What information does a locksmith have to record on a work order in California

Which jobs need a work order

Three California statutes describe the locksmith work order, and each is triggered by a different job. Business and Professions Code section 6980.55(a) applies to any locksmith who knowingly and willfully opens a residence or commercial establishment for someone else by a method that involves inspecting the door or entrance on site, whether or not they are paid for it. Penal Code section 466.8 applies to anyone who makes a key capable of opening a residence or commercial establishment for another person by a method involving an onsite inspection, and it expressly includes keys made from key codes or impressions.

Vehicles have their own rule. Penal Code section 466.6 covers anyone who makes a key capable of operating the ignition of a motor vehicle for another person by any method other than duplicating an existing key, again including keys made from codes or impressions. Section 6980.55(b) of the Business and Professions Code sets a parallel duty for locksmiths who make keys capable of opening a motor vehicle.

Plain duplication is treated differently. Section 466.8 states that it does not prohibit duplicating a home or business key from another such key, and section 466.6 is written around methods other than duplicating an existing key. The Bureau of Security and Investigative Services also notes in its consumer guide to locksmith companies that a locksmith license is not required for retail establishments or individuals who only duplicate keys from an existing key.

The customer details on the work order

For homes and businesses, section 466.8 and section 6980.55(a) list the same five items about the person asking for the work: name, address, telephone number, date of birth, and driver's license or identification number. Section 466.8 qualifies the phone and ID number with "if any", while section 6980.55(a) lists them without that qualifier. Alongside those details, the work order carries the street address of the residence or commercial establishment and the signature of the person the work was done for, and section 466.8 adds the date the key was made.

For vehicle keys, section 466.6 asks for the customer's name, address, telephone number if any, date of birth and driver's license or ID number, plus the vehicle's registration or identification number, license plate number, year, make, model, color and vehicle identification number. The work order also carries the date the key was made and the customer's signature.

Section 6980.55(b) lists a shorter set for vehicle work: the customer's name, date of birth and license or ID number, the vehicle's registration or identification number, the date the service was performed, and the signature of the person requesting entrance. Every item on that shorter list also appears in section 466.6, so the two lists line up rather than conflict.

Your own name and license number

The work order identifies the locksmith as well as the customer. Business and Professions Code section 6980.53 says a licensed locksmith is subject to sections 466.6 and 466.8, and that each work order completed under them must include the name and license number of the locksmith performing the service. Section 6980.55 says the same for its own work orders, though its vehicle subsection names only the license number. Section 466.6 itself refers to the name and permit number of the locksmith.

The Penal Code sections still refer to the Bureau of Collection and Investigative Services. A 2024 sunset review background paper published by the California Assembly Business and Professions Committee explains that Assembly Bill 936, passed in 1993, renamed that bureau the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the agency that licenses locksmith companies today.

Customers are told to look for the same details. The bureau's consumer guide advises them to ask to see the company license or employee registration card and a photo ID when the locksmith arrives, and to ask for a receipt that includes the company name and the company license number.

Two years, and who can look

All four sections use the same retention period: a copy of each work order is retained for two years. During that time it is open to inspection by any peace officer or by the bureau during business hours, or is submitted to the bureau upon request. Sections 466.6 and 466.8 each state that a person who violates the subdivision is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Counted from the date of each job, a work order written in October 2026 would be kept into October 2028. Filing them by date as well as by customer name makes it much easier to answer a request about a particular week, a particular address or a particular vehicle.

The sections describe a copy of each work order but do not say whether that copy has to be on paper or in electronic form. If you plan to keep records only on a phone or a computer, it is worth asking the bureau how it expects to receive them, and keeping an exported copy somewhere other than the device you carry on jobs.

How Texas handles the same moment

Texas approaches the question from the customer's side. Occupations Code section 1702.2865 says a locksmith company or locksmith may not perform services for a customer who seeks entry to a structure, motor vehicle or other property unless, in the course of the transaction, the customer shows a government-issued identification and provides a signed authorization stating that they own the property or are otherwise entitled to legal access to it. The section exempts requests made in a case of imminent threat to a person or property.

The statute does not list record fields the way California does. Separately, the Texas Department of Public Safety's business records rule, 37 Texas Administrative Code section 35.112, requires licensees to keep all contracts for regulated services and related documentation reflecting the actual provision of the service for two years from the later of the date the service was provided or the date the contract was completed.

Common work order mistakes

Skipping fields when the customer is in a hurry. Date of birth and ID number are easy to leave blank at the end of a late call, and they are on every California list quoted above. Fill them in before the door is opened or the key is handed over, while the customer is still standing next to you.

Separating the person from the property. The statutes ask for the customer's details, the street address or vehicle details, and the signature together on a work order. A signed receipt with no address, or an address written on a different sheet, makes the record harder to defend later.

Keeping ID photos with personal pictures. The sections ask for the ID number, not a photo of the ID. If you photograph it anyway as a check, keep those images out of a camera roll that syncs to family devices, since a driver's license photo is sensitive in anyone's hands.

Not being able to produce a date range. A box of carbon copies sorted by nothing is hard to search when someone asks about a job last spring. A digital log helps here: LockSlip, for example, puts the California fields on one slip with the ID photo and signature, prints your name and license number on each record, and exports any date range as a PDF or CSV.

This guide summarizes the text of the California and Texas laws named above as read in October 2026. It is not legal advice. Laws change and cities or counties may add their own rules, so check with the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, the Texas Department of Public Safety, or a lawyer about your own situation.

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