Lost all your car keys? What to do next, in order

What should you do first if you lose your only car key?

If you lose your only car key, search first, then make the car safe, then gather your paperwork. After that, phone a car locksmith or the dealer for your make before you move the car. A tow booked too early can take the car to a workshop that can't make its key.

1. 1Step 1: Retrace the day. Check pockets, bags, the washing basket and down the side of the couch, then ring the last places you went.
2. 2Step 2: Open the tracker app if you fitted a tracker tag to the key ring.
3. 3Step 3: Think about what else was on the ring. A house key, or a tag with your address or rego on it, means you need to move faster.
4. 4Step 4: Decide if the keys are lost or stolen. The next section covers the police side.
5. 5Step 5: Find your rego details, your photo ID and the VIN.
6. 6Step 6: Phone before you tow. Give the make, model and year, and say there's no key to copy.

Lost or stolen: should you report it to Queensland Police?

Report keys you can't find on the Queensland Police lost property form. That form is for property that's missing and wasn't stolen, and police email you a report number. If the keys were taken in a theft or a break-in, use the stolen property form instead.

Can't find a form that fits? Queensland Police says to contact Policelink on 131 444 if it's a police matter. Keep the report number with your rego papers. If a house key was on the same ring, the house is part of the job too, so ask a locksmith about lock rekeying.

What do you need before anyone can make a new key?

Expect to show who you are and that the car is yours. Nissan Australia asks owners to bring ID and proof of ownership for a duplicate key, and Mazda Australia asks you to verify your owner details. In Queensland, have your registration details and photo ID ready. The registration record also carries the VIN.

• Your Queensland registration certificate or registration details. The record holds the make, model and VIN or chassis number.
• Photo ID in the same name as the registration.
• Any key code tag or card that came with the car. Look in the folder with the owner's manual.
• The exact make, model and year, and where the car is parked.
• Any key you still have, even a worn or snapped one.

Papers locked in the car? The Queensland Government says some registration information is available online, including registration details and a replacement registration certificate. Restricted information about your own registration may also be given over the phone on 13 23 80, once you've answered questions to prove who you are.

An old key is worth bringing. Chris Thomas walked into the Brendale shop with a rusty, worn car key. His job started with a key in hand, which is a different job from having no key at all.

Where do you find your car's VIN?

Your VIN is on your registration certificate and on the car. The Australian Government's PPSR says it's generally on the body of the vehicle, under the bonnet, at the bottom of the windscreen on the passenger side, or along the driver's door closure area. Mazda Australia notes the spot can vary by model.

A VIN has 17 characters. Queensland's Department of Transport and Main Roads says it mixes letters and numbers, never uses I, O or Q, and identifies vehicles made after 1 January 1989. The department also says all vehicles must have a VIN or a chassis number marked on the frame, so an older car may show a chassis number. The VIN is a different thing from your number plate.

Transport and Main Roads says Australian Design Rule 61 requires the VIN or chassis number to be on the vehicle's identification plate and elsewhere on the vehicle. It also says vehicles approved from 1 July 2021 go on a national register instead of getting a compliance plate, and carry a label or metal plate that shows the VIN. The plate or label has to sit where it can be readily examined.

Car locked? Try reading the VIN through the windscreen from outside. If you can't see it, copy it from your registration certificate.

Can a locksmith make a car key without the original?

For the metal blade, yes. A car key can be cut from its key code, and ABC Locksmiths in Brendale cuts car keys from a code. On newer cars the key is often part of the car's security system, so the key may need coding to the car as well. Ask if that can be done with no working key.

What is a key code?

A key code is the number a key can be cut from. Kia's owner's manual, as one example, says the key code number is stamped on a tag attached to the key set, and tells owners to remove the tag and store it in a safe place. RAC WA gives similar advice: check the car's handbook for key and code details. Look in the glovebox folder and the sales paperwork.

Why isn't a cut key the whole job?

RAC WA explains that a car's master key is programmed specifically for that car, and that on newer makes and models the key is often part of the security system. If both keys are lost, it says, the car's computer system will need to be reset. That coding step is the one to ask any workshop about, ours included. Can you do it for my car with no working key, or is it a dealer job?

Dealer, locksmith or tow truck: which way should you go?

The type of key and the make of car decide the route, so phone before the car moves. Mazda, Nissan and Ford in Australia all send key requests to their dealers' service departments. A car locksmith is the other call to make. Ask both the same questions, then compare what they tell you.

Mazda Australia says replacement and programming fees apply, and Ford Australia says its dealers may charge a replacement fee for lost keys. RAC WA warns that replacing both keys can be quite expensive, depending on the make and model. It adds that an imported vehicle can mean a wait of several days or more while the dealer gets authorisation to issue keys. Our guide to what a replacement car key costs covers the price side.

Will insurance or roadside assistance help?

It might. Read your car insurance policy for key cover and note the excess, then check what your roadside plan says about lost keys. Cover differs between policies and plans, so ring the insurer or the motoring club before you pay for anything and ask what they need from you.

Have your police report number ready when you call. Ask if you have to use their supplier, and if a tow counts toward the benefit. Your own policy wording is what counts.

Should the lost key be removed from the car's system?

Ask about it, mainly if theft is possible. RAC WA says that on newer makes and models the key is often part of the car's security system, so the system may have to be re-coded when a key is lost. Check with whoever makes your new key that the missing one won't start the car afterwards.

This matters most when the keys went missing with something that points to the car, like a rego tag or your address. Raise it before the work starts, so the answer is part of the quote and the car only needs one visit.

Once you're driving again, get a second key made

Get a second key made as soon as the car is running. RAC WA says a new electronic key can generally be cloned from a spare, by the dealership or by an automotive locksmith. Its advice is to keep a spare key in a safe place at all times.

Keep the second key at home, away from the first. Write the key code down and store it outside the car. For house and shed keys, there's walk-in key cutting in Brendale. For the car, see car key replacement in Brendale.

ABC Locksmiths is a walk-in shop at Unit 19, 193-203 South Pine Road, Brendale QLD 4500, and an RACQ approved repairer. We cut car keys from a code. Ring 07 3205 4925 with your make, model and year and ask what's possible for your car. Open Mon to Thu 8am to 4:45pm, Fri to 4:30pm.