Selling a car online: should you share the VIN and plates?

Blur your number plate in ad photos and leave the VIN out of the public listing. Once you’ve spoken to a buyer, giving them the VIN and rego number is normal, because a genuine buyer needs the VIN to run a PPSR check. Your street address, email and licence are different: a stranger doesn’t need any of them to decide whether the car is worth a look.

This guide covers what someone can look up from each detail, what to keep out of your photos, and why some “buyers” ask for your email or licence. There’s also a table of what to share and when. For writing the ad itself, see our guide to selling your car online for free.

Should I blur my number plate in ad photos?

Yes. The RACV’s tips for selling a car say to blur or remove number plates when you post a car online. Its reason is blunt: “number plates can be virtually stolen” by thieves copying your registration details from an online photo.

The second risk is your ad being reused. WA’s consumer protection service, ScamNet, has warned buyers that some scammers pose as locals by hijacking other people’s profiles and ads. In one case it describes, three vehicles advertised on different websites had the same number plate. For a seller, the lesson is that your photos can end up in someone else’s fake ad. A readable plate makes that fake ad more convincing, because a buyer who runs a rego check on it finds a real, current registration.

It also helps to know what the plate itself reveals. For a NSW-registered car, anyone with the plate number can use Service NSW’s free registration check. It shows the rego expiry, whether the rego is suspended or cancelled, any restrictions or concessions, the CTP insurer and policy expiry, and the three most recent yearly odometer readings if available. Other states have their own checks. None of this is secret once a buyer is standing next to the car, but there’s no reason to hand it to everyone who scrolls past.

Blurring takes a minute:

• Use the listing site’s tool if it has one. Some large car sites offer plate blurring when you upload.
• Use your phone’s photo editor. The markup or blur tool works, or crop the plate out of the frame.
• Check every shot, not just the front and rear. Three-quarter angles, reflections in a shop window and a second car in your driveway all show plates.

You can still tell buyers how long the rego has left. Write it in the text, for example “rego until March 2027”. That’s useful to them and doesn’t need the plate.

Why do genuine buyers ask for the VIN?

Because the main background check on a used car runs on it. A PPSR search needs the VIN or chassis number, and the plate number won’t work. As at October 2026, a search costs $2 online or $7 through the assisted phone service.

The search shows whether a security interest (money owing) is recorded against the car. It usually also shows the make, model and colour, and whether the car is recorded as written off or stolen.

The NRMA’s advice for people selling on social media puts the onus on the buyer to get that report, and says genuine buyers can get one for $2. Buyers also use the VIN to confirm the exact model and to check for open safety recalls. So a buyer who asks for the VIN is usually doing the right thing. A seller who won’t give it looks like they have something to hide, and careful buyers tend to move on.

What can a stranger find out from my VIN?

Through a PPSR search, anyone with your VIN can see:

• Finance. Whether a lender has a security interest recorded against the car.
• Write-off or theft records. Whether the car is recorded as written off or stolen. That data comes from state agencies and police, and the PPSR says it is “not always available or up-to-date”.
• Basic details. The make, model and colour.

The PPSR says its search does not show the owner or ownership history, the amount owing, the odometer reading or outstanding fines. So a PPSR search on your VIN doesn’t give a stranger your name or address.

You may see claims online that a VIN on its own can be misused. The official warnings for sellers that we’ve read, from the RACV and WA’s ScamNet, focus on copied photos, copied plates and hijacked ads rather than the VIN. The VIN is also on your rego papers and on the car itself, so anyone who inspects the car can read it.

That’s why the sensible middle ground is to keep it out of the public ad, where posting it gains you nothing, and give it to a buyer you’ve spoken to. One thing to watch: the NRMA warns sellers not to click links that buyers send to “vehicle report” sites. A genuine buyer runs the check themselves. They don’t need you to. Our guide to fake escrow, courier and report-link scams explains how that one works.

Should I run a PPSR check myself and share the certificate?

Running one before you list is worth the $2. It shows you what a buyer’s search will show. If a loan you thought was closed still shows a security interest, or there’s a write-off record you didn’t know about, you want to find out before a buyer does. You get a search certificate you can keep as a record.

Send the certificate privately to a serious buyer, not as a photo in the ad, because it shows the VIN. The RACV notes that giving buyers the vehicle history shows you’re being transparent and may help secure the sale.

Expect a careful buyer to run their own search anyway. The PPSR advises buyers to search on the day they buy or the day before, so a certificate from the week you listed isn’t current enough for them. Don’t take it personally.

If you still owe money on a secured car loan, the lender’s interest will show up on the PPSR. That’s expected. Private buyers can get nervous about it, so read what finance on the PPSR means when you sell before you list. If you’d rather not coordinate a lender and a private buyer, we buy cars under finance and deal with your lender directly.

What else should I keep out of my ad and photos?

Plates and the VIN are the obvious ones. The details below are easier to miss, so run through this list before you post.

1. Your house. A house number, letterbox, street sign or recognisable front of house in the background. Shoot somewhere neutral, or angle the car away from the street.
2. Paperwork in the shot. Rego papers on the dash, mail on the seat, or service invoices with your name and address. Photograph the stamped service pages, not the owner’s details.
3. The infotainment screen. Your phone’s name, recent calls, contacts, or “Home” saved in the navigation. Turn the screen off or leave it on a neutral menu for the dash photo.
4. The key photo. House keys, a garage remote or a work access card on the same ring. Photograph the car keys on their own.
5. Stickers and names. School, club or workplace stickers, and anything with a name on it.
6. The ad text. Your full name, email and street address. A first name and suburb are enough.
7. The photo files. If you send original photos by email or message, they can carry the location where they were taken, depending on your phone’s camera settings. Turn off location tagging, or take the photos away from home.

Why does a “buyer” want my email, licence or address?

Each of these requests has an innocent version and a scam version.

Your email

A buyer who wants your email before they’ve seen the car is a warning sign. The NRMA lists wanting to switch the conversation to another channel quickly, and an email address that doesn’t match the buyer’s name, as red flags. Scamwatch has described scammers who claim they’ve already bought an item, then send a link to a look-alike site that asks for bank details. Your email address gives a scammer a way to send that kind of link, or a fake payment email, outside the listing site.

To receive a bank transfer you only need to give your BSB and account number, or your PayID. Keep the chat inside the listing site until you’ve spoken by phone and the buyer has arranged to see the car.

Your licence

A careful buyer may want to check that the name on your licence matches the name on the rego papers, so they know they’re dealing with the person the car is registered to. That’s fair. Do it in person at the viewing: show the licence, don’t hand over a copy.

ScamNet’s advice is plain: never hand over personal information to people you don’t know. A photo of your licence sent to a stranger before they’ve seen the car is exactly that. Our guide to giving a buyer your licence and bank details covers when each is reasonable.

Your address

Give the suburb in the ad. Share the street address once a viewing is booked with someone you’ve spoken to, or meet somewhere public instead.

Your name and address do go on the receipt at the sale. Service NSW says a bill of sale should include the names, addresses and signatures of both buyer and seller. That’s the point at which a buyer genuinely needs them.

What to share, and when

Use this as a quick reference while you write the ad and answer messages.

What if I’ve already shared too much?

What to do depends on what went out. Act the same day.

• The plate was visible in your ad. Edit the photos or repost the ad. You can’t recall copies someone already saved, so check any toll or fine notices that arrive. If one doesn’t match where your car was, contact the agency that issued it straight away.
• You sent a photo of your licence or other ID to someone you now doubt. ScamNet’s advice is to contact IDCARE on 1800 595 160.
• You gave a card number, banking password or a code. Call your bank now, using the number in your banking app or on your card.
• In every case, stop replying, save the messages and report the profile to the listing site and to Scamwatch.

If money or the car has already gone, our guide on what to do if you’ve been scammed sets out the first steps in order.

Would it be simpler not to advertise at all?

Everything above exists because a public ad puts your car, and a little of you, in front of strangers. Blurring plates and holding back the VIN keeps that risk small. If you’d rather skip the ad altogether, selling to a licensed dealer means no public listing and no strangers messaging you for your details.

Sell Your Car Australia is run by Autohaus Australia Pty Ltd, NSW licensed motor dealer MD 077404, ABN 54 618 813 737. You get a genuine offer by phone, not an online estimate. What we ask for is set out up front: photo ID, the registration papers, the service logbook and any receipts, your bank details for the payment, and your loan details if the car is under finance.

A deposit is often paid the same day. The inspection happens after you accept, at a time and place that suits you. The balance goes into your bank account, and we collect the car only after you confirm the funds have cleared. As Spiros put it: “I was paid before Autohaus took possession of my car, which from my experience normally doesn’t happen.”

We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less. If yours is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. Start with a free, no-obligation valuation or call us on 1800 73 55 73.