Finance still showing on a car you've paid off — how to clear it
PPSR resolution
- $2
- PPSR search
- Discharge
- ends the registration
- 5 business days
- to respond
- AFSA
- runs the register
If you've paid out the finance on your car but a registration is still showing on the PPSR, it means the finance company hasn't discharged its security interest yet.
Once finance is paid out, the secured party is responsible for ending the registration — and until they do, it keeps showing against the vehicle.
A PPSR registration doesn't clear itself when you make the final payment.
Why finance still shows after you've paid it out
The finance company has to lodge a discharge to end the registration. Usually it's still there for a mundane reason:
- The finance company hasn't processed the discharge yet.
- Your final payment was recent and the record hasn't caught up.
- The finance was refinanced or moved, and the old registration was never ended.
- A simple administrative oversight.
How to get the registration discharged
Start by asking the finance company to discharge it — that's usually all it takes once the account is settled.
Get written confirmation the finance is paid out
A payout letter or settlement confirmation from the finance company is your evidence the account is closed. Keep it — you may need to quote it.
Ask the finance company to lodge a discharge
Run a $2 PPSR search on the VIN to get the registration number (ppsr.gov.au), then ask the secured party to lodge a discharge against it. Once the account is settled this is normally routine.
If they don't act, serve an amendment demand
Serve a formal amendment demand on the secured party — it must include the registration number, the GONI if the registration shows one, and a copy of your search certificate (what an amendment demand must contain). There's a wait of at least five business days for them to act or respond.
Apply to the PPSR Registrar
If it's still there after five business days, apply to the PPSR Registrar (AFSA) for assistance.
Check it's actually gone
After the discharge, run another PPSR search to confirm the registration no longer appears. A certificate showing no security interest is your evidence of clean title— keep it, especially if you're about to sell the car.
Register for launch updates
How Verexia is designed to assist
Verexia will get a paid-out registration discharged for you: confirming the account is settled, dealing with the finance company, and seeing the discharge through — then confirming the car is clear.
- Dealing with the finance company to lodge the discharge — so you're not following up an oversight.
- Serving the amendment demand correctly if they stall — registration number, GONI, certificate and all.
- Confirming the car is clear with a fresh PPSR search, so you have proof of clean title.
The first step will always be working out where you stand. Final outcomes depend on the secured party and the facts of the registration, and no service can promise otherwise. What Verexia will commit to is doing the work and being straight about what's achievable.
Verexia is preparing a service designed to assist with vehicle ownership, finance and PPSR matters. Services are not currently available. Register your interest and we will contact you when the relevant service launches.
Sources: Personal Property Securities Register (ppsr.gov.au) — how to dispute a registration and being asked to remove a registration. The PPSR is operated by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA).