Car Key Replacement in Boston, MA

First, confirm where the car is

A car missing after a storm is not necessarily stolen. Once the city declares a snow emergency, cars on posted main roads are ticketed and towed, and the City of Boston's towed-vehicle page is the first place to look before treating the car, or a lost key, as a theft. A replacement key only helps once you know where the car is.

Proving the car is yours

A new key gives someone full use of a car, so expect to show ownership before one is cut or programmed. Have on hand:

• Photo ID in the owner's name.
• The registration or title issued by your state motor-vehicle agency, with a name that matches the ID. If the papers are inside the locked car, say so.
• The VIN, printed on the registration and visible through the windshield at the base of the driver's side.
• If you are not the registered owner, a note of who is, so that can be settled first.

Why the car's location matters

Most modern keys carry a transponder chip that has to be programmed to the car it will start, so the car itself is part of the job. Give the exact spot: the street and cross street, a driveway, or the garage name, level and space. If the car sits on a posted snow-emergency route and a storm is on the way, mention it; a car with no working key cannot be moved before the ban begins, and a tow adds a second problem to the first.

Describing the keys

• Year, make and model.
• The kind of key: plain metal blade, transponder key, flip key or push-to-start fob.
• How many keys you had and whether any still work; a working key can make a copy simpler than replacing every key from scratch.
• Whether the car has been towed, and where it is being held.

See car key replacement, key fob programming if you still have a key but a fob stopped working, car lockout, or the Boston page.