Hiring a locksmith

What does a locksmith cost in North Jersey? Real numbers

Most locksmiths will not put a price on their website. We do, because you should know the number before anyone gets in a truck. Here are the common jobs and what changes the price.

By Timmy Creighton, founder and licensed locksmith · Major Key Locksmith · October 2026

The visit itself

The minimum for any residential visit is $250. That is what it costs to get a licensed locksmith and a fully stocked truck to your address. Almost every price below already includes it. The exception is per-item work like rekeying, where the $250 is charged once and each cylinder is added on top.

Lockouts

House, daytime: $250 all-in.
House, after 5 PM until 8 PM, before 8 AM, or Sunday daytime: $450, collected before dispatch.
House or car, 8 PM to 6 AM: $600, collected before dispatch.
Business: $350.
Car: $200 all-in during the day.
If a lock has to be destroyed to get in, replacing it adds $150.

Rekeying

The $250 mobile service charge once, then $55 a cylinder with a working key or $100 without one. A typical three-door house is six cylinders, so $580. Keying alike and the first five keys are included.

New homeowner packages

$695 for the whole-house rekey, $1,275 with a smart deadbolt on the main door, $2,395 for the full property including a garage keypad. What each includes.

New hardware

Smart deadbolt: $750 on its own visit, $500 when added to another job.
Mul-T-Lock high-security deadbolt: $825 on its own visit, $575 added to another job.
Garage door keypad: $750 installed and paired.
Standard lock: $150 each when added to a visit, on top of the $250 mobile service charge that visit already carries.

What moves the price

Time of day, whether you have a working key, how many cylinders, and whether a lock has to be destroyed. That is most of it. If something on the job is going to cost more than the published number, the technician tells you the price on site before starting, not after.

Estimates by text, photo or video are free. The full price list has everything else, including commercial work.

Questions people ask

Why is there a minimum charge?

Because the visit is the expensive part. Getting a licensed locksmith and a stocked truck to your door costs the same whether we rekey one lock or six.

Is there a separate trip fee on top?

Not on the all-in prices, which is most of the list. Per-item work like rekeying sits on top of the $250 mobile service charge, which is charged once per visit however much we do.

Why does it cost more after hours?

Because it is a technician leaving their family at night. After-hours and late-night lockouts are priced separately and collected before dispatch, so a locksmith is not sent out on a promise.

Want us to look at yours?

Send a photo or describe it in a sentence. Estimates by text, photo or video are free, and if it is a five-minute fix we will tell you so.

See the full price list Book online

Keep reading

How to spot a locksmith scam before it reaches your door The cheap phone quote, the unmarked car, the drill that comes out first. What to watch for.Read → Rekey or replace your locks? How a locksmith decides Rekeying is usually the answer. These are the four times it is not.Read → Just bought a house? The first-week lock checklist Who still has keys, what to rekey first, and the four things nobody checks until it is too late.Read → Smart lock buyer’s guide from a locksmith who installs them Keypad, fingerprint or app, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, and the five features we would not buy one without.Read →

Any price mentioned here is the one published on our pricing page as of October 2026. The final price is always confirmed with you before any work begins. More answers from the blog →