Locksmith in
Nutley, NJ
Licensed, bonded and insured. Mobile to Nutley ZIP 07110, 24 hours a day — emergencies usually within the hour.
We work in Nutley constantly
Nutley was Franklin Township until 1902, and its early trade was brownstone quarrying and the mills along the Third River. What turned it residential was the railroad. The Newark Branch ran stations in the township until the mid-nineteen- sixties, and a local architect put up several hundred houses aimed at people commuting on it. That building programme and the boom which followed it through the nineteen-twenties account for a great deal of what stands here now. Around thirty thousand people live in roughly three and a half square miles, and about seven households in ten own rather than rent, a much higher share than the towns immediately south and west. Old housing plus high ownership produces long tenure, and long tenure has its own consequences.
A house that has not changed hands since the nineteen-eighties has almost certainly never been rekeyed. Over that period keys go to family, to a neighbour who waters things, to a contractor who cut a spare without mentioning it, to a cleaner, to a tenant who left in a decade nobody can now date, and to at least one person whose name has genuinely been forgotten. None of that is sinister and none of it means anybody is coming. It means there is a list nobody kept, and the only way to close a list you cannot see is to change what the keys fit. That is an afternoon's work on a normal house, and it is the single most useful thing most long-term owners here have never done.
A large share of Nutley's two-family houses are owner-occupied, and that is a different keying problem from a landlord's building. The owner lives downstairs, the upstairs is let, and the two sides share a front door, a basement, a laundry, a driveway and often a garage. The arrangement most of these end up with was never anybody's decision: the tenant needs the basement for the washing machine, so the tenant has a key that opens the basement and therefore everything reachable from it. What it should be is deliberate. One key for the owner that opens the whole property, one key for the tenant that opens the common entry and their own unit and stops there.
When we do rekey a house here it is a couple of hours rather than a day. Cylinders come out, get re-pinned to a new key, go back in, and every deadbolt gets checked for whether it actually throws its full length into the frame instead of half of it, because on doors this age it frequently does not. We will also talk you out of things. High-security cylinders on every door of an owner- occupied house are usually not the right spend while the back door still has a strike plate held in by short screws and a jamb nobody has reinforced. One lock is an ordinary booking here as well, not a job we have to justify the trip for.
We work Nutley constantly. Arrival windows here are short and small jobs are worth doing, so it is not a wasted call-out for one lock. Call rather than book online if it is urgent — the phone is faster.
What we charge in Nutley
Real numbers, published up front. You should not have to call three locksmiths to find out what something costs.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Rekey one cylinder you have a working key · keyed alike included | $55 |
| Rekey one cylinder no working key | $100 |
| Mobile service charge daytime, once per visit | $250 |
| House lockout daytime | $250 |
| House lockout after 5 PM, collected before dispatch | $350 |
| Business lockout | $250 |
| Whole-house rekey package up to 6 cylinders, 5 keys, doors tested | $695 |
| Standard lock supplied & installed | $150 |
| MK-1 / MK-2 smart deadbolt installed, on its own visit | $750 |
| Door won't close or lock is sticking | $250–$600 |
| Commercial door & hardware evaluation | $250 |
What the price includes:
- The mobile service charge — every price above includes coming to you
- Keying every lock we touch to a single key
- 5 keys cut and tested in the locks on any rekey
- Testing everything works before we leave, and an itemised receipt with photographs
What costs extra, and how much:
- Each cylinder beyond a package limit — $55 with a working key, $100 without
- A door needing a new bore — $100 per lock
- Keys beyond the 5 included — $5 each
- After 5 PM the mobile service charge is $350, collected before dispatch
- A lock destroyed during an emergency entry, replaced — $150
Prices shown are in effect from August 2026 and remain in effect until updated on this page. Final price is confirmed with you before any work begins. Where a range is shown, the final figure is confirmed on site before work starts. If the job is smaller than quoted, you pay less.
Everything we do in Nutley
The whole house rekeyed to one key, with keyless and garage upgrades.
From $695 RekeyingKeyed alike at no extra charge, five keys cut and tested at your door.
$55 per cylinder Smart locksThe MK line, with a two-year guarantee on the lock — it fails, we replace and refit it free.
$750 installed High-security deadboltsMul-T-Lock, with a patented key no hardware store can copy.
$825 installed Doors that stickAlignment, strike plates, hinges, and multipoint hardware.
From $250 Commercial & propertyEvaluations, turnovers, master keys, exit devices.
$250 evaluationWhat people in Nutley actually say
We had excellent service. Timothy, the Locksmith arrived within a half hour of phone call. He repaired two locks for us and new keys for our front door. I would definitely recommend his service and I would definitely call him again if I needed him
Geraldine M.Google review
Timothy from Major Key Locksmith was such a nice and honest guy. He did a great job rekeying the locks at my house in Hasbouck Heights. He explained how the keypad works and was so patient with me. He is a very polite and cleaned up after the job was done. Would definitely recommend him to my friends and family.
Ann M.Google review
Called Tim this morning problem with two anderson French doors locks one not locking one loose handle keeps falling off. Tim was great fast efficient and resolved both issues quickly. We are in north caldwell private home in essex county. Highly recommend Tim he comes out and does the work himself.
Rima N.Google review
Excellent service and attention to detail. Tim was able to troubleshoot a number of mechanical issues with competence and creativity. Got everything working smoothly and efficiently. Tech options explained clearly. Highly recommended!
Julie G.Google review
Those are real, and they are quoted exactly as written — but they are still five we chose. Read them where they live — unedited, in whatever order Google puts them, including any we would rather you skipped.
400+ reviews is not a handful of friends. It is nine years of doors.
Opens Google · nothing to sign up for
Nutley questions
We have owned the house for decades. Is rekeying actually worth it?
Arguably more than for someone who has just bought. A single sale generates one unknown set of keys; thirty years of ownership generates a list of them, handed out to trades, family, neighbours and former tenants, and nobody has ever written it down. Rekeying does not mean new locks. It means the existing cylinders are re-pinned so the old keys no longer turn, and you walk away with one key that works everything. On a typical house here it is an afternoon and it closes the whole question.
We live downstairs and rent the top floor. How should the keys be set up?
Deliberately, which is rarely how these end up. The sensible arrangement is one key for you that opens the front door, both units, the basement and the garage, and one key for the tenant that opens the front door and their own unit only, with anything shared handled separately rather than by handing over access to everything. If the tenant needs laundry access we key that door into the tenant key without opening the rest of the basement. We set that out in writing before we start.
Do we need high-security locks on the house?
Probably not, and we will say so rather than sell them. High-security cylinders resist picking and drilling, which is not usually how a house of this type gets opened. Frames and strike plates are. Long screws into the stud, a reinforced strike, a deadbolt that throws its full length and a door that closes properly do more for the same money. Where high security is genuinely worth it is key control, when you want to know that nobody can walk into a shop and copy your key.
How much does it cost to rekey a house in Nutley?
Up to six cylinders — the usual three-door house — is $695 as the Rekey & Secure package, which includes the mobile service charge, keying every door alike, five keys cut and tested on site, and every deadbolt checked. Beyond six cylinders it is $55 each with a working key.
Is there a minimum charge?
$250. That is the mobile service charge and it is the floor on any residential or commercial visit in Nutley. Estimates by text, photo or video are free.
Do you charge extra after hours in Nutley?
After 5 PM the mobile service charge is $350 and it is collected before a locksmith is dispatched. Everything else is priced the same. After-hours dispatch is subject to technician availability.
Can I book online rather than calling?
Yes, for everything except car keys and active lockouts. Answer three questions about your doors, see a real price, pick a time. Leaving the deposit online takes $25 off.
Are you licensed to work in Nutley?
Yes. New Jersey Locksmith Business License Number 34LX00020300, bonded and insured through State Farm, and Google Guaranteed. The licence number appears at the bottom of every page of this site, on our invoices and on our trucks, as New Jersey requires.
How soon can you get to Nutley?
Emergencies are usually within the hour. We run technicians across the coverage area rather than sending everything out from one place, so Nutley is covered around the clock. We give a realistic arrival window on the phone rather than an optimistic one.