Engraved oak house key tags labelled Front Door and Back Door on metal split rings

What to Write on House Key Tags (and What Never to Write)

Label a key by what it opens or who carries it, such as Front Door, Back Gate, Shed or Mum's Keys, and never by your address. A tag with your address or postcode turns a lost key into a way into your home. Below are 35 labels that work, three simple labelling systems, and what to leave off.

Our wooden house key tags are 80 × 20mm tags of 4mm FSC-certified oak veneered MDF with a metal split ring, laser engraved to order in our workshop in North Wales with one of 35 ready-made labels or your own text. The ideas below work whatever tags you use.

The one rule: no address, no postcode

An Easy Read home-safety factsheet from Derbyshire County Council puts it plainly: "Never put your keys on a tag that has your address written on it." Anyone who finds the keys would be able to get into your home. The same goes for a house name, a street name or anything else that tells a stranger which door the key fits.

The same advice also warns against leaving spare keys anywhere easy to find, such as under a flowerpot or the doormat. A label that says what the key opens is useful to you and tells a finder nothing.

If you want an honest finder to be able to return a lost set, a phone number is far safer than an address, but it is not anonymous: a number can sometimes be traced to a name online. If keys come back, arrange to collect them rather than giving the finder your address. Never write a key safe code or alarm code on a tag.

35 house key tag labels that work

These are the 35 ready-made labels on our house key tags, grouped by what they open.

Doors and windows

  1. Front Door
  2. Back Door
  3. Side Door
  4. Patio Door
  5. Porch
  6. Conservatory
  7. Windows

Gates

  1. Front Gate
  2. Back Gate
  3. Side Gate
  4. Gate

Rooms

  1. Kitchen
  2. Utility Room
  3. Study
  4. Office
  5. Studio
  6. Attic
  7. Basement

Garden and outbuildings

  1. Garage
  2. Shed
  3. Workshop
  4. Summer House
  5. Man Cave
  6. Allotment
  7. Toolbox
  8. Mailbox

Vehicles and getaways

  1. Car
  2. Bikes
  3. Boat
  4. Campervan
  5. Caravan
  6. Motorhome

People and spares

  1. Mum's Keys
  2. Dad's Keys
  3. Spare Keys

Oak house key tags engraved Front Door, Garage and Shed, each on a metal split ring

Ideas for your own text

If the key you need to label isn't on the list, choose Your Own Text. Wording that works well:

  • Top Lock and Bottom Lock, for a door with two locks
  • Window Locks
  • Meter Cupboard
  • Bin Store
  • Bike Lock
  • Garden Room
  • Annexe
  • Flat 2, or a room number, with no street name

Keep it to a word or two. The tag is 80mm long, so short wording reads best.

Three simple labelling systems

1. Label by door

One tag per key, named for the door, gate or lock it opens. This is the most useful system for a household, because anyone can pick up the right key without asking. Keep the spares together on one ring labelled Spare Keys.

2. Label by person

Give each person's set its own tag, such as Mum's Keys or Dad's Keys, and keep the door labels on the individual keys inside each set. It ends the "whose keys are these?" question on the kitchen worktop.

3. Label by finish

Our key tags come in two finishes, untreated oak and Danish oiled oak, which is darker. Use one finish for outside keys (doors, gates, garage, shed) and the other for inside keys (rooms, cupboards, windows), and you can tell the two groups apart at a glance, even before you read the label. The tags are for indoor use: fine in a pocket or on a key hook, but don't leave one hanging in an outside lock or out in the rain.

Wooden house key tags in untreated oak and darker Danish oiled oak, side by side

Spare keys left with neighbours or family

A spare left with a neighbour or a relative should say what it opens, not whose house it is from. "Spare Keys" or "Back Door" is enough: they know whose keys they are holding, and a stranger who finds them learns nothing. If someone looks after keys for several homes, a first name or a number they keep a note of works better than an address.

Holiday lets and Airbnbs

For guest keys, label each key by door (Front Door, Back Gate, or your own text such as Hot Tub or Bike Store). Keep the property's name off any key that opens an outside door: many holiday lets have a name that is easy to look up online, so on a front door key the name works much like an address. Put the property name and any codes in the welcome book instead.

If you want your logo or property name on room keys, the extra-large 200 × 80mm keyrings carry it with a room number, and guests are unlikely to pocket them by mistake. For door signs, house rules and the rest of the kit, see our holiday accommodation signs and the guide to what signage a holiday let needs.

Landlords and letting agents

When a key cabinet holds keys for dozens of properties, names stop working. The answer is a code on the tag that matches a private register, so the tag never shows an address. Our guide to wooden key tags for key cabinets covers codes, double-sided tags and finishes, and key tags for lettings and estate agents covers labelling systems and security.

Untreated or Danish oiled oak?

Untreated oak is the natural pale veneer, left as it comes off the laser. Danish oil darkens it to a warm honey tone, brings up the grain and gives the surface some protection from greasy hands and the occasional splash. Both are the same FSC-certified oak veneered MDF, and both take the same labels.

Engraved oak key labels for Spare Keys, Gate and Conservatory on metal split rings

How many key tags do you need?

Count the keys, not the doors. A typical house has a front door, a back door and perhaps a side gate, a garage and a shed, and each of those keys usually has a spare. Ordering for a whole house, a holiday let or a lettings office? Bulk discounts apply automatically at checkout from 20 of the same product: 10% at 20, 15% at 50, 20% at 100, 25% at 250, 30% at 500 and 35% at 1,000.

A set of labelled tags also makes a practical housewarming present. For something with the new owners' names on it, there is the Our New Home keyring (leave the house name off if it's going on the door key), and for the one key that must never go missing, the Don't Lose This Key keyring.

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.

Frequently asked questions

Should I put my address on my keys?
No. If the keys are lost, an address tells whoever finds them which door they open. An Easy Read home-safety factsheet from Derbyshire County Council says never to put your keys on a tag that has your address written on it. Label keys by what they open, such as Front Door or Shed, instead.

What should I write on a house key tag?
What the key opens or who it belongs to, in a word or two: Front Door, Back Gate, Garage, Spare Keys or Mum's Keys. Short labels are easiest to read on a small tag.

How do I tell similar-looking keys apart?
Give every key its own tag rather than labelling the whole bunch. For a door with two locks, use Top Lock and Bottom Lock. Using one tag finish for outside keys and another for inside keys also helps.

Can I put a phone number on a key tag?
A phone number is far safer than an address and is a common compromise if you want lost keys returned, but it is not anonymous. If keys come back, arrange to collect them rather than giving the finder your address. Don't add an address, a house name or a key safe code.

What size are your house key tags?
80 × 20mm, made from 4mm FSC-certified oak veneered MDF, with a metal split ring. The ready-made labels are engraved in capitals, and you can choose untreated or Danish oiled oak.

Also see: wooden house key tags, blank or engraved oak key fobs, all personalised wooden keyrings and key tags for key cabinets.

Sources

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