How does the visitor get the pass?

The GateStride center sends a pass link by SMS or email. The visitor uses it in the GateStride Pass app, which is available in early access for Android and iPhone.

Can I limit a pass to certain doors and hours?

Yes. You choose which doors the pass opens and when it is valid. Door nodes refuse it at other doors or outside those times.

What happens when the pass expires?

It stops working on its own. There is no card or fob to collect.

Does a visitor need anything to get out?

No. Free egress stays with your certified system, so visitors leave the way everyone else does. GateStride never requires anything to exit.

Is a record kept of when the visitor came in?

Yes. Each use is logged against that person in a hash-chained, tamper-evident audit log kept on your premises.

Features › Visitor passes

Short-term passes for visitors and contractors that expire on their own

The GateStride center sends a pass link by SMS or email for the doors and times you choose. The pass stops working when its time is up. Nobody has to lend a card, prop a door or wait in the lobby to let someone in.

By Tom Jin · Updated October 2026 · Early access

Loaner cards and propped doors

Think about the people who need to get in but do not work for you. The HVAC technician who comes back three days in a row. The cleaning crew that works after hours. A consultant in for a two-week project. A new hire who starts Monday before HR has issued a badge. In most offices, each of these turns into one of three habits.

Someone lends a card. The spare card in the desk drawer gets handed out, and nobody is sure later who had it on which day. Or someone props the door. The wedge under the back door is quick, and it leaves the door open to anyone. Or a staff member stays late, or comes in early, just to let a contractor in.

None of these is malicious. They happen because issuing a real card for a few days is a chore, and getting it back is another. The result is an access log that says a card opened a door, but not who was holding it.

How a GateStride visitor pass works

In the GateStride center, which runs on your premises, you create a short-term pass. You choose which doors it opens and which times it is valid. The center sends the visitor a pass link by SMS or email. The visitor uses it in the GateStride Pass app, the same app employees use, available in early access for Android and iPhone.

At the door, the visitor's phone works like an employee's. The door node runs a one-time signed challenge and response with the phone over Bluetooth, checks that this pass is allowed through this door at this time, and unlocks through your existing access system. Outside the chosen doors or hours, the node refuses it. When the time is up, the pass expires on its own. There is nothing to collect.

Pick the doors and the hours

The point of a short pass is that it is narrow. A few examples of how offices tend to set them:

A contractor for a week: the back entrance and the mechanical room, weekdays during working hours, ending on the last day of the job.
An evening cleaning crew: the main entrance and the suite door, in the evening window only.
A new hire before their badge: the main entrance for the first few days, until they are set up as staff.
A visitor for a meeting: the front door for that afternoon.

Because the pass carries doors and times, you do not have to give a contractor the same access as the staff member who happens to have the spare card.

Every use is logged with a name

A loaner card shows up in the log as the card, not the person. A GateStride pass is issued to a specific person, so its uses are recorded against that person. Entries go into the hash-chained, tamper-evident audit log on your premises. If a question comes up later about who was in the server room on Tuesday evening, you can answer it. See security for how the log works.

If a job ends early or something feels wrong, you do not have to wait for the pass to expire. Remove it in the center, and the change reaches every door node in about a second. See instant revoke.

Why this beats the spare card in the drawer

A spare card has no end date. It works until someone notices it is missing and disables it in the access software. A GateStride pass has its end date built in, because the doors and times are part of the pass itself. If nobody remembers to follow up when the contractor finishes, the pass still stops on schedule.

It also removes the reason to prop a door. If the cleaning crew can open the suite door with their own phones during their window, nobody needs to leave it wedged open for them. And nobody on staff needs to come in early just to unlock for a technician.

It sits on top of the system you have

Visitor passes do not change your locks, readers, panels, request-to-exit or fire release. GateStride unlocks through the existing system, so your current schedules and cards keep working as before. Free egress stays with your certified system: a visitor leaves the way anyone else does, and GateStride never requires anything to exit.

There is no GateStride cloud and no relay. Passes are created by your own center, and admins away from the office manage them over the company's own VPN. GateStride is in early access and verified on Kantech EntraPass, with LenelS2 OnGuard and Brivo in development. Check compatibility and read how it works.

Sending a pass, step by step

In the GateStride center, create a short-term pass for the visitor or contractor.
Choose the doors it opens and the days and hours it is valid.
Send the pass link by SMS or email from the center.
The visitor uses the link in the GateStride Pass app and opens the chosen doors during the chosen times. Each use is logged.
When the time is up, the pass expires on its own. To end it sooner, remove it in the center.

What it does not do

It is not a visitor management or sign-in kiosk system. It sends passes for doors and times; it does not print name badges or host notifications.
The visitor needs a phone that can receive the link and run the GateStride Pass app. Someone without a suitable phone still needs another way in, such as a card on your existing system.
It does not control how a visitor leaves. Free egress stays with your certified system.
Posting monitoring notices is your responsibility. Check your state's notice rules.

Questions

How does the visitor get the pass?: The GateStride center sends a pass link by SMS or email. The visitor uses it in the GateStride Pass app, which is available in early access for Android and iPhone.
Can I limit a pass to certain doors and hours?: Yes. You choose which doors the pass opens and when it is valid. Door nodes refuse it at other doors or outside those times.
What happens when the pass expires?: It stops working on its own. There is no card or fob to collect.
Can I cancel a pass early?: Yes. Remove it in the center and the change reaches every door node in about a second.
Does a visitor need anything to get out?: No. Free egress stays with your certified system, so visitors leave the way everyone else does. GateStride never requires anything to exit.
Is a record kept of when the visitor came in?: Yes. Each use is logged against that person in a hash-chained, tamper-evident audit log kept on your premises.

Related features

Instant revokeRemove or suspend someone in the center and every door node has the change in about a second.Hands-free entryPhone stays in your pocket. Walk up, the door unlocks through your existing system. No tap, no card.Privacy by designPhone credentials and non-identifying radar by default; camera optional, face recognition off, data on site.

Stop lending cards

Book a demo to see a contractor pass created, used and expired on a system like yours, or get the early-access app.

Request a demo All features

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