Lock Emergencies: What to Do First | DC Locksmith Service

A locked door is a problem. A person in danger is an emergency. If anyone might be inside who should not be, if a child or pet is shut in a car, or if something is burning or flooding behind a locked door, call 911 before anything else.

02 Part 1

Start with safety

With that out of the way, here are seven situations that do justify an urgent locksmith call, and the first move for each.

03 Part 2

1. The lock was forced

Do not go in if the door is open and you did not leave it that way. Step back, call the police and wait. After they have been, photograph the damage: the frame, the strike, the lock. Insurers usually want the police report and a repair invoice.

A locksmith can secure the door the same visit by replacing the damaged lock, fitting a longer strike plate and, if the frame is split, making a temporary repair until a carpenter comes.

04 Part 3

2. A key snapped in the lock

Leave the stub alone. Tweezers and superglue usually push it deeper. A locksmith extracts it with thin hooked tools and cuts a new key from the broken pieces or from the lock itself.

05 Part 4

3. The smart lock died

Batteries first. Many keypad locks have a terminal under the keypad for a 9-volt battery that powers it long enough to enter a code. If that fails, use the backup key. If there is no backup key, or it is inside, you need a locksmith.

06 Part 5

4. Every key is lost

If your address was on the ring, or the keys were stolen with a bag, assume someone else could use them. That makes it urgent: get in, then rekey every lock those keys fit before nightfall if you can.

07 Part 6

5. Locked out with no spare

This is the most common call of all. Tell the dispatcher what kind of door it is, a rowhouse front door, a condo unit, an English basement, and expect the locksmith to ask for proof you live there. The urgent lockout page lists what helps.

08 Part 7

6. A safe or cabinet will not open

Urgent only if the contents are, such as medicine or documents needed today. Note that the price list warns that opening some safes destroys them; ask what method the locksmith will use and what it costs before agreeing.

09 Part 8

7. The car will not let you in, or will not start

Keys locked inside, a fob with a dead battery, a key that will not turn in the ignition: an automotive locksmith handles all three where the car is parked. Have the make, model and year ready. The automotive page covers the details.

10 Part 9

Before anyone touches the lock

In every one of these cases, the same two questions apply. Ask the dispatcher for the trip charge and the starting price. Ask the locksmith at the door for ID and a written estimate. Calls on this line are passed to independent contractors, and the contractor who takes the job quotes and invoices it.

Save the number somewhere other than your phone, too. A card in a wallet, or a note with a neighbor, is worth having the day the phone is locked inside with the keys.

11 Questions