How do you check if used equipment has a lien or is stolen?
Before you pay a private seller for a skid steer, an excavator, a dump truck or a trailer, you want two answers: does a lender still have a claim on it, and was it stolen? Here’s how to check both, from the UCC search to the serial plate.
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What should you check before buying used equipment from a private seller?
Start with whether it has a title. Trucks and trailers usually do, and the lien shows there. Excavators, skid steers and loaders usually don’t, so a lien sits in the state’s UCC filings.
| Check | Titled: trucks and trailers | Untitled: machines and attachments |
|---|---|---|
| Proof the seller owns it | The original title, in the seller’s name | The original invoice or an earlier bill of sale, in the seller’s name |
| Lien check | Read the lienholder line on the title | A UCC search on the seller’s exact legal name in its state of organization (an individual’s home state), then read every filing |
| ID number | The VIN (17 characters since model year 1981) | The PIN or serial on the plate |
| Theft check | NICB VINCheck (free) and an NMVTIS report | NER IRONcheck (paid) |
| Numbers that should match | VIN on the unit, the title and the bill of sale | PIN plate, decals, engine and component numbers, invoice and bill of sale |
| If there’s a lien | The lienholder’s release, then the title signed over | A payoff letter from the lender, then a UCC-3 that ends the filing or releases this machine |
| Red flags | A title in someone else’s name, a lienholder with no release, a VIN that doesn’t match | A missing or moved plate, numbers that disagree, no service records, a price far below market |
General guidance, checked October 29, 2026. Titling rules and search fees vary by state.
Buying a machine and the trailer it rides on? Run both columns. Our guide to buying a crane from a private seller covers equipment that can land in either one.
What is a UCC lien on equipment?
It’s a lender’s security interest in a business’s equipment, made public by filing a financing statement, usually called a UCC-1, with the state.
Why a buyer should care: under Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code, a security interest generally stays with the equipment after a sale unless the lender agreed to release it. The protection for a “buyer in ordinary course of business” covers buying from someone in the business of selling that kind of goods, like a dealer selling inventory, and only for liens the dealer itself created. A contractor selling its own used loader usually doesn’t fit.
- A specific filing describes the equipment, often by make, model and serial number.
- A blanket filing covers “all assets” or “all personal property,” so your machine can be covered without being named.
A UCC-1 generally lasts five years unless the lender files a continuation. A UCC-3 can end the filing for the lender that authorizes it, or release one machine from a blanket filing. Once nothing’s owed and the lender isn’t committed to lend more, the seller can demand a termination in writing, and the lender generally has 20 days to file it or send it.
How do you do a UCC search?
You search the seller’s name, not the serial number, in the state where the seller is legally located:
- Get the exact legal name from the state’s business entity records. For an individual, use the name on their driver’s license. A filing that gives only a trade name doesn’t sufficiently name the debtor, so the name on the truck door won’t do.
- Find the right state. An LLC or corporation is located where it was organized, even if the machine sits three states away. An individual is located at their principal residence.
- Search the state filing office, usually the Secretary of State. Run the exact name, then a looser version to catch typos.
- Read every filing and amendment. The index only says a filing exists. The filing says whether it names the machine or covers everything, and an amendment may show it’s been terminated.
- Search the past. If the business has changed its name or state, search the old ones. If the seller bought the machine used, search the prior owner too.
Every state runs its own system and fees. For anything state-specific, ask an attorney before you pay.
How do you check if a truck or trailer has a lien?
Read the title. For vehicles under a state certificate-of-title law, the lien gets perfected by noting it on the title, so the lienholder shows up there. No paper title? In electronic-title states like Texas, the state holds it until the lien is released, so the seller may still owe. If a trailer has no title, run the UCC search instead.
Then match the VIN. Since model year 1981, federal rules give trucks and trailers a 17-character VIN, and it should match the original title and the bill of sale exactly. Run it through NICB VINCheck for insurer theft and salvage records and an NMVTIS report for title, odometer and theft history. Neither one is a lien search, so the title still does that job.
If a lienholder is listed, the title can’t be signed over clean until that lender releases it. On a financed purchase, that happens at closing, and our commercial truck financing page covers the rest.
How do you check if heavy equipment is stolen?
Run the PIN or serial through a theft database, then make sure the plate and the machine agree. VINCheck needs a 17-character vehicle VIN and NMVTIS is built on state title records, so for a skid steer or an excavator, a PIN search is the right check.
The National Equipment Register, now part of Verisk, sells a heavy equipment history report called IRONcheck. NER says it draws on more than 20 million theft and ownership records, and it wants the number exactly as it reads on the plate, since invoices are often incomplete.
Many newer earth-moving machines carry a 17-character PIN under the ISO 10261 standard: a manufacturer code, a section describing the machine and a section identifying the unit. Older machines, and some newer ones, use the maker’s own format. A dealer for that brand can look the number up, and it should come back as the model in front of you.
Then look hard at the plate. Red flags:
- No plate, or one that’s been taken off and put back. Thieves remove and swap PIN plates.
- A plate that disagrees with the machine on model, rated capacity or serial.
- Decals that don’t fit. In a 2002 Pennsylvania case, thieves added model decals to match fraudulent numbers.
- Engine or chassis numbers that don’t line up with the PIN.
- No service records, or a price far below market.
In August 2026, El Paso police warned that heavy equipment stolen in California was reaching their area with fraudulent VINs and PINs. If a check comes back stolen or a plate looks altered, stop and call local law enforcement. I’d also walk away from a seller who won’t let you photograph the plate yourself.
Machine-specific checks come on top of this, like control support on a used CNC from another shop.
What does each lien and theft lookup cover?
No single search covers everything:
| Lookup | What it shows | What it can miss | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| State UCC search | Filings against the seller’s name, specific or blanket | Liens noted on titles, filings under another name or state, a repair shop’s lien, some tax liens | Set by each state |
| Certificate of title | Owner and lienholder of a titled truck or trailer | Theft | Comes with the vehicle |
| NMVTIS report | Title state and date, odometer, brands, theft, salvage and total loss | Lienholders; some commercial vehicles | Set by the approved provider |
| NICB VINCheck | Stolen-and-not-recovered and salvage records from participating insurers | Police records and insurers that don’t take part | Free, five searches per 24 hours |
| NER IRONcheck | PIN accuracy, theft and ownership records, insurance claims, UCC history, a low-price flag | Equipment missing from its register; no guarantee | Paid, per search |
As each provider or statute describes it, checked October 29, 2026. Confirm prices when you order.
Our guide to buying equipment on Facebook Marketplace covers the scams behind a too-good price.
What should a bill of sale for used equipment include?
Make it specific:
- The exact legal names and addresses of seller and buyer, matching the title, invoice and UCC search.
- The date and price.
- Make, model, year and the full PIN, serial or VIN as it reads on the plate, plus engine and component serials.
- Hours or miles at the sale.
- Each attachment, with its own serial if it has one.
- A statement that the seller owns it and sells it free of liens, other than a named lien being paid off at closing.
- Signatures, and for a business seller, someone with authority to sign.
The UCC gives most sales a warranty of title, but specific language can cut it back, so put the promise in writing. Keep a copy for your CPA, too.
How does a private-party deal work with Five West?
When we finance the purchase, the lien search comes with the file. Here’s how the rest runs:
- Money down. With good credit, usually no down payment, even on a private-party sale. Startups usually still put some money down.
- Paperwork. Qualifying files are decided on the application alone, up to $500,000, with no tax returns or financial statements.
- Speed. Most applications get a first response within 1 to 2 business hours. A clean application-only file can be approved in as little as 30 minutes, and funding can follow in as little as 24 to 48 hours once you sign, with the lien search and any inspection inside that same file.
- The payoff. We pay the seller directly. If the seller still owes, we pay off their lender at closing so the lien is released, and the seller gets the rest.
- What rides along. Attachments and a trailer can share the machine’s agreement, which also helps a smaller machine reach our usual $15,000 minimum.
Our construction equipment financing page lists what we fund. Send the PIN or VIN and seller’s legal name before you drive out to see it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if equipment has a lien on it?
If it has a title, read the lienholder line. If it doesn’t, search the UCC filings with the Secretary of State or other filing office where the seller is organized, or where an individual seller lives, under the exact legal name, and read each filing.
What is a UCC lien on equipment?
It’s a lender’s security interest in a business’s equipment, made public with a UCC-1 filed with the state. It can name specific equipment or cover all assets, and it generally stays with the equipment after a private sale until the loan’s paid and the lien released.
How do I check if a trailer has a lien or is stolen?
Look for a lienholder on the title, match the VIN to it, and run the VIN through NICB VINCheck, which is free, and an NMVTIS report. With no title, run a UCC search on the seller.
How can I tell if heavy equipment is stolen?
Run the PIN or serial from the plate through NER’s IRONcheck, check that the plate hasn’t been swapped, and make sure the model, decals and component numbers agree with it. If it comes back stolen, call local law enforcement.
What is the National Equipment Register?
NER is a heavy equipment theft and ownership database, now part of Verisk. Owners can register machines, thefts can be reported at no cost, and buyers can order an IRONcheck report on a machine’s PIN.
Can I finance used equipment that still has a lien on it?
Yes. With Five West, the lien search is part of the file, and if the seller still owes, we pay off their lender at closing so the lien is released. The rest goes to the seller.
What should a bill of sale for equipment include?
Both parties’ exact legal names, the date and price, the make, model and year, the full PIN, serial or VIN, hours or miles, attachments, a free-of-liens statement and signatures.
Send the serial number before you send the money.
Send us the listing, the PIN or VIN and the seller’s legal name. One short application and a soft credit inquiry get you a dedicated funding professional.
This article is general information about checking used equipment before you buy it and financing the purchase, not legal, tax or accounting advice or a commitment to finance. Lien, title and theft searches can miss records, and rules vary by state. All financing is subject to credit approval and underwriting.