How does an Ontario lender search the PPSA registry to check if a corporation's assets are already encumbered?

An Ontario lender searches the PPSA registry primarily by the corporation's exact legal name, which is why confirming that name precisely against the corporate registry before running the search matters so much — the PPSA registry indexes registrations by debtor name, and an imprecise search can miss existing registrations entirely, giving a false sense that the corporation's assets are unencumbered.

For certain serial-numbered goods, such as some vehicles or specific equipment, a search can also be run by serial number, which can turn up a security interest registered against a specific item that a name search alone might present differently. The results generally show each existing registration's secured party, the registration date, and the collateral description, letting the lender assess how much of the corporation's asset base is already committed and to whom. Because this search directly informs the lending decision and the expected priority position of any new security the lender would take, it's typically done, or at least confirmed, by the lender's own lawyer as part of the standard due diligence before funds are advanced, rather than left solely to the borrower's own representations.