Key handover checklist (printable)

This checklist is for custody handovers between named people: staff to staff, or staff to a contractor. It is not a tenancy surrender form, a property-completion document or a legal key receipt.

You can use it two ways:

• as a reusable checklist displayed near key storage, so everyone follows the same steps;
• as a completed handover record for one individual handover, filled in and kept.

Handover record

One record per handover. The print button below prints only this record — not the article, menus or links. It is sized to fit one page on A4 and US Letter.

Custody and deadlines

A handover record — on paper or in software — depends on people reporting accurately. It documents what the sender and recipient said happened; it doesn't independently prove who physically has the keys. A paper checklist also can't enforce acknowledgement by itself: that relies on the recipient initialling and your team treating an unacknowledged handover as incomplete.

Keep the existing return deadline unless an authorised person explicitly approves and records a change. Write the new deadline and the approver alongside the original rather than crossing it out, so the history stays readable.

Worked example (fictional)

Dana Okafor, a letting agent, holds KR-044 for Harlow Mews 2, due back at the front desk by 17:00. At 13:10 she hands it to Sam Patel, a maintenance contractor booked for a boiler service.

1. Both read the tag (KR-044) and count 3 keys, matching the expected 3.
2. Dana writes the job reference and 13:10; Sam initials the acknowledgement at 13:12.
3. The 17:00 deadline carries over. Nobody has approved a change, so that line stays blank.
4. Sam returns the set at 16:25. The front desk confirms receipt and records hook 7.

This example uses the paper record. In KeyDocket, a handover request can only be accepted from the named recipient's own account, and the holder changes only when they accept.

When the handover doesn't go to plan

• Wrong key-set ID or key count mismatch. Stop the handover. Write down what was found, return the set to the sender and tell whoever manages the register before anyone relies on it.
• Keys handed over but no acknowledgement recorded. Contact the recipient and ask them to acknowledge now, at the current time. Don't backdate the acknowledgement or record it on their behalf; note when the physical handover happened in the exceptions field.
• Recipient declines or doesn't respond. The sender remains the recorded holder until acceptance. Establish who physically has the set. If the sender still has it, they can cancel the request and retain it. If the keys have already changed hands, arrange acknowledgement or recovery and document the discrepancy; cancelling the request does not mean the keys have been returned.
• Keys left at an agreed collection point. Use the agreed procedure for that location. Only record a return when its receipt or placement in authorised storage has been confirmed according to that procedure. Otherwise, record the drop-off as an exception and arrange confirmation. Do not record a person-to-person handover before the recipient acknowledges receipt.
• Overdue return. Contact the current recorded holder. Either arrange the return or get an authorised extension, recorded with the approver. Keep the original deadline visible.

Questions

This is an operational checklist, not a legal agreement. For the wider day-to-day routine, see managing keys across staff and contractors.