Car Key Replacement in New Haven, CT

Proving the car is yours

A replacement car key is cut and, on many newer cars, programmed to one specific vehicle, so expect to be asked to show that you own it or have the right to use it. Gather:

1. Photo ID.
2. The registration or title in your name.
3. The VIN, printed on the registration and on a plate at the driver's-side base of the windshield.
4. For a leased or company car, the lease or a letter from the owner.

If the registration is locked inside the car, say so in your request; it can be checked once the door is opened.

When a lost key meets a snow emergency

This is general information, not legal advice.

Under Section 29-86 of New Haven's snow emergency ordinance (Chapter 29, Article IV of the Code of Ordinances), police may tow or ticket vehicles left on streets posted or announced for the emergency. A car with no working key cannot be moved out of the way. To get a towed car back, the owner must show proof of identity, current address and ownership or right to possess the vehicle, and pay the towing and storage fees plus any parking penalties owed to the city.

That is much the same paperwork a new key calls for, so in winter keep the registration and a copy of the title somewhere other than the car.

Where the car is parked

A key can be made at the car, so its location matters. On the street, give the block, side of the street and nearest cross street. In multi-family neighborhoods such as Newhallville and Dixwell, where two- and three-family houses line the streets around the old Winchester plant, say which house and unit you live in if the car is in a driveway or yard behind the building. In a parking garage, note the facility and the floor.

What to send

• Make, model, year and VIN.
• Whether any key still works, and whether it is a plain metal key, a key with a chip in the head or a push-button start fob.
• Whether the car is on a posted snow-emergency street.

More on car key replacement, key fob programming and New Haven.