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 Mateo, CA
Rekeying is the most common locksmith job we handle in San Mateo, and it usually costs between $85 and $165 for a standard single-cylinder deadbolt, including the trip to your door. Most San Mateo homes were built between the 1920s and the 2000s, which means the lock hardware varies wildly from block to block, and so does the labor involved. If you need a locksmith who knows the difference between a worn 1950s Weiser knob in the flats and a modern Schlage deadbolt in a 94404 condo, call Cypress Lock & Key at (877) 265-4385. We’ll tell you the full price on the phone before anyone rolls a truck.
Why San Mateo Homes Are Different
San Mateo is not one housing market. It’s three layered on top of each other, and each one changes how a locksmith approaches the job. The flat neighborhoods west of El Camino Real, mostly in 94401 and 94403, are packed with 1920s stucco bungalows and 1950s-1960s tract homes. The lots are narrow, the side yards barely fit a trash can, and the original entry hardware has often been doing its job for sixty or seventy years. Marine-layer fog from the Bay keeps these areas cool and damp most of the year, so exterior deadbolts and latch mechanisms oxidize. A lock that worked fine in June might bind in January because the internal parts have corroded just enough to seize.
Head up into 94402 and the picture changes completely. Hillside properties sit behind gates, with long driveways and pool enclosures. The gates themselves are often the first lock a technician touches, and they run on heavy-duty hardware that sees direct sun and dry heat. Wooden door frames up there swell and warp seasonally because the hills get more sun than the flats. A deadbolt that aligned perfectly in the fall might not throw in the summer because the frame moved a quarter inch.
Then there’s 94404, down near the bay, where the condos, townhomes, and office parks date from the 1970s onward. That’s builder-grade hardware territory, but with a twist: HOA common areas and master-key systems. A technician who only stocks residential Kwikset and Weiser hardware is useless in a building where the HOA requires specific keyways and the property manager needs a proper master-key scheme.
Styles & brands we work with
Our Main San Mateo Services
San Mateo homeowners and renters call us most often for two things: they’ve lost or broken a car key and need one without a dealership appointment, or they’re locked out and need someone now. Each of these has its own dedicated San Mateo page.
Car Key Replacement in San Mateo
Car key replacement in San Mateo looks different depending on where you live and what you drive. The older flat neighborhoods have a lot of cars parked in narrow driveways, which means a technician works in tight quarters alongside the house. The 94404 corridor and the hillside properties in 94402 have a wider mix of newer vehicles with transponder and proximity keys. Cypress Lock & Key handles automotive key work alongside traditional locksmithing, so you’re not choosing between a locksmith for the house and a dealership for the car. For the full picture on pricing, programming, and what to do when you have no spare key at all, see Car Key Replacement in San Mateo.
Emergency Locksmith in San Mateo
A lockout in San Mateo at 2 a.m. is a different problem in the flats than it is in the hills. In 94401 and 94403, homes are close together and the streets are quiet; a technician can usually park close and get to the door quickly. Up in 94402, the driveway alone can add five minutes, and gates create a second locked point before the front door even comes into play. We’ve handled both, many times over. Cypress Lock & Key answers emergency calls around the clock with a real technician, not an answering service that tells you to call back Monday. For how it works and what to expect, read Emergency Locksmith in San Mateo.
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 Mateo
Rekeying locks is the smartest security expense most San Mateo homeowners ever make, and it usually costs far less than replacing hardware. In the flat neighborhoods of 94401 and 94403, half the rekey calls we take turn into something more because the original builder-grade knobs and deadbolts from the 1950s and 1960s are so worn that the cylinder simply won’t hold a new pin configuration. At that point, the cost-smart move is a new latch or deadbolt rather than forcing a rekey onto hardware that’ll fail in a year. Cypress Lock & Key has served San Mateo since 2017, and we’ve seen enough of these old locks to know within the first minute of handling one whether a rekey will hold or whether you’re better served by replacement hardware. If you have already decided to rekey, start with our Rekey Locks hub for the full service breakdown.
Lock Rekey
Signs you need it
You’ve bought or moved into a home in San Mateo and do not know who else has copies of the current keys.
What it costs in San Mateo
A standard Lock Rekey in San Mateo typically runs $85 to $165 for the first lock, with additional locks on the same visit priced per cylinder.
How we do it
We disassemble the lock cylinder on-site, swap the internal pins to match a new key you’ve selected, and confirm smooth operation with both the new key and the old key’s fail.
Rekey Door Lock
Signs you need it
A tenant, contractor, cleaner, or ex-partner has returned keys, but you cannot be certain the copies stopped there.
What it costs in San Mateo
Rekeying a door lock in San Mateo runs $85 to $165 for a typical deadbolt or entry knob, with the labor bundled into the per-lock price; no separate trip charge is added on arrival.
How we do it
We identify the brand and keyway, match it to a fresh pinning kit, repin the cylinder to a new key, and hand you copies cut on-site.
Rekey Service
Signs you need it
You own or manage a rental property in San Mateo between tenants and need a fast, documented rekey across every entry point.
What it costs in San Mateo
A multi-lock Rekey Service for a typical San Mateo home runs $85 to $165 for the first cylinder and $15 to $70 per additional cylinder, depending on lock type.
How we do it
We inventory all exterior locks, key them all to a single new key if you prefer, and provide the property owner with a clear record of which key operates which door.
Keyed Alike
Signs you need it
Your San Mateo home has three different keys for the front door, back door, and deadbolt, and you are tired of playing key roulette in the dark.
What it costs in San Mateo
Keying multiple locks alike in San Mateo runs the same per-cylinder labor as rekeying, $85 to $165 for the first lock and $15 to $70 for each additional lock matched to the same key.
How we do it
We repin every cylinder you want matched to a single key, cut the number of copies you need, and show you that each lock throws cleanly before we leave.
What Rekey Locks Costs in San Mateo
| Item | Typical range in San Mateo |
|---|---|
| First lock rekeyed (labor and service call included) | $85 – $165 |
| Each additional cylinder on the same visit | $15 – $70 |
| Replacement latch or deadbolt (when old hardware won’t hold a rekey) | $40 – $180 |
How long does a rekey take in San Mateo?
A straightforward rekey of one or two locks takes 20 to 40 minutes once we are at the door. Older 1950s hardware in the flats can add time if the cylinder is corroded from the damp Bay air. Call (877) 265-4385 for a realistic window for your specific locks.
Should I rekey or replace the locks on an older San Mateo home?
Rekey when the existing hardware is mechanically sound. Replace when the knob or deadbolt is worn loose, the keyway is sloppy, or the strike plate no longer aligns. We’ll tell you honestly which applies to your door. Call (877) 265-4385 for an assessment.
Brands We Service in San Mateo
Cypress Lock & Key works across eight lock brands, and we carry pinning kits and common parts for Schlage, Kwikset, and Yale on the truck, with high-security blanks for Mul-T-Lock, Medeco, and Abloy available on a scheduled basis. That breadth matters in San Mateo because 94402 hillside homes often run Mul-T-Lock or Abloy cylinders from a previous security upgrade, while 94404 HOA buildings may spec Sargent for common areas. We rekey or service what you already have rather than steering you into a brand we happen to stock. For the full list and what each brand means for security, see our brands.
Pricing for Locksmith in San Mateo, CA
| Service | Typical range in San Mateo |
|---|---|
| Lock Rekey (first cylinder) | $85 – $165 |
| Rekey Door Lock (standard deadbolt or knob) | $85 – $165 |
| Rekey Service (additional cylinders on same visit) | $15 – $70 per lock |
| Keyed Alike (first lock, then additional matched) | $85 – $165 + $15 – $70 per additional |
| Replacement latch or deadbolt (hardware) | $40 – $180 |
| Car key replacement (basic non-transponder) | $120 – $250 |
| Car key replacement (transponder or proximity) | $180 – $350+ |
| Emergency lockout (labor and service call) | $100 – $200 |
Two things push the price up in San Mateo more than anywhere else: the age of the hardware in 94401 and 94403, where a rekey often turns into a replacement, and gate work in 94402, which adds a second cylinder and often heavier-duty hardware. Every job gets a full price on the phone before dispatch, and that number is the number on the invoice. No call-out surcharge added when the technician arrives. Call (877) 265-4385 for a quote on your specific locks.
Neighborhoods We Serve in San Mateo
Cypress Lock & Key covers all of San Mateo, and we keep the whole city mapped in our dispatch routing so we can move between a bungalow rekey in the flats and a gate call in the hills without wasting your time. Typical response through the city runs fast because we operate from within San Mateo County, not from a call center in another state.
- Baywood and Aragon (94402)
- Shoreview and the 94404 condo corridor
- Sunnybrae and the 94401 flats
- Hayward Park and the 94403 tract-home grid
- San Mateo Park and the El Cerrito hillside
Service Area – Cities Near San Mateo
Beyond the San Mateo city limits, Cypress Lock & Key regularly serves the surrounding Peninsula communities. We handle rekeys and lockouts in Highlands-Baywood Park, CA, where the housing stock mirrors the 94402 hillside profile, and Foster City, CA, where the lagoon-side homes and newer builds create a different set of lock and key needs. We also serve Belmont, CA and Hillsborough, CA, the latter with more gates and long driveways than almost anywhere else on the Peninsula.
Serving San Mateo, CA — Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the San Mateo 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 Mateo
Most San Mateo calls are reached within 30 to 45 minutes, depending on whether you are in the flats near El Camino or up a hillside driveway in 94402. Emergency calls get prioritized, and we’ll give you a realistic window when you call (877) 265-4385.
For the lock on your individual unit door, no HOA permission is needed in most 94404 buildings. For common-area doors or any master-key system, yes. We can coordinate with your property manager and follow whatever keying rules the HOA has in place.
Yes. Cypress Lock & Key covers 94401, 94402, 94403, and 94404, including the Foster City-adjacent condo corridors and the hillside estates above the flats. Call (877) 265-4385 and we’ll confirm your specific address before we head out.
Need a locksmith in San Mateo who knows the difference between a 1950s bungalow knob and a hillside gate cylinder? Call Cypress Lock & Key at (877) 265-4385 for a free estimate. The price you get on the phone is the price on the invoice.
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 Mateo Customers Say
"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"Quoted a price on the phone and honored it. After the last locksmith I called, that alone is worth a review."
— Sarah Vaughn"Got me back in and the price was fair for the hour. He did arrive closer to 45 minutes than the 20 he estimated, which felt long standing outside, but he was honest that traffic was the problem."
— Marcus Prince