Locksmiths in NYC

The city licenses locksmiths but publishes no price schedule, so the only New York figures are the ones companies post themselves. One Manhattan locksmith's price list gives a service call of $65 to $195 depending on the time of day, a lockout of $145 to $485, rekeying from $145, a standard deadbolt change from $195, a jimmy-proof deadbolt from $255, a mortise lockset from $295 and a smart lock from $295, all at weekday 9 to 5 rates with a surcharge for nights, weekends and holidays. A Brooklyn company's list runs lower, with a standard lock change at $99 and a Grade 1 jimmy-proof deadbolt at $199. Thumbtack's figure of $70 to $100 is a national average, not a city price. Expect the call-out fee and the work to be quoted separately, and expect the hardware to be a large share of a lock change: a quality jimmy-proof or mortise lock costs more than the labor to fit it.

What Moves the Price

• Time of day. A midnight lockout in a doorman building costs two to three times a weekday afternoon rekey.
• Opening versus replacing. Picking or bypassing a lock is cheaper than drilling it, and drilling means buying a new lock. A locksmith who goes straight to the drill on a standard lock is choosing the expensive route for you.
• Lock type. Mortise locks common in pre-war buildings and high-security cylinders cost more to open and more to replace than a standard knob or deadbolt.
• Keys. Rekeying keeps the hardware and changes the pins, which is usually the right call after a move-in or a lost key.

New York City requires a Department of Consumer and Worker Protection license to fix, service, install, open and close locks, and the Administrative Code makes it unlawful to work as a locksmith without one. The same law puts duties on the locksmith that protect you: before opening a lock away from the shop, the locksmith must show a copy of the license, must make a good faith effort to confirm that you own or are entitled to the apartment, and must have you sign a form. A locksmith who skips all of that is either unlicensed or careless, and either way should not be the one opening your door. The license fee is small and the license lasts up to two years, so there is no excuse for a working locksmith not to hold one; a check of the city's issued-license data in October 2026 showed more than 2,300 active locksmith licenses.

How to Look One Up

Ask for the license number, then search it on DCWP's Search Business tool, which needs no login, or call 311 and ask for the locksmith license. The classic lockout scam, documented by the Federal Trade Commission and repeated in local reporting for years, runs the same way every time: a call center answers with a generic greeting and no company name, quotes a low price, sends an unmarked car, and the price changes on arrival with pressure to drill and replace. If the person who arrives will not show a DCWP license, do not let the work start. Complaints about a licensed locksmith go through 311 to DCWP, which can fine a business and order it to stop.

A Change Coming in 2027

Local Law 183 of 2025 moves licensing from individuals to businesses. DCWP's new local laws page says it will stop licensing individual locksmiths on May 31, 2027 and will accept applications for the new Locksmith Business license from February 2027, so from mid-2027 the license to ask for is the company's.

The owner of a multiple dwelling must provide a key lock on the entrance door of every apartment and at least one key, and in most apartment buildings that means a heavy-duty deadbolt operable by key from outside and a thumb-turn inside, plus a chain guard. A broken or defective lockset is a housing code violation: in HPD inspections this year, defective apartment locksets were mostly written up as Class B, hazardous, with 30 days to correct, and broken building front-door locks mostly as Class C, immediately hazardous, with 24 hours. If the landlord will not fix a broken lock, report it to 311; the building's violation record shows whether door and lock violations are already on file.

Changing Your Own Locks

A tenant may change the apartment lock, but HPD's tenant rights page is explicit that the law then requires you to give the landlord a copy of the key. A lost key or a lockout is normally the tenant's cost; nothing in the code shifts it to the owner. The reverse is a crime. A landlord who changes the lock on an occupied apartment without giving the occupant a key is committing an unlawful eviction, and under Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law 768 an intentional lockout is a class A misdemeanor carrying a civil penalty of $1,000 to $10,000 per violation. Our guide on eviction notices and your next steps covers what to do if it happens to you, and how HPD classes work explains the deadlines a landlord faces on a lock violation.

A locksmith quotes faster and arrives better prepared when you can describe the lock, and a photo of the door edge and the cylinder is worth more than a description. For a lockout, say whether the key is lost, broken off in the lock or inside the apartment, and whether the door is locked with the knob, the deadbolt or both. For a change or rekey, count the doors and locks, note the brand stamped on the cylinder, and decide whether you want the existing hardware rekeyed or new locks fitted. New tenants should assume the previous tenant, the broker and a few contractors still hold keys; a rekey on the first day costs less than a lock change and ends that problem, and it is one of the items on our list for the first week after signing a lease.

Before You Request a Quote

• Have proof you live there ready: a lease, a utility bill or an ID with the address. A licensed locksmith is required to ask.
• Ask for the total price for the job, not the call-out fee alone, and ask what happens to the price if the lock has to be drilled.
• Ask for the DCWP license number and check it before the locksmith arrives.
• Tell the doorman or super that a locksmith is coming; staffed buildings may ask the locksmith to sign in and show the license at the desk.
• Keep the invoice. Insurance claims after a break-in and deposit disputes about lock changes both turn on it.
• Give the landlord a copy of any new key, in writing, and keep the receipt.