You have the safe, not the number
A house came with one in the basement. A relative died. A workshop was cleared. This is one of the most common ways people meet a safe, and there is a defined procedure — it just isn't advertised anywhere.
- Look for the number before you look for a technician Factory combinations were traditionally printed on the inside back cover of the owner's manual, or on a card taped inside the packaging. Search the house for the booklet before anything else: a five-minute search beats a three-figure invoice.
- Find the model and serial number Usually on the front of the door, on the door frame, on a plate inside the door, or on the back of the body. Photograph everything, including the lock's own markings — the maker's name on the dial or keypad is a separate and important piece of information. Where to look, in detail ›
- Ask the manufacturer — the procedure differs by maker
All of them ask for proof of ownership, and the good ones ask hard. Three published
examples, three different routes:
- Sentry — recovery against model and serial number, around US$30, 7–10 days.
- Liberty Safe — a printed combination and key request form, notarised, with payment; supplied only for safes registered with them.
- AMSEC — will not release a combination to an unknown person at all: you go through a registered locksmith or dealer, who verifies ownership in person.
- If the safe is second-hand, prove the chain Bill of sale, estate paperwork, the deed of the house it came with. Manufacturers and technicians both refuse without it, and that refusal is the reason the procedure is worth anything at all.
- Only then call a technician With model, serial, lock make and proof of ownership in hand, the job is routine and priced accordingly. Without them, you are paying someone to do this research at their hourly rate.
Manipulation techniques, drilling points, decoding methods. If you cannot prove the safe is yours, the right answer is a licensed technician who will ask for that proof — and the wrong answer is any website that doesn't.
Special cases
The safe is old and the maker no longer exists
Common with pre-war safes. The brochure library on this site exists partly for this: model names, plate styles and lock options in period catalogues let you date a safe and often identify the maker even when the badge is gone. From there a technician can work out the lock family. What became of some of the old names is on names on old safes.
There is a key as well as a dial
Many older safes use a key-and-combination arrangement, and some have a key override that a technician can service without touching the combination at all. Photograph the keyhole shape — it identifies the lock family surprisingly well.
Nobody knows whether anything is inside
Ask the technician about a borescope inspection through a small hole before a full opening. Sometimes the answer is “empty”, and the cheapest job is then to sell or scrap the safe rather than restore it — see the section index.