What to ask before a vendor rekeys your building

Before you give the go-ahead, get five things settled with the vendor: who holds the key codes afterward, whether the keyway is restricted and registered to you, how many keys are cut and who signs for them, what the written record contains, and whether copies can be cut without your say-so. If those answers are vague, the rekey will leave your doors working and your control no better than before.

Most managers ask about timing and about the number of doors. Those matter, but they do not decide who can open the building a year from now. Our article on what happens on a commercial rekey follows the job from arrival to the last key tested. This one is the checklist for the conversation before it.

Who holds the key codes

Every lock cylinder has a pinning combination, and every key cut for it has a matching code. The vendor will usually keep a record of those codes so that more keys can be cut later. That record is the real key to the building, and it should be treated as part of your property.

Ask where it is kept, who in the company can see it and what happens to it if the vendor closes or is replaced. A reasonable answer is that the record is held securely, released to you on request and never used to cut a key without a written instruction from a named person at your company. An unreasonable answer is that it is in the van.

Whether the keyway is restricted

A standard keyway is open. Blanks for it are sold everywhere, and anyone with a key to copy can have it duplicated in minutes, regardless of the words stamped on the bow. A stamp reading do not duplicate stops nobody.

A restricted keyway is a profile where the manufacturer controls the blanks. They are released only against an authorization card or a registered account, and the registration should be in the name of the property or its owner. A copy is then hard to get without you.

Ask which keyway is being fitted, who is named on the registration and how a new key would be ordered. If the answer is a registration in the vendor's name, you can still use the system, but the vendor controls who gets keys. That may be acceptable with a vendor you trust. It should be a decision you made, not something you found out later.

How many keys, and who signs

Agree a number before the work starts, and tie it to a list of names. Say who gets a key and which doors it opens. A rekey that arrives with a pile of spares cut for convenience has recreated the original problem within an hour.

On handover, each key holder signs for what they received. Keys stamped or tagged with a number let you tell, later, which one is missing. If staff change, you know what has to come back. The process is covered in more detail in key control after a termination, and it works only if the first list was accurate.

What the written record contains

You should receive a document, not a verbal summary. At minimum it lists each door, the old and new cylinder or core, the keyway, the key numbers issued and to whom, and the date and name of the technician who did the work. Photographs of each door make later disputes simpler.

Ask also whether the record shows any doors that were not done. A door skipped because the hardware was damaged is still a door that opens with an old key. It should appear in writing with the reason.

Whether the vendor can cut copies without you

This is the question that catches people out, because the honest answer is often yes. A vendor who holds the codes and the blanks can cut a key for anybody who phones in with a plausible story.

Ask what the vendor does when someone requests a key. The answer should involve a named authorizer on your side, a written or emailed instruction and a record of what was cut. If your site manager changes, tell the vendor in writing, and ask them to confirm the previous authority is withdrawn.

Questions that depend on the building

If the building has a master key system, or you plan to add one, raise it before the rekey and not after. The keyway and cylinder choice made now limits what the system can do later, and master key systems for commercial property explains the levels and the trade-offs. It is cheaper to design it first than to rekey twice.

If you are still deciding whether to rekey at all, rekey or replace commercial locks sets out when the existing hardware is worth keeping. Worn or mismatched locks are better replaced during the same visit, and the vendor should say so rather than pinning new pins into a cylinder that is already failing.

Ask also whether the work will be done by the vendor's own employee or handed to someone else on the day. You are giving a stranger the means to open every door you own, so it matters who that person is. Our own technicians are background checked and on our payroll, and TrionX carries general liability and workers' compensation. Ask any vendor you are considering to say the same about the person at your door.

When to do it

Rekeying is best done at a time when the doors can be tested and the building can be secured at the end of the day. Fire doors and exit hardware need particular care, because a cylinder change on the wrong device can leave a door that will not release. Tell the vendor which doors are on an egress route so each one is tested from the inside before they leave.

Locks and access control are performed directly by our own technicians, and the same visit can cover rekeying, replacement hardware and the written record. If you want to talk through a building before approving a quote, the locks and access control page is the place to start.