What the stamp means under BC rules, how it differs from a truly restricted key, and the proof that gets a legitimate copy cut without a fuss.
Usually yes, as long as the key is yours to copy. A Do Not Duplicate stamp on an ordinary blank is a request from whoever issued the key, and BC's Security Services Act, the law that licenses locksmiths, doesn't mention it. What the Act does control is the restricted key, and that kind may only be cut by a licensed locksmith, the lock's owner or someone acting with the owner's authority.
Picture it. Your landlord hands over exactly one key, stamped DO NOT DUPLICATE in stern little capitals, and your partner moves in next week. You need one more, and the key you have is practically shouting at you.
Here's what the stamp is: letters pressed into the metal by whoever issued the key, telling any key cutter that the issuer wants to control copies. Here's what it isn't: a different shape. A stamped Kwikset or Schlage key can be cut on the very same blank as the ones on your own keyring, so any machine that takes that blank can physically copy it. The stamp is a speed bump made of good manners.
For a key in Burnaby, the law that matters is BC's Security Services Act, which licenses locksmiths, and it never mentions the stamp. What it regulates is the restricted key. The Act defines that as a key, card or other lock operating device that is either made from a numerical or alphabetical code registered to the keyholder, using equipment unique to that type of key, or owned by a government: the province, a local government body, the federal government or another province. Section 25 then says nobody may cut, make, transfer, lend or give a restricted key unless they're an authorized person under the Act (a licensed locksmith, for example), the owner of the lock, or an employee acting with the owner's authority.
So the stamp alone doesn't make a copy illegal, but the key underneath it might. A stamped key from a carded, patented system, or a key that belongs to a government body, falls under those rules whatever is or isn't stamped on it. And legal isn't the same as allowed: if someone else issued the key, the copy is theirs to approve.
Because they can't check. A clerk has no way of knowing whether you're the tenant, the landlord or someone who found the key on the parkade floor, and the stamp tells them somebody upstream said no. The kiosk operators build that into policy: minuteKEY's FAQ says its machines can't be used for any key marked Do Not Duplicate, and that they're only for keys you're authorized to copy. Canadian Tire, Home Depot and Walmart don't publish counter policies online, so don't be surprised by a polite no. It's the same no that protects your own keys the day a stranger turns up with them.
A Do Not Duplicate key is an ordinary key wearing a warning label. A restricted key barely needs the label, because the blank itself isn't for sale to just anyone.
The shape is patented and the blanks are rationed. Schlage's Everest 29 keyway, for example, uses an undercut design that gives its keys patent protection until 2029, and Schlage says the blanks are tightly controlled so only authorized dealers and end users can get them. Mul-T-Lock works the same way: its Classic platform page describes key duplicating through authorized Mul-T-Lock dealers with a coded key card. No blank at the kiosk means no copy at the kiosk, however sweetly you ask.
Restricted systems add a paper trail on top of the patent. On Mul-T-Lock's MT5+ platform, the key card carries a unique code that's only readable by authorized Mul-T-Lock dealers with KC5 machines, so the card works as the permission slip. Larger systems, such as a strata's or a company's, keep a list of the people allowed to order keys. Schlage, for one, manages order authorizations for its restricted keyways through an online validation system that keeps a history of who approved what. Lose track of who's on that list and you've lost track of your keys.
A key with a plain Kwikset or Schlage head, a Do Not Duplicate stamp and none of the signs above is almost certainly a standard key with a warning on it.
Yes, with the right paperwork for the kind of key you're holding.
A licensed locksmith can physically cut it on the same machine as any other key. Whether they will depends on you. If it's your own house key and a previous owner had it stamped years ago, that's a short conversation. If a landlord, strata or employer issued it, expect the locksmith to want that person's go-ahead, in writing or by a quick call, before the key gets anywhere near the cutter. The locksmith who says no to you would say no to a stranger holding your keys, too.
If you're the registered keyholder, the path is simple: take the key and its card to an authorized dealer for that keyway. If you aren't, the keyholder authorizes you, usually in writing. Under the Security Services Act only an authorized person, the lock's owner or the owner's authorized employee may cut or make a restricted key, and the Security Services Regulation requires licensed security businesses to record the name and address of anyone who asks them to make or duplicate a restricted key, plus the owner's name when that's someone else.
It works both ways. In BC a locksmith needs a security worker licence, so it's perfectly reasonable to ask to see theirs while they're checking your ID.
Then it isn't really your key, whatever your keyring says, and the lock's owner decides who gets copies.
If the key opens a gym, bike room or parkade door in a Metrotown or Brentwood tower, it opens common property, and the strata controls it. BC's Standard Bylaws, which apply unless your strata filed different ones, don't mention keys at all. The Strata Property Act lets a strata pass bylaws on the use of common property, and lets it make rules governing the use, safety and condition of common property, which is where a key policy would sit. A new rule has to be in writing, and it lapses unless the owners ratify it at or before the next annual general meeting. Ask your property manager for the current bylaws and rules, and request extra common-area keys through them. Swapping a common-area lock yourself needs the strata's written approval under Standard Bylaw 6.
The Residential Tenancy Act deals with locks rather than copies. Section 31 says you can't change the lock on your unit unless the landlord agrees in writing or the director orders it, and can't change common-area locks without the landlord's consent. Section 37 is the one that catches people out: when you move out, you must give the landlord all the keys in your possession or control that give access to and within the property. Copies count. The easiest route to a spare of a stamped suite key is to ask the landlord for one; the Residential Tenancy Regulation lets a landlord charge the direct cost of additional keys you request.
At work, the owner of the lock decides: the business if it owns the hardware, or the landlord if the lease leaves the locks with them. A manager handing you a key isn't the same as a manager authorizing a copy, so get the go-ahead in writing from whoever administers the keys. For restricted keys this is more than good manners. The Act lets an employee cut, make or hand out a restricted key only while acting with the owner's authority, and the regulation gives the same allowance to a contractor acting with the owner's authority. A simple key log of who holds which key, and who approved each copy, makes the next resignation far less exciting.
Not at a kiosk and not at a general hardware counter. A restricted key goes to an authorized dealer for that brand, or to the locksmith who installed or services your building's system, once your authorization checks out.
Typical ranges for a copy from a locksmith, blank and cutting included: $30 to $70 for a restricted or high-security key with authorization, $20 to $45 for a dimple key such as Mul-T-Lock or Kaba, and $40 to $90 when the key has to be cut by code or from the lock with no original. A mobile visit adds a call-out charge. If your system's keys are only cut by the manufacturer, the dealer orders them in, and price and timing depend on that order.
| Key type | How to spot it | Kiosk or hardware counter | Locksmith | Whose go-ahead you need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard key | Common brand on the head, jagged top, no stamp | Yes, if the blank is on their list | Yes | Yours, if it's your key |
| Do Not Duplicate on a standard blank | Ordinary profile with the warning stamped on it | Usually refused; minuteKEY kiosks won't copy it | Yes, once you show you're entitled to it | Whoever issued it: landlord, strata or employer |
| Restricted or patented key | High-security brand, unusual profile, often a key card | No; the blanks aren't sold to them | An authorized dealer for that keyway | The registered keyholder, with the card |
| Government-owned key | Issued by a government body, any profile | No; minuteKEY excludes public institution keys | Only with the owner's authority | The government body that owns the lock |
Don't count on it. In Burnaby, key copying at the Canadian Tire on Market Crossing runs through a minuteKEY kiosk, and minuteKEY says its machines can't be used for keys marked Do Not Duplicate. Home Depot Canada doesn't publish a key cutting policy for its Henning Drive store, so ask before you go, and expect a clerk to politely decline a stamped key.
No. minuteKEY's FAQ rules out high-security, public institution and other restricted keys, and the makers of patented keyways keep the blanks away from kiosks in the first place; Schlage, for example, limits its Everest 29 blanks to authorized dealers and end users. A restricted key goes to an authorized dealer for that keyway.
Contact the dealer or locksmith who set up the system, with photo ID and proof that you're the registered keyholder, or have the keyholder make the call. Replacement is up to the manufacturer and its dealer, so ask what they need. If nobody can prove who the keyholder is and the system's security matters, the fallback is a new cylinder on a fresh card.
It depends on who cuts it. A dealer with the blank in stock and the maker's machine can cut it once your authorization checks out. Systems whose keys are only cut by the manufacturer take longer, so ask the dealer for a timeline when you book, and don't leave it until the week someone moves in.
Holding a stamped key, a key card or a signed note from your strata and not sure where to take it? Fast Locksmith Burnaby cuts Do Not Duplicate and restricted keys across Burnaby once the keyholder's authorization checks out, and tells you on the call if your keyway has to go back to its dealer. Call 778.655.2015 with a photo of the key head handy, or book online.
Key cutting, restricted keyways and strata key control across Burnaby.