Manage keys and codes
A safe is only as secure as its key or code. Plan who holds them and how they are recovered if someone is away or dies.
How
- Limit keys and codes to the adults who need them. The UK Home Office advises that only authorised people hold firearm cabinet keys.
- Store spare keys separately from main keys, for example in a key safe (UK guidance). Never keep keys inside or next to the safe they open (NSW guidance for firearm storage).
- Do not hide spare house keys outside.
- Change codes when someone leaves the household or a code may be known by others.
- Write sealed instructions so a trusted person or executor can access safes in an emergency. Store them away from the safes.
- Include the passphrases for encrypted backup drives in the sealed instructions (secure-18).
- Replace batteries in electronic locks on a schedule and keep the manual override key secure.
Do these first
Sources
- Firearms Security Handbook 2020 (accessible version). UK Home Office, accessed 2026-11
- Ammunition Safe Storage Fact Sheet. NSW Police Force (Australia), accessed 2026-11