The Key Register Names Every Holder: Write Down Who Can Open Each Door

Every door in your house already has a list of people who can open it. The list may live only in your head, in a drawer, or in the memory of whoever last borrowed the spare. When a new helper, a relative, or a neighbor starts coming by, that list changes, and the paper should change with it. A simple key register is the record that keeps the list honest.

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What the register should name

Start with one line for every key and every code that opens an exterior door, the garage, or a gate. For each line, write down what it opens, who holds it, the date it was handed over, and where the spare is kept. Keep it to one page. If a line has no holder, that is the most useful thing you will learn all afternoon, because it means someone has a key you did not account for.

Codes need their own lines. A keypad code is held by anyone who knows it, so write down who was told it and when. If a code was shared by text message or on a sticky note, note that too, and plan to change it.

What to ask before a key changes hands

Ask the helper or the agency what they will sign when they receive a key. Some agencies have a short receipt for keys and access cards. Others have nothing at all, and that gap is worth knowing before the first shift. Ask whether the agency's written agreement says who pays if a key is lost, and whether the agency will tell you the same day if one goes missing.

Ask how a code is changed on your keypad. Some keypads let the homeowner reset a code in a few steps. Others need the installer or a locksmith. Find out which kind you have before you need to change anything in a hurry, and write the steps on the back of the register.

Where the register lives

Keep one copy in the house, in a place the adults who share your home can find without searching. Keep a second copy with whoever is the backup contact. Do not keep the only copy inside the house you are trying to secure, and do not keep it in the same bag as a spare key.

Review it when the schedule changes

The register is not finished when you write it. Update it when a helper starts, when a helper stops, when a key is returned, and when a code is changed. Ten minutes at the end of each change is enough. A register that is kept current tells you, at a glance, who should be at the door and who should not.

For a short list of where to confirm the details behind these steps, see our Sources page.