Accessing the Personal Property Securities Registry

The Cook Islands Personal Property Securities Registry (PPSR) is an online register that provides lenders and trade creditors with the ability to register their interest over movable property used as collateral to secure a payment obligation.

There are two types of access to the Cook Islands Personal Property Securities website, depending on whether you are interacting with the site as an account holder or with public access.

Account Holder

If you are an individual or business that will register filings, you will need to create a free account with the Cook Islands PPSR. You need a separate account to make PPSR filings: a company registry account will not work in the PPSR registry.

To set up an account, from the PPSR Welcome Screen:

1. Click on the Create Account link in the main menu.
2. Select the registry account type option setup a PPSR account.
3. Read and agree to the terms and conditions.
4. Enter the general information for the account.
5. Press Save.
6. The Registrar will review your application and, if all is in order, will approve your account. You will receive an email confirming this action.

Features of having a PPSR account:

• Register notices for your charge.
• Upload data for transition notices.
• Manage your own client account, including managing new users.

Public Access

To simply search the PPSR you do not need to create an account as searches are free.

From the PPSR Welcome screen under the Searches and Filings menu:

1. Click on the link Search For Notices or Request a Certified Search Report.
2. Choose the tab for either debtor search, VIN number search, notice registration number search, or certified search verification.
3. Enter the mandatory search information.
4. Press the Search button.
5. If any records are found- they will display along with the search criteria.
6. You may print the search results. To obtain a certified copy you will need to establish a client account.

Changing a Password

You may change your password as follows

1. Login to the Cook Islands Companies Registry website by entering your user name and password in the login fields.
2. Click on the Account tab in the top navigation menu.
3. Click on Change Password to open the Change Password screen.
4. Enter your old password in the first space, and enter your new password in the second and third spaces.
5. Click on the Submit button on the top left of the screen.
6. If you made an error in entering either the old or new password, the system will give you an error message to tell you what to correct.
7. A confirmation message will be displayed when your password has been successfully changed.

If you have forgotten your username or password

1. In the top navigation menu, click the Login button and click the Did you forget your 'Login ID' or 'Password'? link.
2. Select either "I forgot my password" or "I forgot my Login ID" and enter the requested information.
3. An email with a link to reset your password will be sent to you.

Making a Payment

Your account must be pre-funded in order to perform functions in the system that incur a fee. The Registry supports both credit card payments made online, and cash or cheque deposits at the Companies Registry Office, located at the Ministry of Justice.

If the notice or search incurs a fee, before you start the transaction, the system will check to see if your account has enough funds to cover the cost of the transaction. You will not be able to proceed unless your account has sufficient funds.

If the notice or search does not incur a fee, transactions can be performed.

To view your Account Balance and Transaction History, you can view your Client Account Statement by clicking on the Account Profile link on your account home page, then click the Financial tab.

• Fund Account via Credit Card

  1. Login and click on the Account tab in the top navigation menu.
  2. From the Account Home Page, click the Fund Account/ Payment link.
  3. This will open a page with the option for payment with Credit Card.
  4. If there are multiple accounts, click the Search for the Account to add Funds to button.
  5. Enter the account search criteria and press the Search button.
  6. Select the chosen account.
  7. Enter the amount to fund, and press Submit.
  8. Enter the credit card details on the hosted payment gateway page and submit. No credit card information is ever relayed over the registry server environment.
  9. Once the payment is complete, a transaction receipt will display to confirm the payment.

  Fund Account via Cash or Cheque

  1. You can add funds to your account by making a payment at the Companies Registry Office, located at the Ministry of Justice.

  Maintaining your account balance

  1. The system will automatically send the client account administrator an email warning if your account balance falls below a designated threshold amount. That way you will never be short of funds. On your client account home page, you may set this threshold amount yourself to suit your preference.

Registering Change Notices

There are three types of change notices: Amendment, Discharge, and Continuation. Each type is described below.

1. Amendment: An amendment is used to change information on the existing notice. An amendment may add, delete or alter Debtors, Secured Parties and Collateral (including any documents that have been uploaded), and VINs. At the conclusion of the amendment there must be at least one Debtor, one secured party, and some collateral identified. An amendment may be filed at any time that the Notice is active and may amend any information associated with that filing except for lapse date and economic statistics. Filing an amendment does not / cannot extend the lapse date of a Notice (that is done via a “continuation” filing).

2. Discharge: A discharge notice serves to end the effectiveness of a registered notice by the authorizing secured party/ parties. No data is required other than designation of at least one authorizing party. The party/parties whose interest is /are being discharged must be the authorizing party/parties. A discharge may be filed at any time that a Notice is active.

3. Continuation: A continuation notice serves to extend the validity period of a registered notice by the authorizing secured party/ parties. The only required data is the designation of at least one authorizing party. Filing a continuation extends the effectiveness of the Notice by 5 years from the date the filing would have lapsed. It can only be filed in the six-month window prior to the date that the Notice would expire.

To file a change to an active Notice you must be a registered user and have the secret "access number" associated with the Notice. Then, follow these steps to make a change:

As a logged in user with authority:

1. Click on the Change Notice link from the PPSR home page menu. This opens a new Initiate Change Notice page with a dropdown menu and two entry boxes.
2. From the dropdown menu select one of the three types of change notices available (amendment, discharge, or continuation).
3. Type in the Notice Registration Number.
4. Type in the Access Number.
   • If filing an amendment, select the "Authorizing" box next to the name of the secured party that is authorizing the amendment. Modify the data as necessary. Press the Review button to review all notice details. To enter updates, press the Edit button and complete the data entry. When the information is correct, press the Confirm button to register the amended notice.
   • If filing a discharge, select the "Authorizing" box next to the name of the secured party that is authorizing the discharge. Only the General tab is available. Press the Review button to review all notice details. Press the Confirm button to register the discharge notice.
   • If filing a continuation, select the "Authorizing" box next to the name of the secured party that is authorizing the continuation. Only the general tab is available. Review the notice. Confirm the notice by clicking the File in Registry button. Upon submission, the notice will be registered and the lapse date is extended by 5 years from the original date that the notice would have lapsed.

If the change notice requires a fee, you will not be able to file the notice until your account has been funded. Click the Fees link to view the list of service fees. The Cook Islands PPSR accepts credit card and cash payments (made at MOJ). If the change notice does not require a fee, the registration confirmation page will be displayed upon submission.

This registration confirmation page contains all information entered for the change notice, plus the date and time the notice became effective. It will also contain the initial registration number and date/time. To print the record of the notice, click on the Print icon at the upper left of the screen to convert it to printable format, select the printer and press the Print button in the dialog box.

Registering Notices

As a logged in user on the PPSR home page, there are clickable links for Finance Notice, Execution Creditor Notice, Transitional Notice, and Execution Creditor Transitional Notice.

The Transitional Notice and Execution Creditor Transitional Notice filing types will only be available during the transition period, which will commence once the registry opens and lasts for 180 days.

General process for registration of a new notice

1. Click on the appropriate link from the PPSR home page for the notice type; this opens the correct form which contains multiple tabs.
2. Enter the required data on each tab.
3. Press the Review button to review the notice.
4. If any edits need to be made during the review, press the Edit button to place the form back in edit mode and make the necessary changes.
5. Press the Submit button to register the notice in the database.
6. Pressing the Cancel button will cancel the form and redirect back to the PPSR home page.

Searching Notices

Registered notices may be searched online at any time for free. The public search feature is accessed by clicking the Search for Notices or Request a Certified Search Report link on the PPSR home page.

CRITICAL: Please note that all searches use "exact match" search logic. If you misspell a debtor name or incorrectly enter a VIN number, then your search will not produce valid search results.

Types of searches

• Debtor Search: you may search all registry records for active notices on which a particular individual or entity is listed as a Debtor (either on the original notice or added with an amendment).

  1. Select the Debtor tab.
  2. Select the debtor party type from the drop down (Individual, Cook Islands Registered Entity, or Other Entity).
  3. Fill in the mandatory field. This field is based on the debtor type selected:
     • For individuals, the last name is mandatory. You may also enter a first or middle name to narrow your search results if a last name search reveals numerous records.
     • For a registered entity, enter the registration number issued by the Cook Island Registry. Companies will start with a "C", overseas companies will begin with "O", and incorporated societies will start with an "I". This letter is then followed by the registration number. The system will help validate the number against current records.
     • For other entities, such as in the case of a distinct legal entity that is not incorporated or registered under the laws of the Cook Islands, enter the name of the entity as it appears on the document creating the entity. 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 a company but operates under a trading name, do not rely on the trading name alone, you must search against the name of the individual owners.
  4. Select the Search button.



• VIN Search (vehicle identification number for motor vehicles): The VIN search allows the user to enter a VIN number and returns all notices for which the VIN has been entered on either an initial notice or amendment. The search is an exact match search for the normalized number.

  1. Select the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) tab.
  2. Enter the Vehicle Identification Number.
  3. Select the Search button.



• Notice Registration Number Search: The notice registration number search allows a searcher to enter the original notice registration number of a PPSR notice. This search will return the initial notice and all related change filings associated with the original notice.

  1. Select the Notice Registration Number tab.
  2. Enter the Original Notice Registration Number. Do not enter any numbers for amendments or other subsequent filings.
  3. Select the Search button.



• 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 going to 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.

  1. Select the Certified Search Verification tab.
  2. Enter the Certified Search Report Number.
  3. Select the Search button.
  4. The search report and total notices, if any found, will appear.
  5. Select the Print button to print a record of this page.

Viewing Transaction History on Your Account

The Search Transactions feature allows a user to view all notices and certified searches performed on the registry website for their account. This feature is particularly useful for retrieving access numbers in the event that a change notice is required, or for identifying notices approaching a lapse date.

Begin on the PPSR home page:

1. Select the Search Transactions link under the Searches and Filings menu.
2. To narrow down the transactions, enter additional information in available fields.
   • The From and Through fields select the beginning and ending dates to search within.
   • The Expires From and Expires Through fields show notices that expire within the dates selected.
   • The Transaction Type dropdown menu lists all of the searchable transaction types.
   • The amount of entries displayed per page are customizable with a dropdown menu.
   • To view transactions based on a keyword, enter the word or phrase in the search field.
3. Select the Search button.
4. View the results populated below.
5. Click on the reference number to view the filing details.
6. Click on the blue icon in the Action column to manage the existing notice.