Smart locks
House lockouts
Re-keying
Deadbolt upgrades
Schlage
Kwikset
Car keys & fobsNon-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Get your free estimateLocksmith in San Francisco, CA
Rekeying locks in San Francisco usually costs between $85 and $180 for a standard mortise or cylindrical lock, and most jobs finish the same day you call. The city’s pre-war housing stock means our techs spend more time on original mortise locks and shared vestibule entries than on new deadbolt installs. If you need a rekey after a tenant move-out or a key replacement on a fog-dampened Victorian door, call (877) 265-4385 and we’ll walk you through the exact price before anyone is dispatched.
Why San Francisco Homes Are Different
San Francisco’s locksmith work is defined by its pre-war multi-unit building stock. Thousands of Victorian and Edwardian two-to-four-unit flats across the Mission, Noe Valley, the Richmond, and the Sunset have original mortise locks, transom windows, and shared street-level vestibule entry doors. When a rent-controlled unit turns over in a three-flat Edwardian near Dolores Park, the landlord usually needs the common entry rekeyed, not just the unit door. That shared-entry rekey is the everyday San Francisco job.
Marine fog and year-round damp air make this housing stock harder to service than anything inland. Locks in the fog belt over the Sunset and Richmond corrode, seize, and collect rust in the cylinder. Old wood doors swell in the damp, so keys stick or refuse to turn. A tech who knows San Francisco expects to plane a sagging Victorian door frame before installing a new cylinder, because the fog has been working on that wood for a hundred years.
The city’s seismic retrofit and historic-preservation rules add another layer. Many buildings on the east side, around 94110 and 94103, have been retrofitted, so door frames mix original ornate mortise sets with newer hardware that has to coexist. Landlords and homeowners want locks upgraded without altering original doors, which rules out the drill-and-replace approach a less experienced shop might take.
From the hillside flats of Visitacion Valley to the dense storefronts in Chinatown, San Francisco locksmithing is about preserving old hardware, working around damp, and rekeying shared entries the right way. Cypress Lock & Key has served San Francisco since 2017, and our techs know these buildings. We work on the lock you already have before we suggest replacing it.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main San Francisco Services
Two calls dominate San Francisco locksmith work: car key replacement for people who don’t want to tow to a dealership, and emergency lockouts in buildings where one key should work but doesn’t. Here’s what each involves.
Car Key Replacement in San Francisco
San Francisco drivers park on hills, in tight garages, and sometimes blocks from home. A snapped or lost car key here is a different problem than in the suburbs, because towing to a dealership across town can eat half a day. We cut and program replacement keys on site for most vehicles, including transponder and fob-style keys. Our techs carry dedicated automotive programming equipment, which is a separate skill set from standard locksmithing. If your key broke off in the ignition on a hill in Noe Valley, we come to you. Car Key Replacement in San Francisco covers the full process and what we need from you before dispatch.
Emergency Locksmith in San Francisco
Locked out at 2 a.m. with a dead bolt that won’t turn and fog rolling in off the ocean? We’ve handled it before, and we’ll handle yours. Emergency calls in San Francisco often involve shared vestibule doors where one tenant changed a lock without telling anyone, or a mortise lock that seized because the damp got into the cylinder. Our emergency response means we answer the phone when you call, get your location, and send a tech who knows Victorian door hardware. Emergency Locksmith in San Francisco explains what happens when you call, including what we ask before dispatch.
What happens when you call
- 1
A real person answersNo phone trees — you reach a local pro.
- 2
You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
- 3
A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
- 4
You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Rekey Locks in San Francisco
Rekeying locks in San Francisco means changing the internal pins so old keys stop working while the original hardware stays in the door. In a city of rent-controlled Victorians and Edwardians, that matters: landlords rekey between tenants, homeowners rekey after a roommate leaves, and shared vestibule entries get rekeyed every time a unit turns over. The fog means we also deal with corroded cylinders and swollen wood frames more often than shops inland ever see. Rekeying is the smartest security dollar a San Francisco property owner can spend, because it changes access without changing the look of a 1920s door. Rekey Locks explains the process in detail if you want more before you call.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You’ve just moved into a new San Francisco flat, or a roommate, tenant, or contractor who once had a key no longer should.
What it costs in San Francisco
Standard lock rekeying in San Francisco typically runs $85 to $180 per lock cylinder, depending on the lock type and how many you need done.
How we do it
We remove the cylinder, replace the internal pins to match a new key, and reinstall it: the original hardware stays in the door, so the lock’s exterior appearance doesn’t change.
Rekey Door Lock
Signs you need it
You have a key that sticks or turns hard in a fog-dampened San Francisco door, and you want new keys rather than a new lock.
What it costs in San Francisco
Rekeying a single door lock in San Francisco typically falls between $85 and $180, with the final number depending on whether you want multiple locks matched to one key.
How we do it
We disassemble the lock, clean out any rust or corrosion from the marine air, replace the pins, cut new keys, and test the door so the key turns smoothly in the frame.
What Rekey Locks Costs in San Francisco
| Item | Typical range in San Francisco |
|---|---|
| Single lock rekey | $85 – $180 |
| Additional locks keyed alike | $25 – $50 per lock |
| Mortise lock rekey (common in Victorians) | $110 – $200 |
Rekeying is usually cheaper than replacing hardware, especially on pre-war doors where new hardware would look wrong. The full price is quoted on the phone before anyone is dispatched, and that is the price on your invoice. No call-out surcharge added on arrival.
How long does a rekey take in San Francisco?
Most single-door rekeys finish in 30 to 45 minutes. A full flat with two entry locks and a shared vestibule door takes an hour to ninety minutes, and that includes cleaning out whatever the fog has deposited in the cylinders.
Can you rekey my lock without changing the hardware?
Yes. We rekey the existing cylinder so the old key stops working and a new key operates the same lock. Your original mortise set, strike plate, and knobs stay in place, which matters a lot on historic San Francisco doors. Call (877) 265-4385 for an exact quote.
Brands We Service in San Francisco
We stock parts and key blanks for Schlage, Kwikset, Baldwin, and Yale, plus high-security lines including Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Abloy. Sargent commercial hardware is standard for us. Most common rekeys and key replacements are done same day from parts on the truck. See our brands for the full list of what we service and stock.
Pricing for Locksmith in San Francisco, CA
| Service | Typical range in San Francisco |
|---|---|
| Car key replacement | $150 – $450 |
| Emergency lockout (daytime) | $75 – $150 |
| Emergency lockout (night/weekend) | $125 – $250 |
| Lock rekey | $85 – $180 |
| Rekey door lock | $85 – $180 |
| Mortise lock rekey | $110 – $200 |
| Rekey service (multiple locks) | $110 – $350 |
| Keyed alike (per additional lock) | $25 – $50 |
| Deadbolt installation | $120 – $225 |
| High-security lock installation | $250 – $600 |
What pushes the price up in San Francisco is usually the lock’s age and the damp. A corroded mortise lock on a sagging 1923 door takes longer than a clean cylinder on a new build. The price we quote on the phone is the price you pay, and we tell you before dispatch if the on-site reality changes anything.
Neighborhoods We Serve in San Francisco
We work across San Francisco daily, from the fog belt of the Sunset and Richmond to the hillside flats of Noe Valley and the commercial corridors of Chinatown. Our techs know which neighborhoods have pre-war mortise locks as the default, and which have newer hardware from seismic retrofits.
- Mission District, including the shaded alleys where damp locks seize
- Noe Valley, with its hillside Edwardians and family flats
- Chinatown, where older commercial doors mix with residential units above storefronts
- Visitacion Valley, with its steep streets and mix of housing eras
- 94111, 94112, 94114, and 94115 ZIP codes covered throughout
Response time across San Francisco typically runs 30 to 60 minutes for emergency calls, with some hillside and fog-belt neighborhoods taking a little longer depending on traffic and parking.
Service Area – Cities Near San Francisco
Our San Francisco techs also cover nearby areas where the housing stock and lock problems are similar. We regularly work in Mission District, CA, Noe Valley, CA, Chinatown, CA, and Visitacion Valley, CA. If you’re on the edge of the city or just across a neighborhood boundary, call and we’ll confirm the coverage area for your block before you wait on a day that could go elsewhere.
Serving San Francisco, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Francisco area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage — if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs About Locksmith in San Francisco
No, rekeying does not require a permit in San Francisco. Landlords are expected to provide working locks, and rekeying between tenants is standard practice, not a permit-triggering change. Rekeying the original hardware also avoids any historic-preservation review, since the door and lock face remain unchanged.
Our techs typically reach most San Francisco neighborhoods in 30 to 60 minutes for emergency calls. Hillside streets and parking limits can add time in some areas, but we’ll give you a realistic window when you call, not an optimistic guess. Reach us at (877) 265-4385 and ask for the current response time in your neighborhood.
Yes, mortise locks are a large part of our daily work in San Francisco. We rekey, clean, and adjust original mortise sets, and we know how to work with the door frame when fog and age have shifted the fit. If the lock is salvageable, we’ll rekey it, not replace it.
What happens when you call
- 1A real person answersNo phone trees — talk to a local locksmith pro.
- 2You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched. No surprises.
- 3We come out and measureLicensed & insured, at a time that suits you — the visit and the quote are both free.
- 4You get the price in writingLine-itemed, yours to keep, and nothing starts until you say go.
What San Francisco Customers Say
"Locked out at eleven at night with a kid asleep in the car. He was there in 25 minutes, had the door open in under two, and did not do the thing where the price goes up once he's standing in front of you."
— Allen Chen"Commercial job, panic bar and a master key system for a small office. Clean install and clear documentation of which key opens what."
— Sofia Hernandez"Installed a smart lock and actually set up the app and the codes with me instead of leaving me to figure it out from a leaflet."
— Renee Doyle