Oak XL keyring engraved with the wheelchair symbol, 200 x 80mm, standing between potted plants

RADAR Keys: What They Are, How to Get One and What Businesses Should Know

A RADAR key is the universal key that opens accessible toilets fitted with a National Key Scheme (NKS) lock: more than 9,000 across the UK, says Disability Rights UK, which runs the scheme. It sells the official key to people who need accessible toilets because of a disability or health condition, for £5 VAT-free or £6 with VAT.

Below: what the key is and where it works, who can get one, how to buy a genuine key, how to find RADAR toilets, what to do if you don't have a key, and what a business with an accessible toilet should think about before fitting a RADAR lock. We are an engraving workshop in Buckley, Flintshire. We make accessible toilet signs and key fobs. We don't sell RADAR keys or fit locks.

What a RADAR key is and where it works

The National Key Scheme was launched in 1981 by Radar, the Royal Association for Disability and Rehabilitation, working with Nicholls & Clarke, the company that invented the lock. In 2012 Radar merged with two other charities to form Disability Rights UK, which now looks after the scheme. That is why the key is still called a RADAR key. It is also called an NKS key.

Disability Rights UK explains why the scheme exists. Accessible toilets left open were often misused or badly kept, so many were locked. That made them easier to look after, but disabled people then had to ask for the key, and the key was not always to hand. Carrying your own key removes the wait.

You will find NKS locks on council-run public toilets, and on accessible toilets in bus and train stations, shopping centres, department stores, pubs and cafés. Disability Rights UK says the key also opens Changing Places toilets fitted with the lock, and some accessible gates in the countryside.

It is a UK scheme. Motability's advice is that RADAR keys can only be used in the UK.

Who can get a RADAR key

Disability Rights UK sells the key only to people who need accessible toilets because of a disability or health condition. Some of them have conditions nobody else can see, such as Crohn's disease, colitis, or a bladder or bowel condition. Disability Rights UK campaigns on exactly this point: needing an accessible toilet doesn't mean you will look disabled to anyone else. Crohn's & Colitis UK says one in two people with Crohn's or Colitis has had a negative experience when trying to access an accessible toilet.

Buying the key VAT-free means declaring that you are eligible for VAT relief and that the key is for your own personal use. An organisation buying on someone's behalf, such as a care home, pays the VAT.

How to get a RADAR key

  1. Order from Disability Rights UK. Its online shop sells the official key for £5 VAT-free or £6 with VAT, with a £1.75 contribution to postage per order, and aims to deliver within 10 working days (prices checked November 2026). The charity says all profits from the key go back into its services.
  2. Ask your council. Some councils issue keys to residents. Flintshire County Council, for example, issues them to residents who are registered disabled or have difficulty using the facilities: apply through its online General Enquiry form or at a Flintshire Connects centre.
  3. Avoid cheap copies. Disability Rights UK says its key is made and guaranteed by the makers of the locks, and warns that copies sold elsewhere may not work or may break in the lock.

How to find a RADAR toilet

  • The Great British Public Toilet Map (toiletmap.org.uk) lists public toilets across the UK. Flintshire County Council's advice is to use the filter on the left of the map and choose "Radar Key" to see only toilets with the lock. Anyone with a free account can add a missing toilet or correct one that is wrong.
  • The Changing Places map shows toilets with the extra space and equipment some people need, including a hoist and an adult-sized changing bench. 2,707 Changing Places toilets were registered on it when we checked in November 2026.
  • On the door, look for the NKS lock itself.

No key? What you can do

Ask staff. North Northamptonshire Council's guidance is that where the toilet is inside a building, staff should always have a RADAR key available, but a standalone public toilet may need your own key.

A toilet card can help you explain quickly. The Bladder & Bowel Community's Just Can't Wait card is free as a digital card for Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, or £3.95 as a plastic card. The charity says it is widely accepted in cafés, shops and other businesses, but is clear that it does not guarantee access.

For businesses: should you fit a RADAR lock?

We make signs. We are not lawyers, and this is not legal advice.

Unlocked if you can. According to the Changing Places Consortium, the scheme's ideal is for every accessible toilet to stay unlocked. It also recognises that many providers have no choice but to lock theirs, because of misuse and damage.

If you lock it, use the national lock. The Consortium says providers who do lock an accessible toilet are asked to join the National Key Scheme: that means fitting the standard lock and making keys available to disabled people. Then anyone carrying a RADAR key gets in without having to find you first. Nicholls & Clarke, who invented the lock, still make it, and washroom and lock suppliers sell it. Their lockset comes with a key, which can be the one you keep at the counter. Disability Rights UK sells keys to people who need the toilets, and points bulk orders of nine or more to Nicholls & Clarke.

Keep a key behind the counter. Plenty of people who need the toilet don't carry a key: a visitor from abroad, someone newly diagnosed, a carer who has left theirs at home. A key held at the bar or reception covers them.

Say so on the door and at the counter. A locked door with no explanation looks out of order. One line tells people the lock is a RADAR lock and where to get a key if they don't have one. For example:

Examples
Accessible toilet. RADAR key, or ask at the bar
RADAR key toilet. Key available at reception
Accessible toilet key: please ask staff

Make the lending key easy to find and hard to pocket. A RADAR key on its own goes missing. A large key fob marked with the wheelchair symbol is easy to spot on a hook and more likely to come back.

Don't question who uses it. Brief staff that not every disability is visible. Crohn's & Colitis UK's Not Every Disability Is Visible campaign says more than 3,000 venues, including the major supermarkets, travel hubs and large pub and restaurant chains, have put up its accessible toilet signs, and it encourages venues to install them.

Put your toilet on the map. If the public can use your accessible toilet, add it to the Great British Public Toilet Map with the RADAR detail, so people can plan a visit.

Changing Places toilets in new buildings. In England, Approved Document M, the statutory guidance on access to buildings, has since 1 January 2021 expected at least one Changing Places toilet in these types of building: assembly, recreation and entertainment buildings with a capacity of 350 or more (or sites such as zoos and theme parks with a combined capacity of 2,000 or more), shopping centres and retail parks of 30,000m² gross floor area or more, shops of 2,500m² or more, sport and leisure buildings over 5,000m², hospitals and primary care centres, and crematoria and cemetery buildings. The government's response to its consultation says the requirement applies to new buildings and to buildings undergoing a material change of use. It does not make existing premises add one where no such work is done. Wales has had its own version since 3 January 2023, with different thresholds, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building rules.

How to manage access to a Changing Places toilet is for each venue to decide, the Changing Places Consortium says. Some venues leave theirs unlocked, some ask visitors to collect a key from reception, and some use a key scheme such as RADAR.

Our guide to which accessibility signs a business needs covers hearing loops, step-free routes and assistance dogs as well as toilets. To see the signs the law requires at your premises in England and Wales, try our free signage law checker.

Accessible toilet signs and key fobs we make

Oak accessible toilet sign laser engraved with the wheelchair symbol, on pale painted wooden boards

  • Accessible toilet sign: the wheelchair symbol on FSC-certified 4mm oak veneered MDF, in four sizes from 102 × 74mm to 270 × 190mm. A plain panel with no holes that fixes flat with sticky pads (not supplied).
  • Male, female and accessible toilet sign: all three symbols on one sign for a shared facility, in four sizes.
  • Toilets sign with your own wording: a slim sign in FSC-certified oak veneered MDF, in four sizes, for a line such as "RADAR key toilet. Key at the bar".
  • Accessible bathroom keyring, oak and bamboo: an XL 200 × 80mm fob with the wheelchair symbol for the key you lend out, in FSC-certified oak veneered MDF or FSC-certified Moso bamboo (certificate BV-COC-190523). Add your venue name in the personalisation box if you want it.
  • Toilet Key keyring: the same XL size in FSC-certified Moso bamboo (certificate BV-COC-190523), engraved "Toilet Key", for a standard customer toilet.

Our signs are laser engraved, not tactile or Braille. Where tactile signage is needed, use a specialist supplier. For indoor use only. Bulk discounts apply automatically at checkout, per product: 10% off 20 or more, rising to 35% off 1,000 or more.

All items are made to order. Dispatch time is shown at checkout. UK orders via Royal Mail Tracked 24. International via Royal Mail International Tracked.

See all our accessibility signs and toilet and bathroom signs.

Frequently asked questions

What is a RADAR key?
It is the universal key for accessible toilets fitted with a National Key Scheme (NKS) lock. Disability Rights UK, which runs the scheme, says it opens more than 9,000 accessible toilets in the UK, including in stations, shopping centres, pubs and cafés.

How much does a RADAR key cost?
The official key from Disability Rights UK costs £5 if you qualify for VAT relief or £6 with VAT, plus a £1.75 contribution to postage per order (November 2026). Some councils also issue keys to eligible residents.

Can anyone buy a RADAR key?
Disability Rights UK sells the key only to people who need accessible toilets because of a disability or health condition, including conditions you can't see. Buying it VAT-free means declaring you are eligible for VAT relief.

Do RADAR keys work abroad?
No. The National Key Scheme is a UK scheme, and Motability's advice is that RADAR keys can only be used in the UK.

Do Changing Places toilets use RADAR keys?
Some do, and Disability Rights UK says the key opens Changing Places toilets fitted with the lock. The Changing Places Consortium says each venue decides how to manage access: some leave the toilet unlocked, some keep a key at reception, some use a key scheme such as RADAR.

Does a business have to fit a RADAR lock?
Nothing we have found requires one. The National Key Scheme's stated ideal is for accessible toilets to be left unlocked, though it accepts that many have to be locked. If you do lock yours, the NKS lock lets key-holders in without asking, and a key kept at the counter covers visitors who don't carry one. This is general information, not legal advice.

Also see: which accessibility signs a business needs, hearing loop signs, accessibility signs and toilet and bathroom signs.

Sources

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