The search certificate is the legal artefact AFSA issues after every PPSR search. It's a PDF with the AFSA seal, the search reference number, the timestamp, the grantor identifier, and the list of current and historical registrations.
What it proves
The certificate is admissible evidence of what the register showed at the time of the search. If the register was wrong (rare), the certificate captured the wrong record — but it captured it officially. Subsequent changes don't invalidate prior certificates.
How Hoist Assets handles it
Every search we run returns the AFSA certificate (we don't alter or re-issue it). Alongside, we generate the Due Diligence Record — a one-page summary that hashes the certificate so you can prove later it hasn't been swapped.
Retention
We store the certificate for 90 days minimum (longer on Team tier). After that, retrieval requires a re-search at the AFSA pass-through rate.
Related terms
- Due Diligence Record — The one-page PDF Hoist Assets generates after every search — summarising the inquiry, hashing the AFSA certificate, and tying it to an audit-chain entry.
- Audit chain — An append-only, hash-linked log of every search Hoist Assets has ever run — designed so a record's authenticity can be verified without contacting us.
- PPSR — The Australian national register where security interests in personal property are recorded.
How Hoist Assets uses this
Search the Search certificate via the Hoist Assets API or MCP server. See /docs for endpoints.