Opening a door is the easy part of a lockout. The hard part is knowing the person in front of you has a right to be on the other side of it. Get it wrong once and you may have let someone into an ex-partner's apartment, a car that isn't theirs, or a business after hours. The fix is a routine you follow on every call, not a gut feeling at the curb.
Start on the phone, before you drive
The best time to find out there's no proof is before you burn the trip. On every lockout call, ask:
- Is this your home, car or business?
- Will you have a photo ID with you, or is it inside?
- Does the address on your ID match this address? If not, what else shows you live there?
- For a car: whose name is the registration in?
Then tell them plainly: "Our tech will need to see ID and proof that you live there or own the car before opening it. If it's inside, we'll check it right after we open." People who have a right to be there almost never object. People who don't sometimes hang up, and that's a good outcome too.
If you charge a trip fee when you can't do the job because there's no proof, say it on this call.
What counts as proof
A photo ID on its own proves who someone is, not that the door is theirs. You want the ID plus something that ties that name to the place or the car. Some papers are stronger than others.
| Lockout | Strong proof | Weaker, use with care |
|---|---|---|
| Home they own | ID showing this address; mortgage statement or property tax bill in their name | Mail addressed to them at this address |
| Rental home or apartment | ID showing this address; signed lease naming them; confirmation from the landlord or property manager | Utility bill in their name; a neighbor who says they know them |
| Car | ID plus registration or title in the same name, with a VIN that matches the car | Insurance card listing the car; a spouse or family member named on the registration |
| Rental car | ID plus the rental agreement for that car | The rental company confirming by phone |
| Business | ID plus a business document naming them, or the owner or manager confirming by phone | An employee badge on its own |
Two weaker documents together can be fine. A weaker document alone, with a story that doesn't quite fit, is where you slow down.
When the papers are locked inside
This is the most common case, and it's normal: the wallet is on the kitchen counter, the registration is in the glove box. Many locksmiths handle it this way:
- Open the door or car.
- Stay in the doorway, or next to the car, while the customer gets their ID and proof.
- Check the documents before you pack up, take payment or leave.
- For a car, compare the VIN on the registration with the VIN on the dashboard or door jamb.
Tell the customer this is the plan before you start. If they can't or won't show anything once they're inside, you have a decision to make, and your shop should have made it in advance (see below).
Red flags worth slowing down for
- The name on the ID doesn't match the address or the registration, and there's no clear reason why.
- The customer is in a hurry in a way that feels off, or keeps changing the story.
- They want the locks changed on a home they say they don't own, or that someone else lives in.
- There are signs of a dispute: someone else's belongings by the door, mentions of an ex, or neighbors watching closely.
- They won't show ID once inside, or walk off with the paperwork before you can see it.
- The car has no registration in it and the customer can't say whose name it's in.
None of these alone proves anything. People lose wallets and move house without updating their license. But each one is a reason to ask one more question.
Decide your "no proof" policy before you need it
At 1 a.m. with an upset customer is the wrong time to invent a policy. Write down what your techs do when proof doesn't show up. Common choices:
- Decline and leave, charging the trip fee you quoted on the phone.
- Call a third party who can vouch: the landlord, the property manager, the registered owner of the car, or the business owner.
- Call the police non-emergency line and ask whether an officer can come and confirm. Some departments do this, many don't have the time. Know what yours does.
Whatever you choose, make it the same answer for every tech. A customer turned away by one tech shouldn't be able to call back and get the door opened by another.
Keep a record of every lockout
If something goes wrong later, the record is what protects you. For each lockout, keep the name on the ID, what proof you saw, the time and the place. A photo of the ID and of the proof document is stronger than a note. A signature from the customer saying they have the right to enter is stronger again.
Treat those photos carefully. They're someone's driver's license and home address. Store them somewhere only the people who need them can see, not in a tech's camera roll, and keep them as long as your state requires and no longer than you need.
How LockCommand handles it
LockCommand puts this routine into the job itself. The AI receptionist reminds callers to have ID and proof ready. On site, the tech picks the document type, photographs the ID and the proof, types the name on the ID, and the customer signs on the tech's phone. The time, the tech and the location are saved with the job. Any shop, solo or dispatch, can turn on a rule in Shop details so no job is marked complete without an ID check. The photos stay in your shop's account instead of a camera roll, where signed-in members of your team can open them from the job. See ID and proof of ownership for how it works, and security and privacy for who can see what.