How do I search to see if there is a lien on a vehicle?

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If you’re buying a car privately or planning to take personal property as collateral, you should search the Personal Property Registry to see if a security interest (lien) has been registered. You can search for a lien on a vehicle using the vehicle's serial number.

This is important, because if you don’t conduct a lien search, you may unintentionally acquire someone else’s debt. In these cases, a secured creditor could seize the personal property from you.

There are two types of personal property you can search for: serial numbered goods and general collateral.

  • Serial numbered good: includes motor vehicles, trailers, mobile homes, aircraft, boats, outboard motors, tractors, and combines. These goods are searched by their serial number.
  • General collateral: includes items such as furniture, crops, fixtures, assets of a company, and rights to a patent. General collateral is searched by the individual debtor's full name or the business debtor's name.

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