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Commercial locksmith

Commercial lock work is usually charged as labour, at £65 to £85 an hour in daytime across the Master Locksmiths Association's 2026 list, Checkatrade and Bark, and from £95 an hour in London on the MLA's list. Shops, offices, blocks of flats and schools need locks that suit fire exits, many key holders and staff who come and go.

Illustration: a front door with a lever handle and letterbox

What this covers

Typical price. Commercial lock work is usually charged as labour, at £65 to £85 an hour in daytime across the MLA's 2026 list, Checkatrade and Bark, and from £95 an hour in London on the MLA's list, plus parts.

What the job covers

  • Changing the locks on an office or shop when staff or tenants leave
  • Fitting and servicing panic bars and push pads on fire exit doors
  • Repairing roller shutter and shopfront locks
  • Fitting door closers, key safes and restricted key cylinders
  • Planning a master key system for a building

What is involved

A commercial locksmith works on the doors of shops, offices, blocks of flats, schools and workshops, where the needs differ from a house. More people hold keys, staff come and go, doors are used hundreds of times a day, and fire exits have rules of their own.

Fire exit doors must open from inside, quickly and without a key, whenever the building is occupied. That is why they use panic bars or push pads made to BS EN 1125 in areas the public use, or emergency exit handles and pads to BS EN 179 where only staff who know the building are present. Chaining or padlocking a fire exit while people are inside breaks fire safety law, which in England and Wales is the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. A locksmith can fit and service exit hardware, and add outside access where a fire exit doubles as an entrance.

Key control is the other large part of the job. When a key holder leaves, euro cylinders can be swapped without changing the rest of the lock. Restricted key cylinders, whose keys can only be copied against a key card held by the business, stop staff copying keys, and a master key system lets each person open only the doors they need.

Shopfronts and shutters use their own hardware: aluminium shopfront doors with narrow-stile locks, and roller shutters whose locks take a lot of weather. Door closers, key safes, and cabinet and locker locks are routine work too.

Access control with fobs or keypads overlaps with this trade. Battery-powered locks are fitting work; anything wired to mains power or to a fire alarm needs an electrician.

Choosing someone for the job

Ask for the total before work starts, or the hourly rate, a likely time and parts, with VAT. Ask whether work outside trading hours costs more. For fire exits, ask which standard the hardware meets (BS EN 1125 or BS EN 179) and confirm the door will still open from inside without a key. Ask how keys will be controlled: restricted cylinders, a key register, and who can order copies. Ask what records you will get for your fire risk assessment and your insurer. For wired access control, ask who does the electrical work.

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Common questions

What does a commercial locksmith do?

Lock work for shops, offices, flats and other business premises: changing locks when staff leave, fitting and servicing fire exit hardware, repairing shopfront and shutter locks, installing restricted key and master key systems, and fitting door closers and key safes. Many also fit battery-powered access control.

Can I lock a fire exit door?

Not so that it needs a key from inside while people are in the building. Fire exits must open quickly from inside, which is why they use panic bars or push pads to BS EN 1125 or BS EN 179. A locksmith can add outside security that leaves the exit free from inside.

How do I stop staff copying keys?

Fit restricted key cylinders, whose keys can only be copied by the maker or its dealers against a key card the business holds. Keep a register of who has which key, and collect keys when people leave. A master key system can limit each key to the doors that person needs.

Should I change the locks when an employee leaves?

If they had keys that were not returned, or could have been copied, yes. Changing a euro cylinder leaves the rest of the lock in place. Restricted key systems make this less often necessary, because keys cannot be copied without the business's key card.

Can a commercial locksmith fit access control?

For battery-powered keypads, fob locks and mechanical code locks, many can. Systems wired to mains power, door entry panels or the fire alarm need an electrician for the electrical work, and often a specialist installer for the system itself.

Do commercial locksmiths work outside business hours?

Many do, so that locks can be changed without closing the shop or office. Out-of-hours locksmith work carries a surcharge of £50 to £100 on MyJobQuote's figures, so ask whether it applies before booking.

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