---
title: "Reveal or reset a pickup code"
description: "Look up any parent or family member's 4-digit pickup code from their family card, and force a reset when a code is compromised."
type: guide
updated: 2026-08-01
canonical_url: https://help.nestlicare.com/owners/families/reveal-or-reset-a-pickup-code
roles: ["super_admin", "center_admin"]
platforms: [web]
---
Every parent and family member has a personal 4-digit **pickup code** that identifies them at the kiosk. It stays the same until someone resets it.

Normally families manage their own codes — a parent resets theirs in the app, and can reset their family members' codes too. But you can look up any code in your organization, and reset one when the family can't.

## When you'd use this

- **A parent is at the door and their code isn't working.** Look it up, confirm what it actually is.
- **Someone calls asking for a family member's code.** Verify who you're talking to first, then read it to them.
- **A code got out.** A screenshot in a group chat, a phone lost, an ex-partner who shouldn't have it — reset it immediately.
- **A custody situation.** You need the code changed now and can't wait for the parent to answer their phone.

## Look up a code

1. Go to **Families & Children → Families**.
2. Find the family, then find the person on their card.
3. Click the **key** icon on their row.
4. Their code appears, along with when it was last changed.

The reveal is recorded in your audit log with your name and the time. That's deliberate — pickup codes are a child-safety control, and looking one up should leave a trace.

<Callout kind="info" title="Every family member's code works">
Codes are always valid at the kiosk, regardless of access level. If someone is being turned away, it's a mistyped or since-reset code — compare what they're typing against what the reveal shows.
</Callout>

## Reset a code

In the same dialog:

1. Click **Reset code**.
2. Read the confirmation — the current code stops working immediately, and the person is notified in their app.
3. Click **Yes, reset it**.

The new code appears right away. Tell the person what it is if they're standing in front of you; otherwise they'll see it in their app.

<Callout kind="warning" title="Resetting is disruptive if the family shares codes on paper">
Some families keep the code on a note at home for a limited-access family member. A reset invalidates that. Let a full-access family member know so they can pass the new one along.
</Callout>

## Who else can reset

- **The person themselves**, in their own app — up to 5 times an hour.
- **A full-access family member**, for their limited-access family members, under **Me → Family Pickup Codes** in the app. This is the normal path when a limited-access family member's code gets out.
- **You**, for anyone in your organization. Treat this as the backstop, not the routine — parents fixing their own leaks is faster than routing it through your front desk.

## Keeping a paper copy

If you keep a printed roster for outages, remember it drifts every time someone resets. The [Emergency Offline Pack](/owners/reports/emergency-offline-pack) prints the current roster and tells you how many codes have changed since you last downloaded it.

## Troubleshooting

**The key icon isn't on the row.** You need to be a center admin or owner. Teachers can't reveal codes.

**"Parent profile not found."** The person was removed from the family or archived. Restore them first, or they no longer need a code.

**I reset it and the parent says the old one still works.** It shouldn't — the old code stops resolving the moment the new one is issued. Check that you reset the right person; families often have two people with similar names.

**Someone says they never got the notification.** Push may be off on their device. The new code is always visible in their app regardless — full-access family members find it on the **Your Pickup Code** banner at the top of the **Dashboard** tab, limited-access family members under the **CODE** button on Home.