Change Locks in Los Angeles and Ventura County

Why people call to change their locks

Nobody wakes up wanting to change a lock. Something happened first, and the lock is the part of the problem you can actually fix. After nearly four decades of doing this work, the calls sort themselves into a handful of situations, and knowing which one you're in makes the job easier to scope.

The most common is a change of who has access. You bought a house, rented an apartment, ended a relationship, let a roommate go, or finished with a contractor, a house sitter, or a former employee who held a key. In each case the question is the same: how many keys to this door exist that I don't control? You can't know the answer, and that uncertainty is the whole reason to act.

• You just bought or moved into a home and have no idea who still holds a key.
• A key was lost or stolen, especially if it was on a ring with your address or a car fob.
• A breakup, divorce, or roommate change left someone with a key who shouldn't have one.
• A break-in or attempted break-in left the lock damaged or you simply don't trust it.
• The lock is worn, sticky, or failing, and the key no longer turns smoothly.
• You want better hardware, a different finish, or a keypad or smart lock.

Should you rekey or replace? How we decide

This is the question behind most calls, and the honest answer is that it depends on the lock in your door, not on what's easier for us to sell. 'Change locks' covers two different jobs, and we do both.

Rekeying means we keep the existing lock body and change the internal pins so the old keys no longer work and a new key does. It is usually the more economical route, it keeps hardware you already like, and it can let several doors share one key. It makes sense when the lock is in good mechanical shape and made by a maker whose cylinders can be rekeyed cleanly.

Replacing means taking the lock out and putting a different one in. That's the right call when the hardware is worn or damaged, when it's a low-grade lock you'd like to upgrade, when parts for it are no longer available, or when you want a different style or function altogether.

If you want the full breakdown of each path, our pages on lock rekeying and lock replacement go through them separately. On the phone or at the door, we look at what you have and recommend one. If rekeying will do the job, we say so, even though a replacement would be a bigger job for us.

• Lean toward rekeying when: the locks work smoothly, you like how they look, the brand is a standard one, and your goal is simply to cancel old keys.
• Lean toward replacing when: the lock is loose, corroded, damaged, or poorly made, or you want a deadbolt, smart lock, or higher-security cylinder.
• Either way, the old keys stop working. What changes is what's left in your door afterward.

How a lock change is actually done, step by step

The work is hands-on and fairly quick for a trained technician, but each step matters. Here is how a typical visit to change the locks on a house or apartment goes.

1. We start by looking at every exterior door you want secured: front, back, garage entry, side doors, and any sliding or patio door with a lock. We note the brand, type, and condition of each lock and how the door is hung.
2. We talk through your goal, whether that's cancelling old keys, upgrading, or matching all doors to one key, and recommend rekey or replace door by door, since the right answer can differ between the front door and the back.
3. For a rekey, we remove the lock cylinder or the whole lock, take it apart on the bench, and swap the pins and springs to a new key combination. We reassemble it and test the new key repeatedly, along with the old key to confirm it no longer operates the lock.
4. For a replacement, we remove the old hardware, check the bore holes and the edge of the door, install the new lock body and strike plate, and make sure the bolt throws fully into the frame without binding.
5. We cut or supply the new keys and test each one in each lock, in both directions, with the door open and then closed.
6. We check the strike plate and the screws that hold it. A lock is only as strong as what it's fastened into, and short screws in a soft frame are one of the most common weak spots we find.
7. Last, we hand you the keys, explain which door uses which, and tell you plainly about anything we noticed that deserves attention, such as a worn frame or a loose latch.

What a professional checks that a quick swap misses

Changing a lock is partly mechanical and partly inspection. Replacing a cylinder takes a few tools. Knowing whether the door is actually secure afterward takes experience, and this is where a locksmith earns the call.

A good technician looks at the whole door assembly, not just the part you pointed to. A new high-grade deadbolt in a door with a cracked frame or a loose strike plate is a nicer-looking weak point, not a secure one.

• Alignment: the bolt should slide fully into the strike without you lifting or pushing the door. If it doesn't, the lock will wear out early and may not fully engage.
• Bolt projection and strike depth: a bolt that barely catches the frame is easy to defeat.
• Screw length and frame condition: long screws that reach the framing behind the door jamb matter more than most people realize.
• Door-edge and bore condition: old repairs, cracks, or oversized holes can compromise the new hardware.
• Key quality: keys cut from worn copies can misbehave in a freshly rekeyed lock, so we cut from the proper key code or a clean original when we can.
• Other entry points: we'll mention gate locks, mailbox locks, or a garage-entry door if they're part of the picture, since people often secure the front door and forget the rest.

How hardware, key types, and doors change the job

Two houses can both ask us to change the locks and need very different work. The variations that matter most are below.

Standard pin-tumbler locks, the kind on most homes, are the most straightforward to rekey. Knobs, levers, and deadbolts from the major makers can typically be rekeyed to a new key, sometimes to match each other so one key opens the front door and the deadbolt together. Cheaper or older locks may not rekey well, and in that case replacement is the cleaner answer.

Deadbolts and door knobs are often separate locks on the same door. Many homes have a keyed knob and a keyed deadbolt on the front door that don't share a key, which is one of the things we sort out. If you want the deadbolt added or upgraded, that's closer to deadbolt installation than a simple change.

Keypad and smart locks work differently. Changing the access means changing codes or user credentials, not pins. Some people use a lock change as the moment to move to a keypad or smart lock, and our page on smart lock installation covers what to know before you do. A mechanical key backup is still worth keeping.

High-security cylinders use restricted keyways, so extra keys can only be cut with authorization. They're a good choice if key control matters to you, such as when you've had a long list of key holders.

Door type matters too: wood, metal, glass, and sliding doors each take different hardware. A patio slider often has a latch rather than a true deadbolt, and the right fix there may be a different kind of lock entirely.

Mailbox locks, gates, and similar items use their own lock types and keys, and we handle those as separate items. Vehicle locks and keys are a different trade; where a car is involved, we confirm what's possible by VIN and in person rather than guessing over the phone.

Changing locks after buying a house or moving

If you searched for a locksmith for a new house, this is the section for you. The advice is simple: change the locks, or at minimum rekey them, before you settle in.

A home that changed hands has had keys handed to agents, previous owners, tenants, relatives, contractors, cleaners, and neighbors. Some of those keys were copied. Nobody tracked them, and the previous owner may not be able to tell you who has what. Rekeying resets the count to the keys in your hand.

The job is also an easy chance to take stock. When we're at the door we check the condition of every lock, point out any that are failing, and note doors that lack a proper deadbolt. Many new homeowners find that the lock on the back door or the garage entry is much weaker than the front.

Plan for every exterior door, plus any lock on a side gate, shed, or mailbox that came with the keys. A common request is to rekey every door to a single key so you carry only one. We can do that where the hardware allows it.

Moving into a rental is different. Check your lease and talk to the landlord before changing anything, since many leases require permission or a key copy. If you're the landlord or property manager turning over a unit, rekeying between tenants is a routine job and usually a more economical way to reset access than replacing every lock.

What changing locks can't fix

We'd rather say this up front. A new lock doesn't make a door secure by itself, and a few problems need a different answer.

If the door or frame is rotted, split, or badly fitted, the lock can only be as good as the wood or metal around it. We'll tell you when the door needs carpentry rather than hardware, and we won't sell you an expensive lock for a door that can't hold it.

If your concern is that someone can get in another way, such as through a weak window or an unsecured sliding door, a lock change on the front door won't address that. We'll point out what we see, but we don't do glazing or window work.

If a lock is sticking, jamming, or has a broken part but you're not worried about who holds keys, you may not need a change at all. That's usually a lock repair situation, and repairing can be the lighter-cost route. We'll check before recommending anything bigger.

If your key was stolen, changing the lock stops that key from working, but it doesn't tell you who has it or what else was taken. If personal safety is at stake, contact the appropriate authorities first, and call us to secure the door.

And if you're locked out right now, that's a different call. We can help with that too, but the first job is getting in, not changing the lock.

What affects the price of changing locks?

We don't quote numbers on a web page, because the honest price depends on what's in your door and what you want done. Here is what actually moves the cost, so you can judge any quote you receive, ours or anyone else's.

The biggest factor is rekey versus replace. Rekeying existing hardware generally costs less than buying and installing new locks, though a very cheap or worn lock can tip the balance the other way.

After that, it's the number of locks. Each cylinder is its own piece of work, so a house with a front door, back door, and garage entry is a bigger job than a single-door apartment. Matching all locks to one key adds a little more care but saves you a keyring.

The grade and type of the lock matters if you're replacing: standard hardware, high-security cylinders, and smart locks span a wide range. The number of keys you want cut, and whether they're restricted-keyway keys, also plays in.

Door condition and extra work count. If a strike plate needs reinforcing or a bore needs repair, that's added labor. The hour and the distance can matter too, since a night or holiday call-out uses a technician's off-hours.

You can read more on how we approach it on our pricing page. In practice, we give you a clear quote after we know what you have, and we explain the line items before any work starts.

Why call Wilshire Lock & Key

We've been in business since 1987. That means a lot of years of seeing every lock type that has been installed in Southern California homes, including old ones that are still hanging on and new ones that are trickier than they look.

We're a real local company with a storefront at 10740 Wilshire Blvd in Westwood and mobile service vans. When you call (213) 577-1366, the line is answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, year-round, and it's answered by us, not by a call center that sells your job to whoever picks it up. There are no dispatch middlemen between you and the person doing the work.

David, the owner and lead technician, oversees how we work. That's the point of being a local company rather than a lead-generation website: someone is accountable for the result.

One more thing worth knowing. California requires locksmith companies to hold a license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services, known as a BSIS LCO license. Ask any locksmith you're considering, us included, for the license number before they start work. A reputable company will give it to you without hesitation.

Where we change locks: two counties, 140 cities

We serve 140 cities across Los Angeles County and Ventura County, working from our Westwood storefront and out of mobile vans. If you're not sure we cover your area, check the full locations page or just call.

The craft doesn't change from one city to the next, but the buildings do. Older houses, newer tract homes, condos, and apartment buildings all tend to have different door and lock setups, and we adjust accordingly. If you want a version of this page focused on your city, we have local pages, including Sherman Oaks, Santa Monica, and Pasadena.

Whichever city you're in, the process is the same: call, tell us what's going on, and we'll help you work out whether to rekey or replace before we come out.

Change Locks near you

• Los Angeles
• Beverly Hills
• Santa Monica
• Culver City
• West Hollywood
• Sherman Oaks
• Marina del Rey
• Ladera Heights
• Encino
• Inglewood
• Studio City
• View Park–Windsor Hills
• Van Nuys
• Lake Balboa
• All service areas

Related services

• Residential Locksmith
• Lock Rekey
• Lock Replacement
• Lock Repair
• Lock Installation
• Deadbolt Installation