A caregiver cannot complete a shift if the person at the door cannot get inside. Treat house access as part of hiring, not as a detail to settle later. Your job is to choose one controlled entry method, test it with the actual people involved, and write down how access will be removed. Keep this sheet with the hiring notes described in Start Here: Five Steps to Hiring.
1. Name the person who controls access
Pick one family member to issue keys or codes, maintain the access list, and remove access when service ends. Do not let separate relatives make separate arrangements with caregivers.
Access owner: ____________________
Phone: ____________________
Backup contact: ____________________
The access owner should write down every key, code, opener, alarm credential, or building credential provided. This creates one record to check when the arrangement changes.
2. Walk the route from the street to the chair
Start where the caregiver will arrive. Walk the route in order: parking location, building entrance, gate, exterior door, alarm panel, interior door, and the place where the person receiving care usually sits.
At each barrier, write down what opens it and who controls that item.
Parking instruction: ____________________
Gate or building instruction: ____________________
Exterior door method: ____________________
Alarm step, if any: ____________________
Inside door or pet barrier: ____________________
If an apartment, condominium, or managed community controls an entrance, ask the property office what credential a regular in-home worker may use. Write down the office answer and the name or department that gave it. Do not assume a caregiver can borrow a resident-only credential or enter behind another person.
3. Choose one primary entry method
Compare the methods by what happens at the door, not by the sales description.
Physical key: Who makes the copy? Is it marked with an address? Who retrieves it when this caregiver stops coming?
Lockbox: Who installs it? Where can the caregiver reach it without moving furniture or climbing? Who changes the combination? Can the family tell whether the key was returned after a shift?
Keypad lock: Can each caregiver receive a separate code? Who can add and remove codes? Does the lock still operate when its batteries are depleted? Where is the mechanical backup key kept?
Building desk or concierge: What name must appear on the approved visitor list? What identification will the desk request? Is the desk staffed for every scheduled arrival?
Primary method selected: ____________________
Reason this method works at every scheduled arrival: ____________________
Federal Trade Commission guidance for connected devices recommends changing default credentials, using strong unique passwords, enabling multifactor authentication when available, and keeping device software updated. Apply those checks if the entry method uses an app, internet connection, or shared online account. The public-reference trail is maintained on the Sources page.
4. Ask the provider exactly who receives access
Ask the agency or independent caregiver: “Whose name will be attached to this key or code?” Then ask: “Could a supervisor, substitute, trainer, or office employee use it?”
Write the answer as a list, not as “staff.”
People or roles authorized to enter: ____________________
People or roles not authorized to enter: ____________________
Ask whether the provider records which worker is assigned to each visit. If more than one worker may arrive, decide whether they will share access or receive separate credentials. Separate codes make it possible to remove one person’s access without replacing everyone’s code. That capability depends on the lock, so confirm it in the manufacturer’s public instructions before relying on it. See the citation method used by this desk at How We Write the Sheets.
5. Set the boundaries before issuing anything
Write down when access may be used. A plain rule is easier to apply than an assumption.
Access may be used for: ____________________
Earliest permitted arrival: ____________________
Latest permitted departure: ____________________
May access be used when the client is away? Yes / No
May another worker receive the key or code? Yes / No
Who must approve an exception? ____________________
Do not place the street address on a loose key or key tag. Ready.gov recommends protecting important household information and keeping emergency plans available to the people who need them. Record the address and emergency contacts in the provider’s authorized service information, not on an object that can identify the house if lost. The underlying public references are listed on the Sources page.
6. Build a backup that does not depend on the same failure
If the primary method needs electricity, a phone, an app, wireless service, or batteries, the backup should not depend on that same item. Check the lock manufacturer’s public manual for its stated battery warning, backup-power procedure, and mechanical override.
Primary method: ____________________
What could stop it: ____________________
Backup method: ____________________
Person who can authorize the backup: ____________________
Do not hide a backup key until the family has decided who may retrieve it and how its return will be confirmed. If the only backup is “call my brother,” call him during the test and confirm that he can answer and reach the house during every scheduled window.
7. Run the closed-door test
Test the complete route with the door closed and locked. The person who will enter should perform the steps. The access owner should watch without supplying missing instructions.
Test these conditions: arrival from the normal parking place, entry through every shared door, operation of the house lock, alarm handling, safe placement of the key after entry, locking the door from inside, and locking it again on departure.
Test result: Pass / Needs correction
Step that failed or required prompting: ____________________
Correction made: ____________________
Retest completed: Yes / No
If the process works only because a particular relative happened to be home, it is not ready for an arrival when that relative is absent.
8. Record the handoff
When a key, fob, opener, or code is issued, make a short access receipt. Both sides should retain the same information.
Recipient name: ____________________
Item or code identifier, without writing the full code on this sheet: ____________________
Approved purpose: ____________________
Return or removal event: ____________________
Family contact for a lost item or failed entry: ____________________
Ask where the provider records lost keys, disclosed codes, and entry failures. Write down the reporting phone number separately from the general office number.
9. Define what happens when access fails
Give the caregiver an order to follow: call the access owner, wait in the agreed location, contact the provider, and leave only when the provider or family gives an instruction. Set a limit for how long the caregiver should wait before escalating.
First call: ____________________
Second call: ____________________
Safe waiting location: ____________________
Instruction if nobody answers: ____________________
For fire, police, or medical emergencies, use emergency services. Do not design the routine entry procedure as a substitute for an emergency plan. Ready.gov treats household communication and emergency planning as separate preparations. The public source is identified through this desk’s source ledger.
10. Remove access when the arrangement changes
Decide the removal action while the relationship is still working. A physical key must be returned or the affected lock changed. A code must be deleted, not merely left unused. An app user must be removed from the account. A building list must be updated through the property office.
Event that ends access: ____________________
Person responsible for removal: ____________________
Removal action: ____________________
How completion will be verified: ____________________
Walk away from an access plan if nobody can name every person who may enter, a shared code cannot be removed from one former worker, the backup has never been tested, or the provider refuses to explain how a lost credential is reported. Pause the start, correct the access record, and repeat the closed-door test.