Your Moving Day Lock and Key Checklist

Why locks deserve their own line on the moving list

Most moving checklists cover utilities, mail forwarding, boxes, and the truck. Locks usually get a single line, if any. Yet the day a home changes hands is the day the number of people holding a working key is at its least certain. Previous owners, their relatives, a former cleaner, a pool service, a dog walker, a neighbor who watered plants during a long trip: each may have a copy, and none of them is obligated to tell you.

In Boca Raton and the surrounding Palm Beach County communities, this is even more true than in many places. Homes here are often passed between seasonal owners, rented for part of the year, managed by an association or a property manager, and visited by contractors after storms. A key can travel through many hands without anyone doing anything wrong. The simple fact is that a metal key carries no record of who has copied it.

The goal of a moving day lock checklist is not alarm. It is order. You want to know how many keys exist, who holds them, which doors and remotes they operate, and which ones should stop working on the day the property is yours (or on the day you hand it over). A little planning turns a stressful, chaotic day into a calm one with a clear finish.

Two roles, one move: leaving a home and arriving at one

Most people play both roles in the same month, so this guide covers both. If you are leaving, your job is to account for every key, remote, fob, and entry PIN you ever issued, collect or cancel what you can, and hand the new owner or tenant a complete and honest set. If you are arriving, your job is to assume that the previous set is incomplete and make a plan to bring the locks under your control.

These roles are not in conflict. A departing owner who hands over a clean, labeled set of keys and a short list of what each opens makes life easier for the arriving household, and often for the real estate agent, the property manager, and the association office as well. An arriving household that rekeys quickly protects itself and, in a small way, closes the loop for the previous owner, who no longer has to wonder whether an old key can still be used.

• Leaving: list every door, gate, mailbox, garage, shed, and storage cage that has a key or PIN.
• Leaving: count keys and remotes, then collect or cancel what is out in other people's hands.
• Arriving: assume nothing about who else has access until you have rekeyed or replaced.
• Both: write down what you have, in one place, before the truck arrives.

Two weeks before the move: build a key and access inventory

The best moment to start is well before moving day, while there is still time to chase down a spare. Walk the property with a pen and a sheet of paper, or a notes app, and list every point of access. Do not trust memory. People forget the side gate, the pool equipment shed, the utility closet, the garage entry door, the mailbox, and the storage unit assigned by the building.

For each item, write down the type of lock (a standard key, a keypad, a smart lock, a combination, a fob, a card), how many keys or credentials exist, and who holds each one. If you are not sure, that is information too. A line that reads 'unknown, previous owner had a cleaner' tells the next person exactly where the gap is.

Think about remotes as well as keys. Garage door openers, gate transmitters, and building access fobs are all part of the same system, and they are easy to forget because they live in cars and cup holders instead of on a key ring. In a gated community or a condo building, the association controls some of these credentials, and part of your checklist is a call to the office to ask what needs to be returned and what can be deactivated.

If you are leaving: collect, cancel, and label

Start with the keys you can physically gather. Check kitchen drawers, key hooks, car consoles, a desk, and the bag you took on your last trip. Then make a short list of people who may hold a copy and contact them. A polite note is enough: you are moving, the keys belong with the property, please return them or let you know if you passed them on.

Entry PINs and app-based credentials are easier to end than metal keys, because they can be changed or deleted rather than chased. If your front door has a keypad or smart lock, remove guest and service PINs one at a time, remove shared phone access, and then reset the unit to a state the next owner can set up. Ask the buyer or landlord how they would like this handled. Some prefer to receive the unit with a simple handover credential, and some prefer that it be reset entirely.

Label what you pass on. A small paper tag or a tidy list that says which key operates which door, which remote belongs to which opener, and which fob goes with which building entrance saves a surprising amount of time. Do not label keys with the street address in a way that could help a stranger if the ring is lost in transit. Use a simple mark or number on the tag that you explain on the handover sheet instead.

If you have any key that is stamped 'do not duplicate' or any high-security key that requires authorization to copy, tell the person who receives it. Those keys cannot be quickly duplicated at a hardware counter, so a missing one is a genuine lead-time problem for the new owner.

If you are arriving: assume the old keys are not yours alone

The closing paperwork may say the keys were delivered, but delivered does not mean exclusive. Even in the best case, the previous owner kept a spare or two by accident. In the worst case, a contractor, an agent's lockbox, or a former tenant still holds a working copy. You will not know which scenario applies without a deliberate step.

The cleanest step is to rekey the locks, which changes the internal pins so that old keys no longer work while you keep the same hardware. If you want to understand what is involved, how rekeying works explains the process in plain terms. If a lock is worn, damaged, or a style you do not like, replacement may make more sense; rekey versus replace helps you choose between the two.

Plan the work so that it happens before you spend your first night in the home, or as close to that as you can manage. Once your family, your furniture, and your valuables are inside, an unknown set of keys becomes a real concern. A technician can often rekey several locks to a single new key in one visit, which also means you carry one key instead of a ring of mismatched ones.

• Ask for every key, remote, fob, and PIN at closing, and write down what you received.
• Do not rely on a lockbox PIN used during showings, since agents and others may know it.
• Rekey or replace exterior locks promptly, then test every key on every door.
• Reset the garage opener and any gate or building credentials you were given.

The right order: rekey, test, then copy

People often make duplicates first and rekey later, which wastes effort, because copies made from the old key will not work after the rekey. The order matters. First decide which locks will be rekeyed, and have that done. Then test the new key on each lock. Only then have spare keys cut, from the new key, so every copy matches.

If you are rekeying multiple doors to a single key, ask the technician to confirm that every lock responds to the same key before they leave, including the deadbolt, the handle set, the garage entry, and any side door. Try the key several times in each lock while the technician is present. A lock that feels stiff on the first day is easiest to correct when someone is there with the tools.

When you decide how many spares you need, think in terms of people rather than doors. Each adult household member usually needs one. A spare for a trusted neighbor or family member is reasonable. A spare in a hidden place outside is not, and why hiding a spare key fails explains the reasons. Keep a count, so you always know how many exist.

Garage, gates, and building credentials

Garage door openers and gate transmitters are the most commonly forgotten part of a move. They also often work for years after the original owner leaves, because nobody thinks to clear the memory. If you are arriving, clear the opener's learned remotes and program only the ones you hold. The manufacturer's instructions for your model will explain the steps, and a technician can do it for you if the button layout is unclear.

If you are leaving, hand over all the remotes, and take the batteries out of any remote you keep as a souvenir. It is a small gesture, but a remote that works from the street is a remote that should be accounted for.

For gated communities, condo buildings, and 55-plus communities, access credentials belong to the association. Ask the office what the process is for turning in fobs, updating the resident list, and removing past guests or vendors. Many have a standard form, and many require the new owner to be on file before a new fob is issued. Do this before moving day if you can, since the office may not be open on the weekend.

Smart locks and keypads on moving day

Electronic locks add convenience and a new kind of loose end. A keypad with five stored PINs does not tell you who used which PIN. A smart lock tied to an app may be linked to the previous owner's phone, email address, and a shared account used by a cleaning service. If you arrive without resetting it, those links may remain.

The safe approach is to treat an electronic lock as a lock you do not yet control. Look up the manufacturer's reset process for the model, perform it, set a new master credential, and re-link the app to your own account. If the unit is old, has a damaged keypad, or has no clear way to reset, consider replacement. Our guide on smart lock, keypad, or key compares the options, and the smart lock installation page explains how a technician handles an install.

If you are leaving, remember that a smart lock is also a data point. Remove your phone from the account, delete any saved user names, and let the next owner know what steps to take. It is a courtesy, and it also protects your own account from lingering connections.

Moving day itself: keep control of the keys

On the day of the move, people come and go. Movers prop doors open, family members carry boxes, and a lot of keys end up on counters and in pockets. Pick one person to hold the master set and decide where it lives. A clear rule helps: keys are always in a particular pocket or a particular bowl, never on a table near an open door.

If you are using professional movers, ask for the doors you want to remain locked. A moving crew usually needs access to the front door, the garage, and possibly a service gate. They do not need your bedroom door key or the key to a storage closet. Keep valuables, documents, medications, and small electronics with you, not on the truck.

At the end of the day, walk through and check each door. Lock the deadbolt, test the handle, and confirm that sliding doors latch fully. After the day's traffic, hardware sometimes shifts out of alignment, and a door that would not latch before the move may be worse after a hundred trips with a dolly. If something sticks, make a note of it, and ask for a repair rather than forcing it. Lock repair is a straightforward visit for this kind of issue.

After the move: the first week

Within the first few days, finish the loop. Confirm that the rekey was done and every lock responds to the new key. Order spares from the new key. Update the garage opener memory. Register for building fobs. Remove any old lockbox from the property, or change its combination if it is going to stay.

Make a small, durable record of what you have: how many keys, who holds them, and where the spares are. A note in a password manager works, and so does a paper list in a safe place. When a key is lost later, you will be glad to know whether it was one of three or one of ten. If a key goes missing, the right response is to rekey promptly, not to hope.

If you have kept a few old keys as backups, ask whether you actually need them. Old keys that no longer open anything just clutter a drawer and make it harder to recognize the live ones. Dispose of obsolete keys properly, and keep only what is current. A simple key organization system helps you stay in control long after the boxes are unpacked.

What a technician will check when you call

When you ask a mobile locksmith to handle the lock side of a move, the technician usually begins by walking the doors with you. They look at each cylinder, check how the deadbolt throws into the frame, and examine the strike plate and the door's alignment. They ask whether the locks are all the same brand, whether any are damaged or sticky, and whether you want a single key for several doors.

They also ask about your plans for spares and electronic locks. If a lock cannot be rekeyed, for example because it is damaged or uses an unusual design, they explain what replacement would involve. Complicated jobs, such as a whole-house rekey with mixed hardware, may need an on-site visit before a quote can be given. Quotes are always given by phone, after you describe the doors, and there is a service call charge that is explained on the phone before anyone is dispatched.

To make the visit go smoothly, have proof that you live there or own the property, since a responsible technician will ask for it. Have every existing key together, including the ones you do not think you need. Know which doors you want included. And decide in advance how many spares you want. The more clearly you describe your situation on the call, the faster the work goes.

A short checklist you can print

If you only remember a few things, remember these. They cover both sides of the move, and they take very little time compared with the cost of a mistake.

1. List every lock, remote, fob, and PIN before moving day.
2. Collect or cancel what is in other people's hands.
3. Label what you pass on and write down what you receive.
4. Rekey or replace exterior locks before the first night, if possible.
5. Test every key on every door while the technician is present.
6. Cut spares only from the new key.
7. Reset garage, gate, and electronic lock credentials.
8. Lock up and check each door at the end of moving day.
9. Keep a simple record of how many keys exist and who holds them.

Ready to start?

If you are preparing for a move in Boca Raton or elsewhere in Palm Beach County and want the locks handled so you can focus on boxes, call us, describe your doors, and we will explain the options, the order of work, and what the service call involves before dispatching a technician. Related pages that may help include post move-in rekey and spare key duplication. Call whenever you are ready.

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