How Much Does it Cost to Rekey a House?

Last Updated on July 12, 2023

Cost to Rekey A Home

House Rekey
House Rekey

Just bought a home? Just tossed your roommate? Fired your cleaning crew or no longer need that house sitter? It’s time to rekey your locks! How much is a rekey? This post will give you the information you need to understand the rekeying process, and the costs associated with it.

Most homeowner decide to have locksmith out on site to do the work so that they don’t need to remove and replace the locks themselves.

The cost to rekey a house with 3-doors is from $200-$250. This cost includes a service call and the cost to remove the locks, rekey the lock cylinders, and reinstall. The cost to rekey your house will fluctuate depending on the total number of lock cylinders (i.e. keyholes) that are being rekeyed. Homes location (i.e. city and state) may also impact cost due to cost of living differences.

For the cost of other common services, see our article, “How Much Does a Locksmith Cost.”

To reduce the cost of a home rekey, as the table “Cost to Rekey a Home” below shows, you can take the house locks into a local lock shop. This drops the rekey price down to about $13 per lock cylinder (per keyhole). Bringing your locks to a lock shop is the most affordable way to rekey a home.

So bringing those same house locks into a lock shop for rekeying would be just around $78. If you are able, you will save money by taking your locks to a local locksmith shop

The table below provides detailed pricing. We arrived at that price this way. The national average price of a service call is $90-125 and average cost to rekey a lock cylinder is $25 per cylinder (keyhole). The most common number of keyholes in a home is six, as most homes have three doors with each door having two keyholes.

Follow the links in our table below for details on the price break down and any other charges that may apply. Thee prices shown in the table are based on national averages. If you live in my state, it cost less to rekey your Arizona home as we are priced lower than the national average.

Cost to Rekey a House

Rekey Service Provided *Rekey Cost Per Cylinder (Keyhole)
Cost to Rekey Locks in a Lock Shop $ 13
Cost to Rekey Locks at Your House $ 25
Cost of Trip Charge $ 90-125
Cost for Mailbox Key in a Lock Shop $ 20
Cost for Mailbox Key at House $ 40
Rekey Surcharge if No Current Keys are available $ 8
Rekeying Kwikset Smartkey Locks $0-$30
Cost to Rekey Padlock Same as Lock Rekey
Rekeying a lock makes sure that any existing key copies will no longer open the lock and you will have the only working key.
In almost all cases, rekeying cost less than replacing the locks. We tell you why and when it makes sense to replace the locks.
Rekeying can cost from $10 to $40 per lock. Cost depends on where you have the rekey done (in a lock shop or at your home) and how many cylinders (keyholes) the lock has. We'll dive into the cost differences.
Yes, in some cases. The Kwikset Smart key product can be easily rekeyed by anyone, but there are some thigs you must have in order to do it.

*This article uses cost numbers from a nationwide locksmith pricing survey conducted in 2022 that has been adjusted for inflation to get the cost of a rekey in 2022. If you live in a city with a high cost of living, your cost may be slightly higher. For those living in a low-cost city, cost will be a little bit less.

The Cost to Rekey a Home in Arizona

A home rekey in Phoenix, AZ will run about 5% less than the above prices. If you are in the Phoenix Arizona market, you can schedule your rekey with ACME online.

Is it Cheaper to Rekey or Replace Locks?

When you want to protect your home from anyone that may have an existing key copy, you can rekey the locks so that they work with a new key. You DO NOT need to replace the door hardware. But, how much is a rekey? Is it cheaper to buy new home locks?

It is always cheaper to rekey a lock than to replace it. Depending on the door hardware, you can save up to 10X by rekeying the lock rather than buying a new one. The savings can be substantial as the number of locks increases. You will get the biggest savings when you can bring your locks into a locksmith shop near you.

 

Rekeying a Lock Cylinder
Rekeying a Lock Cylinder

Cost Savings When Locks are Taken to a Locksmith Shop?

When it’s possible, the least expensive rekeying option is to bring the locks into a lock shop.

Will Home Depot rekey locks? Sometimes, but only if you are buying new locks through them (they will rekey them to match one key). A locksmith will rekey locks you bring to the for much less than the cost of a new lock.

The main price differences between having a locksmith out to your home to rekey and bringing the locks to a lock shop occur because:

  • You’ll save the trip charge (the cost associated with getting a locksmith to your location), and
  • The rekey will be a little less expensive, because you will be doing the removal and reinstall of the hardware.
A Lock Shop Will Rekey Your Locks Cheaply

Locksmith Pro Tip: When in doubt, take pictures at each step when removing the lock body from the door – this will help you replace the hardware properly!

Taking your locks into a locksmith shop for rekeying is a great low-cost option available to you if you:

  • Only have one or 2 locks on a single door and
  • Can have someone who can watch the home while you’re at the locksmiths having the work done and
  • Feel comfortable with removing and replacing the hardware yourself.

The cost to rekey a house lock cost about $13 per lock cylinder when brought to a lock shop with the existing key. You save money when brought into a shop because you are providing the labor to remove and replace the lock on the door.



Double Sided Deadbolt = 2 Cylinders

A ‘cylinder’ is where a key goes into a the lock – so each keyhole you have will need to be changed and incur this cost. Some locks have 2 cylinders – a key on each side, and some instead have a thumb turn and only one cylinder. Rekeying is priced by cylinder, and not by locks, so keep this in mind – just count the number of keyholes.

If you don’t have the existing key, the locks can still be rekeyed but it will cost slightly more as it will take longer to perform the rekey. Expect around $8 additional.

Locksmith Pro Tip: If you are rekeying because you bought the home and you are taking your locks into a locksmith shop, be sure to check out our article Cheap and Easy Ways to Boost Your New Home’s Security.

 

Cost Saving When a Locksmith Goes to Your Home

For larger jobs with more doors and cylinders to be changed (or if you just aren’t comfortable or willing to do a little of the work), it will be worth your time and money to hire a locksmith to come out to your location.

If you have a locksmith come out to your home, you start to save money at roughly 4 locks. That is, you will need to have at least 4 locks rekeys before it is cheaper to rekey than to replace. However, you do have the added value of having a local locksmith take care of everything and ensuring everything is functioning properly even if the price is comparable. After 4 locks, it’s less expensive to rekey the home.

A Trip Charge Covers the Cost of Getting a Fully Outfitted Locksmith Van to Your Home

The cost of a trip charge to get a locksmith to your home to perform the rekey will be around $90-125, depending on where you live. The cost to rekey each lock at your location will be about $25 per cylinder, plus the trip charge. It is more expensive to rekey a lock at your location because the locksmith is doing the removal and replacement of the hardware.

Arizona Locksmiths charge 5% less than the national average as our cost of living is lower than many other states.

There are also some circumstances when the costs will be a little higher. For instance, if you don’t have a working key for a door lock, all is not lost – locksmiths can still rekey them, but they will have to pick the lock open in order to pull the cylinder. When you don’t have the current key the cost to rekey the lock will have a surcharge of about $8.

High Security Key Blank

House Rekey Cost Variables

You may also have specialty hardware if you live in an upscale home; things like profile cylinders (which take a longer time to rekey due to how they are built) or some homes have complex 3 – point lock systems that are a bit more time consuming in getting the cylinders out for a rekey.

You may have a high security lock system in place. If you have high-security locks in the home, you will know it. The keys won’t look like any other you have ever had. These lock systems often have more internal moving parts which are retooled in the rekey, and the keys themselves are usually more expensive. These are great for security, but the trade-off is a higher price for the key blanks.

Each of these scenarios will add a moderate cost increase to your rekey, but most homes we go out to have the most common brands (Schlage, Kwikset, Yale, Baldwin are all popular), and these are fairly standard at the basic prices we’ve listed above.

 

Rekeying a Kwikset Smartkey Lock – Special Case

Kwikset SmartKey Locks Can be Identified by the Extra Hole

One other note – newer Kwikset residential products (and, by licensing agreement, some newer Baldwin products) have a different kind of cylinder system using wafer technology instead of pins, called a ‘SmartKey’. You can recognize this by the addition of a second small hole next to the keyhole.

One of the added benefits to this system is that the home owner can rekey their own Smartkey locks for $0 (so long as you still have the current working key, and a small tool provided by Kwikset).

Instructions for how to rekey SmartKey locks and Smartkey Rekey Kits are available on our website .

However, if you have a Kwikset Smartkey lock without the existing key it is very labor intensive to rekey the lock. It requires a special reset cradle and a lot of time. In some cases, it’s less to just replace this lock if you don’t have the keys. To rekey a Kwikset Smartkey lock rekeyed without the existing key, you can expect to pay about $30.

 

The Cost to Rekey Other Common Locks Around the Home


Rekeying Padlocks:

ABUS Padlocks Can Work from House Keys

Padlocks by a number of manufacturers like Master Lock, American Lock, and ABUS can also come in rekeyable keyways. If you buy, or have the right product, these can be rekeyed to match your house key. These are great when you don’t want to track additional keys, such as with a side gate or shed.

You can pick up a rekeyable ABUS padlock on Amazon for a great price. Just order the keyway that matches your house key. Take it into you local locksmith shop and they will rekey it to match your house key. Or, even better, support your local locksmith and they will get you all set with a padlock that works with your home key in one stop.




The cost to rekey padlocks is usually the same as any other lock cylinder. Your local locksmith shop can help you get the right padlock or rekey an existing one.

Mailbox Rekey

If You’ve Just Moved In, Have the Mailbox Rekeyed Too

The Cost to Rekey Mailbox Locks:

Many community mailbox banks have locks that are the responsibility of the home owner (you can verify if this is the case with your local post office). These locks typically aren’t made to be rekeyed, but they can be replaced easily enough.

While a locksmith is at your house performing a rekey, have them rekey the mailbox too. The cost (lock and labor) to rekey/replace mailbox lock is around $40. Plus the trip charge if the locksmith is not already out onsite.

For this price the locksmith will drill out the mailbox lock (when you don’t have a key) and replace the lock with a new lock. If you can get the postman to open the box for you, just remove the lock and take it into a local locksmith shop. They will have the replacement lock on hand. It is best to bring them the lock because there are a few types and the locksmith will want to match it.

In some communities, however, there may be proprietary locks which may not be able to be addressed with a locksmith (you would go instead to a home or community association or the post office to address these).


More of Our Favorite Security Products

See our Amazon Store for Videos and Links to All of Our Favorite Security Products.

Door Armor: Reinforce your doors. This video on YouTube shows the installation of Door Armor, and you can buy the product direct from Door Armor at a great price.

Video Doorbells: This video doorbell offers great images and video and has NO monthly video storage fees. Watch our SkyBell Video Doorbell Review on YouTube and buy it on Amazon.

Smart Locks: Access Your Locks via Smart Phone. You’ll find some of our favorite smart locks that allow you to control home access and monitor entry in our Amazon Smart Lock Shop. Watch our Smart Lock Comparison Video on YouTube fore reviews of the most popular Smart Locks.

High Security Safes: When you want a safe that is designed to protect the valuable you put inside, you want a high security safe found on ACME Locksmith’s Safes for Sale website.

Sliding Glass Door Lock: The best arcadia door lock that stops your sliding glass door from being lifted out of it’s tracks and to prevent little ones from opening the door and leaving the home. Check out the video on YouTube and Buy it on our website.



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