Intake Forms for Locksmiths: Emergency Calls, Rekeys, and Access Control

By Daniel Akselrod · July 2026

Locksmithing has a trust problem, and it’s not the locksmith’s fault. You show up at someone’s door, they claim they’re locked out, you open the lock in under a minute, and now you’re standing inside a property you have no independent verification belongs to that person. Or a business owner calls you to rekey an office, and six weeks later a former employee sues, claiming they were wrongfully locked out of a space they had a lease on. These scenarios play out constantly, and they all trace back to the same root problem: no documentation at the point of service.

A locksmith intake form does two things. It protects you from liability by creating a paper trail for every job, and it gives your technicians the information they need to show up with the right tools, the right parts, and the right expectations. Here is what that form should capture.

Service classification: know the job type before you dispatch

Locksmith work covers an enormous range of services, and each type has different tool requirements, skill levels, parts inventory, and pricing. Your intake should classify the job upfront:

• Emergency lockout — residential, commercial, or automotive. This is your most time-sensitive call and the one most likely to generate a liability issue. The client is locked out, they want in now, and the pressure to skip documentation is highest.
• Rekey — changing the internal pins so existing keys no longer work, without replacing the lock hardware. Common after a move-in, employee termination, or lost keys. Rekeys require knowing the number of locks, whether they’re keyed alike or keyed differently, and whether the client wants a master key system.
• Lock change — removing existing hardware and installing new locks. Requires knowing the door type, thickness, prep (the hole pattern in the door), and the grade of lock the client wants.
• Master key system — a hierarchy of keys where individual keys open specific doors and a master opens all of them. Common in commercial buildings. Requires a full site survey and key schedule before any work begins.
• Access control installation — electronic locks, keypad systems, card readers, biometric readers. This is increasingly common and requires knowing the existing wiring, power supply, door hardware compatibility, and the client’s access management needs.
• Safe work — safe opening, combination changes, lock replacement, or safe installation. Safe work requires specialized tools and certifications. Your intake should determine whether the safe is a fire safe, a burglary safe, or a gun safe, and whether the client has the existing combination.
• Automotive — lockout, key duplication, transponder key programming, ignition repair, broken key extraction. Automotive work requires knowing the year, make, model, and whether the vehicle uses a standard key, a transponder key, a smart key, or a proximity fob.

ID verification: the most important field on the form

For lockout calls, ID verification is not optional — it is the thing that separates a legitimate locksmith from someone who just opened a door for a burglar. Your intake form should have a dedicated section for documenting proof of occupancy or ownership:

• Government-issued photo ID — does the name match the address? If not, what is the explanation? A tenant whose driver’s license still shows their old address is common and not suspicious. A person with no ID at all requesting a lockout at 2 a.m. is a different situation.
• Supporting documentation — lease agreement, utility bill, mortgage statement, registration (for vehicles), mail addressed to the location. Any document that connects the person to the property.
• For commercial lockouts — business card, authorization letter from the property owner or management company, employee badge. You should not rekey a commercial property based solely on the word of someone claiming to be the owner.
• Refusal documentation — if a client refuses to provide ID and you decline the job, document it. If you proceed without verification and something goes wrong, your documentation of what ID was or was not provided is your first line of defense.

Record the type of ID shown, the name on it, and whether the address matched the service location. You are not photocopying their license — you are noting what was presented so there is a record of the verification attempt.

Lock type and key identification

Locksmiths carry a van full of parts, but they can’t carry everything. Identifying the lock type and key type before dispatch saves a return trip and keeps the client from waiting while your technician drives back to the shop for a cylinder they don’t have on the truck.

• Lock brand and type — Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, ASSA, Adams Rite, and dozens of others. Each uses different keyways, different pinning, and different replacement parts. If the client can read the brand name off the lock face, capture it at intake.
• Lock grade — ANSI Grade 1 (commercial), Grade 2 (heavy residential/light commercial), Grade 3 (standard residential). Grade determines replacement options and labor expectations.
• Key type — standard cut key, restricted keyway (requires authorization to duplicate), high-security key (Medeco, Mul-T-Lock — cannot be duplicated at a hardware store), transponder key (has an electronic chip programmed to the vehicle’s immobilizer), or smart key/proximity fob.
• Door type — wood, steel, fiberglass, aluminum storefront, glass. The door material affects drilling, mortise work, and hardware compatibility. A technique that works on a wood residential door will destroy an aluminum storefront frame.
• Number of locks — for rekeys and lock changes, the total count determines pricing and time. A client who says “a few doors” and turns out to have fourteen locks across a multi-unit building is a very different job than what was quoted over the phone.

Residential vs. commercial vs. automotive

These three categories dictate your technician dispatch, pricing, and the documentation requirements.

Residential work is typically lower-security hardware, standard pin-tumbler locks, and simpler keying systems. The client is usually the homeowner or tenant. The documentation burden is lighter, but ID verification is still critical for lockouts.

Commercial work involves higher-security hardware, master key systems, panic bars, closers, access control, and ADA compliance. The person calling may not be the property owner — they might be a facilities manager, a tenant, or a property management company. Your intake needs to capture who is authorizing the work, whether they have authority to authorize lock changes on the property, and who should receive the new keys. Handing a full master key set to someone who turns out to be an unauthorized party is a liability nightmare.

Automotive work requires the vehicle’s year, make, model, and VIN. Many modern vehicles require online key programming that connects to the manufacturer’s database, and some manufacturers restrict who can access those systems. Your intake should note whether the client has a spare key (programming a new transponder key is significantly easier and cheaper when you have a working key to clone from) and whether the vehicle’s anti-theft system is engaged.

Emergency vs. scheduled: pricing clarity at intake

After-hours locksmith calls are a perennial source of complaints and chargebacks. The client is stressed, locked out, possibly standing in the cold, and they agree to whatever price you quote over the phone. Two days later, they file a dispute because they feel the price was too high.

Your intake form should make after-hours pricing explicit and documented. Capture whether the call is emergency or scheduled. For emergency calls, document the time of the call, the quoted price, and have the client acknowledge the after-hours surcharge before you dispatch. Most locksmith operations charge a trip fee plus labor plus parts, with the trip fee increasing after hours. All three components should appear on the intake, not just a lump sum that the client can later claim was never explained.

For scheduled work, document the appointment window, the estimated duration, and whether the quote is an estimate or a fixed price. Scheduled commercial rekeys with a fixed per-lock price rarely generate disputes. Emergency lockouts with vague phone quotes generate them constantly.

Authorization and key control

After the work is done, who gets the keys? This sounds simple until you’re rekeying a property after a divorce and both parties claim they should have a key. Or you’re rekeying a commercial space and the property owner wants a copy but the tenant says no.

Your intake should document who authorized the work, how many keys are being provided, who is receiving each key, and whether any restricted key cards are being issued. For master key systems, document the key schedule — which keys open which doors — and who holds the master. This documentation protects you if there’s a subsequent security breach and someone claims you distributed keys improperly.

For access control systems, document the administrator credentials and who has the ability to add or remove users. If you install a keypad and the client later forgets the admin code, your intake record of the initial programming is the starting point for recovery.

Every locksmith call is a trust transaction. You are being given access to someone’s home, business, or vehicle, and you are being trusted to control who else gets that access after you leave. A locksmith intake form that captures verification, authorization, and key control turns that trust into a documented process instead of a handshake.

For related reading on structuring intake for service businesses, see our guide to intake forms for home inspectors.