Tool
Locksmith job card
In the published UK sources, a daytime lockout opened without damage costs £90 to £160 (MLA price list; MyJobQuote; Fantastic Services) and a euro cylinder change £105 to £175 (MLA price list; MyJobQuote). Tell the job card the job, the door and the lock, and it gives a price range from those sources with each one named, the questions to ask before anyone sets off, and locksmiths based near you who list the work. Nothing is sent anywhere: the card stays on your device until you send it with an enquiry.
Your job card
What a locksmith sees when you send an enquiry from their profile.
Locksmiths near you who list this work
How the price range is worked out
The range comes from one published band for the job, chosen like this:
- Locked out of a home or business: the daytime lockout band, for a door opened without damage. When you need it now or today and tick evening, night or weekend, the out-of-hours surcharge band is added to both ends. The band: £90 to £160, from MLA price list; MyJobQuote; Fantastic Services.
- Change a lock: the euro cylinder band, or the mortice deadlock band when the lock is a mortice. The band: £105 to £175, from MLA price list; MyJobQuote.
- Fit anti-snap cylinders: the fitted anti-snap cylinder band. The band: £137 to £150, from MLA price list; Checkatrade.
- uPVC door will not lock or open: the band for repairing or replacing the multipoint mechanism or gearbox. The band: £85 to £300, from MLA price list; MyJobQuote.
- Car keys, lost or a spare: the band for a replacement key, cut and programmed. The band: £100 to £282, from WhoCanFixMyCar; StageMyCar.
- Locked out of a car: the car lockout band. The band: £65 to £95, from MLA; Bark.
- Open a safe: the band for opening a locked domestic safe. The band: £100 to £300, from Fantastic Services; Alan Morgan Master Locksmiths.
- Key cutting: the band for a standard key, per key. The band: £4 to £7 a key, from MLA key cutting prices; Home Secure Shop.
- Anything else: lock repairs, burglary repairs, window locks and commercial work have no published price for the whole job, so the job card gives the daytime hourly rate and tells you to ask how many hours. The band: £65 to £85 an hour, from MLA price list; Checkatrade; Bark.
For a lock change or anti-snap cylinders on more than one lock, the top of the range is multiplied by the number of locks and the bottom stays at one lock, because several locks fitted on one visit usually cost less each. Some locksmiths add a separate call-out fee; the table below gives that band too. A locksmith confirms the price when they know the door and the lock.
What locksmiths charge in the UK
Every figure the job card shows comes from this table, and each row names where it was published.
| Job | Typical UK price | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Lockout, daytime, no damage | £90 to £160 | MLA price list; MyJobQuote; Fantastic Services, checked October 2026 |
| Lockout where the lock is drilled and replaced | £180 to £300 | MyJobQuote, checked October 2026 |
| Out-of-hours surcharge | £50 to £100 | MyJobQuote, checked October 2026 |
| Separate call-out fee, where charged | £50 to £150 | Checkatrade; Fantastic Services, checked October 2026 |
| Hourly rate, daytime | £65 to £85 an hour | MLA price list; Checkatrade; Bark, checked October 2026 |
| Euro cylinder change, fitted | £105 to £175 | MLA price list; MyJobQuote, checked October 2026 |
| Anti-snap cylinder, fitted | £137 to £150 | MLA price list; Checkatrade, checked October 2026 |
| Mortice deadlock (BS 3621), fitted | £100 to £205 | MLA price list; Checkatrade; MyJobQuote; Bark, checked October 2026 |
| uPVC mechanism or gearbox | £85 to £300 | MLA price list; MyJobQuote, checked October 2026 |
| Car lockout | £65 to £95 | MLA; Bark, checked October 2026 |
| Replacement car key | £100 to £282 | WhoCanFixMyCar; StageMyCar, checked October 2026 |
| Car key programming | £250 | WhoCanFixMyCar, checked October 2026 |
| Opening a locked safe | £100 to £300 | Fantastic Services; Alan Morgan Master Locksmiths, checked October 2026 |
| Key cutting, standard key | £4 to £7 a key | MLA key cutting prices; Home Secure Shop, checked October 2026 |
| Key cutting, high-security key | £10 to £22 a key | MLA key cutting prices; Home Secure Shop, checked October 2026 |
| Hourly rate, London, daytime | £95 an hour | MLA price list, checked October 2026 |
What the job card points out, and when
Ask for the total first. Raised when you need someone now or today. Ask for the total before anyone sets off: call-out, labour, parts and VAT, and whether a night or weekend rate applies. A locksmith based near you can give a range on the phone.
Have proof ready. Raised when you are locked out of a home or a car, need car keys, or your keys were lost or stolen. Have ID and proof of address ready (for a car, the V5C logbook). A careful locksmith asks before opening anything.
Ask before any drilling. Raised when you are locked out and the lock is not a mortice. Most lockouts on a nightlatch or a uPVC door are opened without drilling. If someone says the lock must be drilled, ask why, and what the replacement costs, before they start.
Check your tenancy. Raised when you rent the property and want a lock changed. Check your tenancy first. Most say the landlord must agree to a lock change and be given a key.
Ask for the standard on the invoice. Raised when the job is for an insurance claim or follows a burglary. Insurers usually name a standard: BS 3621 for mortice and nightlatch locks on timber doors, and TS 007 3 star or SS 312 Diamond cylinders on uPVC and composite doors. Ask for the standard on the invoice.
Check it resists snapping. Raised when the lock is a euro cylinder (and the job is not a car). Check the cylinder resists snapping: a Kitemark with three stars, or SS 312 Diamond.
Police first. Raised when the job follows a burglary. Report it to the police first and keep the crime reference number. Your insurer will ask for it.
Locksmiths near you
Pick your town and the job card lists the locksmiths on that town's page who list the work your job needs, in the page's own order. Nothing there is paid for. For an evening or night job it labels those whose published opening hours are 24 hours every day, and that never changes the order.