Block cards and visitor passes

How to block visitor passes so they can’t be used to sign in, and how to stop a lost, stolen or retired access card being used — and how to lift a block when a card is recovered.

A blocked card is a card added to your company’s Block Cards list so it can no longer be used to log in at a printer or MFD. The most common use is visitor passes — blocking a temporary visitor card once it has been handed back or has expired — but you can block any card that is lost, stolen, or no longer valid when you want to make sure nobody can use it.

Before you start

What you can do depends on the permissions on your role. If a button or option is missing, you don’t have that permission — ask your administrator.

Find the Block Cards list

Open your Company record. On the right, alongside the Pricing, Shared and Allowed tabs, select the Block Cards tab.

Companies › open your company › Block Cards tab

The list shows the cards currently blocked for your company, for example:

Example data. Each card shows on two rows — its specific type and a generic RFID Card.

Block a card

1. On the Block Cards tab, click + Add new record.
2. Swipe the card on the Cirros card reader. The card’s number is read and fills in the entry automatically — you don’t type anything.
3. Click Save.
4. The card appears in the list and can no longer be used to sign in at your devices.

Stop visitor passes being used to sign in

Visitor passes are shared and temporary, so you don’t want them used to sign in at your devices. Add each visitor pass to the Block Cards list: once a card is on the list it is refused at sign-in — if someone taps it at a device, they are not logged in.

1. Gather your visitor passes and a Cirros card reader.
2. On the Block Cards tab, click + Add new record.
3. Swipe a visitor pass on the reader — its number is captured automatically — then click Save.
4. Repeat for every pass in the batch, so the whole set is blocked.

Unblock (remove) a card

If a card is found or needs to be used again, remove it from the list:

1. Open the Block Cards tab.
2. Find the card’s row (use the column filters or sort if the list is long).
3. Select the row and choose Remove / Delete, then confirm.

To correct a mistake in an entry, use Edit on its row instead of removing and re-adding.

Good to know

• Swipe, don’t type. The card number is captured by swiping the card on the Cirros reader — there’s nothing to type in. You need the physical card to hand to block it.
• Blocking is per company. A block applies to the company you’re working in. A card blocked in one company is not automatically blocked in another.
• It doesn’t touch the user. Blocking a card doesn’t suspend or delete the cardholder’s account, PIN, or other cards — only the card you block.

Quick reference