What this guide covers
How a driver records taking and returning a vehicle's keys — the key custody flow. This is the core control of the Fleet module: it ties a person to the vehicle while they have it, and it is what attributes GPS trips to a driver. It also covers who is allowed to take keys, the usage-policy sign-off, the one-vehicle-at-a-time rule, and how to message whoever is currently holding the keys.
Where to find it
Open Fleet → Vehicles. The list is grouped top to bottom into My keys, Available, and Keys held by others. Each vehicle card shows its status, whether it is online, and — when someone has the keys — the holder's photo and name in the card footer. The key button depends on the vehicle's state:
- Take keys — when the vehicle's keys are free and it is active.
- Return — when you are holding them. The confirmation is headed Return keys.
- No button — when someone else has them. The footer shows the holder's avatar and name, with a chat icon beside it to message them.
- Keys at … — a chip shown when the vehicle is at a workshop. Nobody can take its keys until it is collected — see Booking a vehicle in for service.
- Leave at service — when you hold the keys and the vehicle has been booked in with a workshop. Press it when you arrive there; it hands the keys to the workshop and takes the vehicle off the road.
The key buttons are only shown to users with the Driver (FLEET_DRIVER) role.
Who may take keys
Seeing the button is not enough. When you press Take keys, the system checks that you are an eligible driver, in this order:
- You are a registered fleet driver — you have a record under Fleet → Drivers. If not, you are asked to have a fleet administrator add you.
- Your driver profile is active — an inactive profile is blocked.
- Your driving licence is not expired — if your licence-expiry date has passed you are blocked until it is renewed. (A driver with no expiry date on file is allowed; capturing the date starts enforcing it.)
- You have signed the current usage policy (below).
This applies to everyone who physically drives — there is no administrator bypass.
Sign the usage policy
The first time you try to take keys (and again whenever a new policy version is published), the system checks that you have signed the current Vehicle Usage Policy.
- If you have not signed it, taking keys is blocked and you are shown a Read & sign usage policy button at the top of the Vehicles page. Open it, read the document, and sign the acknowledgement in the EDMS.
- Once signed, return to Fleet → Vehicles and take the keys.
See The vehicle usage policy for how the policy is set up.
Taking the keys
- Find the vehicle on the Vehicles page.
- Press Take keys.
- Confirm in the dialog.
The card moves to My keys, the pickup is timestamped (with GPS coordinates where available), and from this moment any trips the vehicle makes are attributed to you.
One vehicle at a time
You may normally hold the keys to only one vehicle at a time. If you already hold one vehicle's keys and try to take another, the action is refused. If your job genuinely requires holding several at once, an administrator can grant you the multi-custody (FLEET_MULTI_CUSTODY) authority, which lifts this limit.
Returning the keys
- Open Fleet → Vehicles and find the vehicle under My keys.
- Press Return and confirm.
The custody record is closed (timestamped), the keys become free for the next driver, and the card moves back to Available with a Take keys button.
Always return the keys in the app as soon as you hand the vehicle back. The system flags a vehicle that moves with no open custody, and it raises an after-hours alarm if you stay clocked out holding the keys without an approved take-home period — see Taking a vehicle home.
Who holds the keys, and messaging them
When a vehicle's keys are held by someone else, the card sits under Keys held by others and its footer shows the holder's photo and name. Use the chat icon beside the name to open a direct chat with the current key holder. The same holder and chat icon appear under Keys held by on the vehicle's detail page.
Private vehicles
For a vehicle marked private, only people on its access list can take its keys, and a driver may be given a grant (by default a single take-and-return). See Private vehicles and access control.
Leaving a vehicle at a workshop
If a vehicle you are holding has been booked in for service, its card shows Leave at service alongside the usual Return button. Drive it to the workshop, and press that when you get there — not before you set off, and not the next morning. Pressing it hands the keys to the workshop, takes the vehicle off the road, and records the odometer.
You do not need to return the keys first, and you do not need a manager to do it for you: you drove it there, so you are the one who knows it arrived. Once you have pressed it the vehicle is no longer yours — you are free to take another.
See Booking a vehicle in for service for the rest of the visit.