search against them as well as your boat search.

Boat trailers

If the boat comes with a boat trailer, any security interests registered against the trailer won’t return in a PPSR watercraft search.

To find these, you’ll need to do a motor vehicle search using the trailer’s vehicle identifying number (usually a VIN), as well as your boat search.

When to search

You should do a PPSR search immediately before you intend to buy the boat – the closer you search to the time of purchase the better. This means you’ll get the most up-to-date information and you’ll be further protecting yourself from the risk of repossession.