Searching Notices
Note: the following information is not intended as legal advice. This section provides an overview of the requirements necessary to submit a proper search within the PPSA registry. You should consult with your own legal advisors prior to relying on any search. Conducting a legally effective search is the responsibility of the searcher, and the Registrar's Office will not be reviewing any searches for accuracy or completeness.
Searches are free, so you may select the Search option either from the Welcome screen without logging in. If you are logged in you may select Search from the Home Page. If you want a certified search report of your search, you must be logged in and select it from the Home Page, because there is a fee for a certified search report. After you select the Search option, the search screen will open.
Whether or not you are logged in, the search screen includes tabs for the different types of search criteria from which you may select.
- Debtor Search . If you are searching for notices that name a particular debtor, click the Debtor tab. In the Debtor tab, select the type of debtor on which you want to search.
- If the debtor is a company or other entity registered with the IPA, enter its incorporation number as it appears on its organizational document in the displayed field, and click the Submit button.
- If the debtor is an Individual or some other entity type, select the appropriate search option. Enter the Individual's name or entity number in the indicated fields and click the Submit button. For individual citizens of PNG, enter their legal surname. For individuals that are not citizens of PNG, enter the surname as it appears on their passport. We recommend a Surname search initially. To narrow your results, you may also enter a first name, or the first initial of the first name.
- Caution: a partnership is not a distinct legal entity, so searches must be made against the names of the individual partners. Similarly, “trading names” or “doing business as” names are not distinct legal entities. CRITICAL: if you are searching for a business that is not registered as an incorporated entity but operates under a business or trading name, do not rely on the business or trading name alone, you must search against the name of the individual owners.
- Motor vehicle or real property searchers. If you are searching for notices that include a particular motor vehicle serial number (VIN) or real property identification number individually entered into the proper fields on the collateral description page, click the Vehicle Identification number (VIN) tab. Select the type of number for which you wish to search. Enter the exact number in the displayed field and click the Submit button.
- PPSA Registration number searches . If you know the registration number of the initial notice, select the Notice Registration Number tab, enter the PPSA Notice Registration Number in the displayed field and click the Submit button.
Special note on searches for individuals . For searches against individual debtors, the search logic will always first look to the Surname, and you may enter Surname only. This sort of search will return all Notices that contain this Surname. You may also enter data in the first name field to refine your search. If you enter a full first name, the search will return all Notices that contain both the exact Surname and the exact first name. If you only enter a first initial of the first name, the search will return all Notices that exactly match the Surname and then match the first letter of the first name. For example, if the debtor name was “John Booth” and the search data entered was “J Booth” then “John Booth” would be returned, but so would Notices with names such as “James Booth,” “Johnathon Booth,” and “Jimmy Booth” as these all have a “J” as the first letter of the first name.
Certified Search Reports . Logged in users can request any search results be certified. If you request a certified search report, the results of the search will include certification language and the Seal of the Registrar. It will also include a unique number for the certified search report that can be used to retrieve the report from the Registry database if needed later. The certified search report is an official record of the Personal Property Securities Register, and you can use the printed report as evidence of the state of the record on the date of the certified report. This document should be self-authenticated in court without the need for testimony from the office of the Registrar.
Certified Search Verification : This feature allows you to search for and retrieve the results of previously prepared certified searches. The PPSR will produce certified searches in the event you require this, for instance if you are questioned about the authenticity of a Certificate in court. Each Certificate contains a verification code at the bottom. You may enter this verification code into the search field and the system will reproduce the Certificate. This way the Certificate can be validated as authentic.
- Select the Certified Search Verification tab.
- Enter the Certified Search Report Number.
- Select the Search button.
- The search report and total notices, if any found, will appear.
- Select the Print button to print a record of this page.