When an employee leaves with a key to your business, the answer depends on a few things: which doors the key opened, how well you can account for every key, and how easily that key can be copied. A standard key that can’t be accounted for usually means a rekey. A restricted key that’s returned, with good records behind it, may mean nothing has to change.

Keys are also only part of it. The same person may know a door code, an alarm code, or the combination to a safe, and those need attention on the same day.

Which doors the former employee’s key opened

Start with what the key opened, because that decides how much work is needed. A key to one storeroom gives access to one room. A key to the front door, or one key that opened several doors, covers more of the building. Write down the following before you call anyone.

Why getting a business key back doesn’t settle it

A returned key tells you where that one key is. It doesn’t tell you how many copies were made while the employee had it. A standard key can be copied at a hardware store or a self-service kiosk in a few minutes, usually with no question about who owns the lock.

A “Do Not Duplicate” stamp doesn’t change that. It’s a request printed on the key, and nothing about the key itself prevents a copy. Many shops and kiosks will cut one anyway.

How to find out if your business keys are restricted keys

A restricted key is one whose copies are controlled by the manufacturer’s program. Blanks go only to authorized dealers, and a copy usually needs approval from someone your business has named. The details vary by manufacturer. Some programs allow copies only from the original dealer, and others allow several dealers.

A number or a locksmith’s name stamped on the key doesn’t prove it’s restricted, and neither does buying your copies from one locksmith. A standard key can have both. These three checks are more reliable.

How to decide if a business needs to rekey after an employee leaves

The key count matters however the employee left. It’s more urgent if the employee refused to return keys, made threats, or has come back onto the property without permission. Check these four things before you decide.

If your keys are restricted, every issued key is back, your records are reliable, and nothing suggests misuse, it’s reasonable to leave the locks as they are. If any of those is in doubt, rekeying is the safer choice.

A rekey changes the pins inside the lock so the old key stops working, and the lock itself stays on the door. Our guide explains how rekeying differs from replacing a lock. In a simple setup, only the doors that key opened need to be done. In a master key system, the locksmith confirms which doors are affected from the keying records.

What changes if the employee carried a master key

A master key opens every door in its group, so every door in that group is exposed. Rekeying a single door doesn’t solve it, because the master still opens the others.

In a master-keyed building the locks are set up to work together. Changing one without checking the rest can leave a door that the wrong key opens, or one that the right key no longer does. A locksmith needs to see how the system is laid out before saying what has to change. If you lease the space and the building controls the master key system, speak to the property manager before any lock is changed.

Our post on when a business should change its locks covers how master keys are tracked once the work is done.

What to do on the day an employee leaves with keys

Codes and cards can be shut off in minutes, while a rekey has to be arranged. Doing the quick things first removes some access right away. It doesn’t secure a door that the missing key still opens. If the rekey can’t happen right away, make an interim arrangement that suits the premises.

Door codes, access cards and alarm codes to change when an employee leaves

Codes and cards are easy to forget, because there’s nothing physical to hand back. An employee who returned every key may still know a number that opens the door. Go through each of these.

Deleting a user in the software isn’t always the same as updating the door. Some locks aren’t connected to a network and have to be updated at the door itself. Where you still have the old card or know the old code, test it at each door to confirm it no longer works. Then check that current staff can still get in, so the change hasn’t locked out anyone who should have access.

Other locks a former employee may still be able to open

Smaller locks are often left out when a business thinks about its doors. Walk through the building and think about what this person opened in a normal week. A few of these may need a new combination or a new key.

How to avoid rekeying every time an employee leaves

A business with regular turnover can set its locks up so that each departure takes less work. These options can be used alone or together, and a locksmith can say which ones suit the doors you have.

Not Sure Who Still Has a Key to Your Business?