How to check a California locksmith's license
Who needs a BSIS locksmith license, the $10,000 penalty for posing as one, background checks, branch offices, contractor licenses for bigger jobs and how to look a company up.
California licenses locksmiths. Every business that opens, rekeys, installs or repairs locks for pay must hold a locksmith company license from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), and every employee who does locksmith work must be registered. A license check takes a minute and is the best defense against the unlicensed "locksmith" who quotes one price on the phone and charges another at your door.
Who needs a license
Business and Professions Code section 6980(j) defines a locksmith as anyone who, for any consideration, engages "in the business of rekeying, installing, repairing, opening, modifying locks, or who originates keys for locks", including electronic cloning of transponder keys and other electronic programming of automotive keys. Section 6980.10(a) says no person may do that work in California "unless the person holds a valid locksmith license, is registered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or is exempt". BSIS's fact sheet notes that simply duplicating existing keys does not make someone a locksmith, which is why hardware stores can cut keys.
Pretending to be licensed is a crime
Under section 6980.10(b), it is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $10,000, up to a year in county jail, or both, to act as or claim to be a licensee when you are not, to falsely claim to work for a licensee, to carry a badge, ID or business card indicating a license you don't have, or to advertise that you are licensed when you are not. Section 6980.14 lets a court enjoin unlicensed locksmith activity and order restitution, and lets the BSIS chief have a business telephone number used for an unlicensed locksmith business disconnected during a period of revocation, expiration or suspension.
Background checks
To license a locksmith company, BSIS requires each individual applicant, partner or corporate officer to undergo a criminal history check through the California Department of Justice and the FBI, and the application must name the person who will manage the business day to day. Locksmith employees also go through DOJ and FBI checks. A new employee may work on a 120-day temporary registration while the bureau processes the application, but under section 6980.42 a person who has been convicted of a crime cannot get a temporary card and may not work as a locksmith until the bureau issues a permanent registration.
Who may do the work at your door
The Locksmith Act ties the work to the licensed company and its own staff. Section 6980(g) defines an employee as someone "listed on the employer's payroll records, and is under the employer's direction and control", and says plainly that "an independent contractor is not an employee pursuant to this chapter." Locksmith employees must be registered with BSIS. So the person who comes to your home should be either the licensed owner or a registered employee of the licensed company, not an unregistered subcontractor dispatched from a call center. Ask for the registration card and compare the company name on it with the one you called.
Branch offices and dispatch centers
Under section 6980(a), every additional physical location where locksmith service is provided is a branch office that must be licensed, and that includes "the California office of any out-of-state business conducting, directing, dispatching, or managing a locksmith business, service, or service providers in California." Our listings show licensed branch offices and link each one to the main license with the same name.
Names that mislead
Section 6980.17 says no license may be issued in any fictitious name "that is misleading or would constitute false advertising". BSIS also requires a certified copy of the fictitious business name statement for a license under a trade name. If the name on the invoice doesn't match the name you called, ask why.
Bigger jobs may also need a contractor's license
BSIS's fact sheet points out that if a locksmith company performs work at a single site worth more than $500, it also needs a license from the Contractors State License Board, in the C-28 (lock and security equipment) or C-61/D-16 classifications BSIS names. Local governments may require a business permit as well. For a commercial rekey, a master key system or access control, ask for both license numbers.
How to check a California locksmith
- Find the company here by city or name. Each listing shows the BSIS locksmith company license number, when it was first licensed and when it expires, and links to any branch offices.
- Confirm the license on the DCA License Search (Bureau of Security and Investigative Services). It also shows any disciplinary action.
- When the locksmith arrives, ask to see the BSIS registration card of the person doing the work and check that the company name on the van, the invoice and the license match.
- Get the total price, including any service call, after-hours fee and parts, before work starts.
When a license can be suspended or revoked
Section 6980.74 lets BSIS suspend or revoke a locksmith license for misrepresentation in the application, interfering with enforcement, "knowingly using or permitting the use of any of his or her skills, tools, or facilities for the commission of any crime," conviction of a crime substantially related to locksmith work, or any violation of the Locksmith Act or its regulations. A corporation's or partnership's license can be disciplined for the acts of its officers or partners.
About the listings
We list every locksmith company and branch office license BSIS shows as Current with a California address and an unexpired date. Where the license is held in a person's own name, we show only the city and ZIP code, and we never show a PO box as a street address. A missing company may be licensed under another name or after our last refresh; check the state search rather than assuming anything.
General information only, current as of the date above. The information on Licensed Locksmith Check is not a recommendation or a guarantee of anyone's work. A license record shows registration status on the date shown, not workmanship, insurance coverage at the time of your job, or suitability for your project. Confirm license, insurance and permits directly before you hire. Rules and programs change; check the official sources linked in this guide.