Locksmith FAQs: Straight Answers for Jacksonville, FL

A lot. Besides opening locked homes, cars and businesses, we rekey and change locks, install deadbolts and smart locks, repair sticking or broken locks, cut spare house keys and remove broken keys. Businesses call us for master key systems, panic bars and door closers. See all our locksmith services.

Yes, always. Before we open a home, car or business, we check your ID and something that ties you to the property or vehicle, like a lease, utility bill, registration or insurance card. If those papers are locked inside, we can check them once the door is open.

No. We're a mobile locksmith, so we come to your home, business, parking lot or driveway anywhere in our service area. We carry the tools, locks and key blanks for most jobs. There's no walk-in shop, which is also why we don't publish a street address.

Yes. A photo of the lock, key or door often lets us quote the job more accurately. Text us the photo, your address and what's going on, and we'll reply with a price and arrival time. For a lockout, a phone call is still the fastest.

Yes. We rekey between tenants, change locks after move-outs and evictions once you have legal possession, open vacant units, and set up master key systems so one key opens every door you manage. Scheduled visits and several units in one trip keep costs down. See locksmith services for property managers.

No. Florida has no statewide locksmith license, and since July 1, 2025, state law also stops counties and cities from licensing locksmiths. So anyone who says they hold a Florida locksmith license is mistaken. Check a registered business name on Sunbiz, insurance and real reviews instead. We're registered as Jax Locksmith Solutions LLC.

Watch for four warning signs: a phone answered with just "locksmith," a very low starting price, an unmarked car and a technician who wants to drill right away. A real local locksmith gives you a business name, a full price on the phone, and an itemized receipt. See our guide to locksmith scams in Jacksonville.

Yes. You don't know how many keys the previous owners, contractors, agents or neighbors still have. Rekeying is the quickest and least expensive fix: we change the pins so every old key stops working, and you can get all doors on one key. See why to rekey after buying a house.

Most lockouts take only a few minutes to open once we're on site. Rekeying a typical house takes about 30 to 60 minutes, and adding a deadbolt to an undrilled door about an hour. We give you a time estimate along with the quote.

No. We stick to locks and keys for homes and businesses, plus car lockouts. We don't open or service safes, and we don't install security cameras or alarms. If your job needs one of those, we'll say so on the phone and suggest you call a specialist.

Stop turning the lock and keep both halves of the key. If a piece sticks out, you can try pulling it straight out with tweezers. Don't push it deeper, use super glue or pry with a screwdriver, because that jams the pins and can ruin the lock. Then call us and we'll extract it.

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You need a photo ID and something that ties you to the business, such as a business card, a utility bill or lease in the business name, or a manager or owner who confirms by phone. In a building run by a property manager, we may need their OK too. It protects your business from anyone else asking us to open it.

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Check that everyone is safe, then call us. If a child, pet or vulnerable adult is inside on a warm day, call 911 first. Otherwise, stay near the car, try every door and the trunk, and have your location and the car's year, make and model ready when you call (904) 509-0907.

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Almost never. We pick the door lock with Lishi tools made for automotive locks, the same way a key turns it. We don't use slim jims, and we don't force wedges into the frame, so the weatherstrip, tint, paint and airbag wiring are left alone. If a car has a known risk, we tell you before we start.

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Usually because the door has swelled, not because the lock is broken. Jacksonville's summer humidity makes wood doors and frames expand, so the bolt rubs against the strike plate. Adjusting the strike or the hinges fixes it. If the key is also stiff with the door open, the lock itself needs service.

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Reinforce the frame. Most kicked doors fail where the strike plate is held by short screws in a thin wood jamb. Replacing those with 3-inch screws that reach the wall studs, adding a heavy strike plate or a steel jamb kit, and using a deadbolt with a full 1-inch throw makes a door far harder to force.

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It depends on how the space is used and how many people it holds. Florida's fire code, based on NFPA 101, requires panic hardware on many latched exit doors in places like restaurants, churches, gyms, schools and day cares. Your local fire marshal has the final say. We install hardware that meets the requirement for your door.

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Three things: it resists picking and bumping, it resists drilling and forced attack, and it controls who can copy the key. High-security cylinders use extra locking parts, hardened steel inserts and patented keys. Many are tested to standards such as UL 437, and the hardware is usually BHMA Grade 1.

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We give you a real arrival window when you call, based on your address and traffic. Typical arrival: Most of Jacksonville in 20–45 minutes. Near our 32258 base, we aim to be with you within 30 minutes of your call. We're based near Bartram Park, so Mandarin, Southside and northern St. Johns County are usually the quickest for us to reach.

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Usually because it was copied from a worn key or a copy of a copy. Each copy repeats the wear and adds its own small errors, until the key no longer lifts the pins to the right height. We fix that by cutting a new key to the lock's original factory depths, called cutting by code.

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Change any lock that was forced, bent or drilled, and have us check the door frame and strike plate too. Locks that weren't touched can usually be rekeyed. After a break-in, we also recommend longer strike screws, because most forced doors fail at the frame, not the lock.

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Yes. We drill the face and edge of the door, cut the pocket for the bolt, and fit a strike plate in the frame so the bolt throws its full length. It usually takes about an hour. On metal or fiberglass doors, we check the door's construction first so we drill in the right spot.

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First find out who owns your mailbox. If it's your own curbside box, or a cluster or wall unit owned by your HOA or landlord, a locksmith can replace the lock and give you new keys. Check with your HOA or property manager first, since many have a set process. If the post office owns the box, contact your local post office.

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A master key system is a set of locks keyed so that different keys open different groups of doors. Each person's key opens only their own doors, a manager's key opens a whole area, and the master key opens everything. It cuts down the number of keys people carry and makes it easy to control who can go where.

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Rekeying means changing the small pins inside a lock's cylinder so it works with a new key. The lock stays on your door and looks the same, but every old key stops working. It's the quickest and lowest-cost way to take back control of who can get in.

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Yes, with the right setup. Concrete block and stucco walls weaken Wi-Fi and hub signals, so a lock that worked in the store can drop offline at your front door. We measure the signal where the lock sits and, if it's weak, place a Wi-Fi bridge, mesh node or Z-Wave repeater where the lock can reach it.

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Usually, yes. During construction, trades, inspectors and sales staff often use a shared key. Some builder locks cut that key out when you first use your own key, and some don't. A rekey costs little per lock and guarantees that only the keys you hold will open your doors.

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Solid brass, bronze or stainless steel locks rated ANSI/BHMA Grade 1 last longest near the ocean. Zinc-alloy locks, common on builder hardware, pit and seize fast in salt air east of the Intracoastal. Inland in Nocatee, a good Grade 2 lock is usually enough, but a better finish still helps.

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Usually, yes. Most interior skeleton-key locks use simple keys, and we can fit or cut one on site to match. For exterior doors, a skeleton-key lock gives very little security, so we'll suggest keeping it for looks and adding a proper deadbolt or a cylinder mortise lock.

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Because the wood swells. Jacksonville's summer humidity makes wood doors and frames grow slightly, so the latch no longer lines up with the strike plate. The lock itself is usually fine. We realign or file the strike and adjust the hinges, which often fixes it without new hardware.

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Call your leasing office first if it's open, because many complexes will let you in for free. If the office is closed or can't help, call us. We'll ask for ID that matches the address, or have you show your lease once you're inside, and we won't change a lock your lease says only the landlord can change.

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We open most cars, trucks, SUVs and vans on Jacksonville roads, including Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and many more. Tell us the year, make and model when you call, and we'll confirm before we come out.

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Yes. For lockouts and small repairs, we give you the price on the phone before we come out. For larger jobs, such as a master key system or new hardware on several doors, we do a walk-through first and give you a written quote listing each door and lock. Nothing is added without your OK.

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We answer calls Mon–Fri 7 AM–9 PM. We're a same-day emergency locksmith during our working hours, and we don't take emergency jobs at night. Outside call hours, text us and we'll reply when calls open again. If anyone is in danger, call 911. Working hours: Mon & Fri 7 AM–2 PM · Tue & Thu 7 AM–6 PM · Wed, Sat & Sun closed.

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Call 911 first. Police and fire crews can reach you and open the car faster than any locksmith, and a closed car can get almost 20°F hotter in the first 10 minutes. Stay by the car, keep the child or pet in sight, and follow the dispatcher's instructions. Then call us, and we treat it as our first call.

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It depends on the job and the lock, and we tell you the price on the phone before we come out. Rekeying usually costs less than new locks, and several locks done in one visit cost less per lock. Our pricing page explains what affects the total.

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Not as a surprise. Any trip charge is already included in the total we quote on the phone, so the number you hear is the number you pay for the job we discussed. If the job turns out different on site, we explain the change and you approve it before we start.

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