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 estimateTrusted Rekey Locks for San Francisco Homeowners
Rekeying locks in San Francisco typically costs between $75 and $160 per lock when a locksmith comes to you, with most house-wide jobs finishing in under two hours. That’s the honest range we quote at Citadel Locksmith, and it’s the price you’ll see on the invoice. Led by Roland Vásquez, our team handles Rekey Locks in San Francisco across the city, from Richmond District flats to Visitacion Valley single-family homes, usually with same-day or next-day availability. Call (833) 589-8078 and we’ll give you an exact number before anyone gets in a van.
If you’ve just closed on a house, ended a lease, fired a contractor, or lost track of who has copies of your key, rekeying is the fastest way to take back control of who holds a key. We work with the brands serious about security, and we treat every job like the lock is on our own front door.
Key Takeaways:
- Rekeying changes the internal pins so old keys stop working, no new hardware needed.
- Expect to pay $75 to $160 per lock in San Francisco, depending on lock type and brand.
- Same-day service is available across most San Francisco neighborhoods.
- We rekey all eight major brands we service, including high-security Mul-T-Lock and Abloy cylinders.
- The price quoted on the phone is the price you pay. No arrival fees, no surprises.
Lock Rekey
A Lock Rekey is the process of changing the internal pin configuration inside your existing lock cylinder so the old key no longer turns it, while a new key operates it perfectly. It’s the right move after moving into a new home, ending a roommate situation, or any time you suspect a key you didn’t authorize is floating around Chinatown or elsewhere in San Francisco. Citadel Locksmith performs lock rekeying on-site, usually in 15 to 30 minutes per lock, at a cost of $75 to $160 per cylinder depending on the brand and type.
When Old Keys Are Still Out There
You may not know how many copies of your house key exist. Previous owners, their realtors, dog walkers, cleaners, contractors, an ex’s friend. Rekeying eliminates every single one of those unknowns without replacing the hardware itself.
Hardware That Stays Put
If you like your current door handles, deadbolts, and finishes, you don’t need to buy new ones. Lock rekeying works with the hardware already installed, including premium lines like Baldwin and Sargent, so you preserve the look while resetting the security.
Styles & brands we work with
Locksmith Rekey
A Locksmith Rekey is what you get when you call a professional to re-pin your locks rather than attempting it yourself or replacing entire lock assemblies. It’s the most cost-effective way to invalidate old keys, and it’s a service Citadel Locksmith provides throughout San Francisco with mobile vans fully stocked for on-site work. You’ll pay $75 to $160 per lock, with the total depending on how many cylinders we rekey and whether you have standard or high-security hardware.
Why Call Us Instead of the Hardware Store
Big-box stores sell rekey kits that work on one brand and one pinning style. A Medeco or Mul-T-Lock cylinder won’t respond to a Kwikset kit. Roland Vásquez and our technicians carry pinning kits for all eight brands we service, so the job is done right the first time.
Mobile Service, No Shop Drop-Off
You won’t haul door hardware across town. We bring the tools, the pins, and the key-cutting equipment to your address in San Francisco, which means minimal disruption and locks that work before we leave.
Rekey Door Lock
A Rekey Door Lock is a door lock whose internal pins have been reconfigured to work with a new key, rendering all previous keys useless. It’s ideal when you want to keep the existing hardware but reset access, whether that’s a front entry, a back door, a side gate, or an interior door with a keyed knob. Citadel Locksmith rekeys door locks in San Francisco for $75 to $160 per cylinder, with same-day slots available in most neighborhoods.
Front Door First, Always
The front door is the lock most people lose control of first. Realtors had it, movers had it, maybe a neighbor held a spare. Rekeying that one cylinder is the single highest-impact security move you can make in under half an hour.
Gates, Garages, and Side Entries Count Too
People forget the side gate or the garage side door. If any of them share the same key as your front door, they should all be rekeyed at the same time so one key works everywhere and the old key works nowhere.
Rekey Service
A Rekey Service is a professional visit to change the keying on one or more locks, typically performed at your property rather than in a shop. Citadel Locksmith offers rekey service across San Francisco, from Noe Valley single-family homes to multi-unit buildings in the Mission District. Pricing runs $75 to $160 per lock, and we’ll give you the full quote on the phone before dispatch.
One Visit, Every Lock Keyed
When we arrive, we inspect each lock, confirm the brand and cylinder type, and rekey them in sequence. If you want all exterior doors on one key, we can do that during the same service call, no return trip needed.
Upfront Pricing, Always
The number we quote on the phone is the number on your invoice. No call-out surcharge added when we get there, no inflated per-lock fee invented during the job. That’s how Roland Vásquez runs Citadel Locksmith, and it’s why San Francisco homeowners call us back.
Keyed Alike
Keyed Alike means configuring multiple locks so they all operate with the same key, letting you carry one key for the front door, back door, side gate, and garage. It’s the most convenient setup for most San Francisco homes, and it’s a standard part of any rekeying job we do at Citadel Locksmith. The cost remains $75 to $160 per lock, and we can key as many cylinders alike as you need in a single visit.
One Key, Every Door You Use
If you’re tired of fumbling through a ring of five keys every time you come home, keyed alike is the answer. We’ll set every exterior lock to the same key while keeping interior privacy locks untouched, so your daily routine gets simpler without compromising anything.
When Keyed Different Makes More Sense
Some homeowners with tenants or Airbnb situations want certain doors keyed differently. We can do that too, pairing any combination of locks to separate keys and giving you clear control over who can open what.
Rekey Deadbolt
A Rekey Deadbolt is the process of re-pinning a deadbolt cylinder so it works with a new key, typically because the old key is lost, copied, or unaccounted for. Deadbolts are the primary security layer on most San Francisco front doors, and Citadel Locksmith rekeys them for $75 to $160 per deadbolt, usually in about 20 minutes each.
Deadbolt First in Any Rekey Job
If budget is tight and you can only rekey one lock, make it the deadbolt. It’s the lock that actually stops a forced entry. Knobs and levers are secondary, but deadbolts are what a burglar has to defeat, so that’s where the fresh key belongs.
High-Security Deadbolts Included
We rekey standard deadbolts and high-security ones from Mul-T-Lock and Abloy. Not all locksmiths speak Medeco or Abloy; we do, which means your premium deadbolt doesn’t get swapped for a downgrade just because the pins need changing.
Rekey House
A Rekey House service involves rekeying all the exterior locks on a home so every entry point works with a new key and every old key stops working. It’s the definitive reset after moving in, after a breakup, or after any event that leaves you unsure who has access. Citadel Locksmith rekeys entire houses in San Francisco, with most homes done in under two hours at $75 to $160 per lock.
Total Reset for New Homeowners
Closing day is the single biggest key-control blind spot. The seller’s agent had keys, the staging company had keys, the landscaper had keys, maybe a neighbor had keys. Rekeying the whole house on move-in day wipes that slate clean.
Rental Turnover, Fast
Property managers across San Francisco use our Rekey House service between tenants. It’s faster than changing hardware, it’s cheaper than rekeying through a dealership-style service, and we can key all units in a building alike or differently depending on the property’s setup.
Brands We Service
Citadel Locksmith is trained and equipped to service eight major lock brands, and that depth matters when you’re trusting someone with your home’s security. We carry pinning kits for Baldwin, which means we can rekey a Baldwin mortise lock without special-ordering parts or sending you to a showroom. We also work extensively with Sargent, a brand common in San Francisco’s older apartment buildings and light-commercial spaces, where cylinders are built to tighter tolerances than consumer-grade hardware.
For high-security systems, we service Mul-T-Lock and Abloy. These aren’t locks you can rekey with a kit from a hardware store; they require brand-specific pins, tools, and training. We have all three. Whether you have Baldwin, Sargent, Mul-T-Lock, Abloy, or any other make, we can help.
Signs You Need a Pro Right Now
- You just moved into a new home or apartment. The previous residents, their family members, their dog walker, and their contractor may all have copies of your key. Rekeying the day you move in is the only way to know exactly who holds a working key.
- You lost a key or had one stolen. A lost key with your address attached, like one on a keyring with a gym tag or a mailed envelope, is an open invitation. Rekeying eliminates the risk that the finder knows which door it opens.
- A roommate, tenant, or relationship ended badly. Even if they return the key, there’s no way to know if copies exist. Rekeying takes the question off the table entirely, and it’s faster than worrying.
- You’ve had work done by contractors, cleaners, or pet sitters. Anyone who held your key for a day holds it forever unless you rekey. That includes maintenance staff in condo buildings and delivery people who were handed a spare.
- Your keys are worn, copied too many times, or the lock feels loose. A key that’s been duplicated at a kiosk five times may not seat the pins properly anymore. While we rekey, we’ll inspect the cylinder and tell you if the wear is a security issue or just an annoyance.
Our Process, Step by Step
- 1
Call and describe your locks. You’ll tell us the brand if you know it, the number of locks you want rekeyed, and whether you want them keyed alike or separately. We’ll quote you a firm price for the whole job on that call. No one gets dispatched until you approve the number.
- 2
We arrive with the right equipment. Our vans carry pinning kits for all eight brands we service, key-cutting machines, and a full range of replacement pins. If you have a Mul-T-Lock or Abloy cylinder, we already have what we need on board.
- 3
We disassemble and inspect each lock. A rekey isn’t just swapping pins blindly. We check cylinder wear, spring tension, and keyway condition as we go. If a lock is on its way out, we’ll tell you before we reassemble it, and we’ll recommend a replacement only if it’s genuinely needed.
- 4
We re-pin, reassemble, and cut new keys. Each cylinder gets a fresh pin configuration matched to your new key. We cut the keys on-site, test every lock through multiple cycles, and verify that all old keys fail while all new keys work smoothly.
- 5
We walk you through the final key count. We’ll hand you every new key we cut, tell you exactly how many exist, and confirm which locks they operate. If you want additional copies later, we can cut them from our records or from the key in your hand.
How Much Does Rekey Locks Cost in San Francisco?
A typical rekeying job in San Francisco runs $75 to $160 per lock, with most single-family homes landing between $225 and $640 depending on how many exterior doors you have. If you only need one deadbolt rekeyed, you’re looking at the lower end of that range. If you have four or five exterior locks across a house with a gate and a garage, expect the total to climb accordingly. High-security cylinders from Mul-T-Lock or Abloy tend to sit at the upper end because the pins and labor are more specialized.
What affects the price is straightforward: the number of locks, the brand, whether the cylinders are standard or high-security, and whether you want all locks keyed alike or on separate keys. The way to avoid overpaying is to know your lock count before you call and to ask for a firm per-lock price up front. Every estimate we give includes the service call, the labor, the pins, and the new keys. The price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice, no exceptions.
Our Service Area Near San Francisco
Citadel Locksmith provides Rekey Locks in San Francisco with coverage that extends across the city and into nearby communities. We regularly serve the Mission District, Noe Valley, Visitacion Valley, and Chinatown, plus Daly City, Brisbane, Colma, and Sausalito. Same-day slots are usually available within San Francisco proper, and we schedule surrounding areas with dependable arrival windows. If you’re unsure whether we cover your block, call and ask. Fortress-level security, neighborhood-level service.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions About Rekey Locks in San Francisco
Rekey Locks is the process of changing the internal pins and springs inside a lock cylinder so it operates with a new key and stops accepting the old one. The lock hardware itself stays in place. It’s faster and cheaper than replacing the entire lock, and Citadel Locksmith does it on-site across San Francisco. Call (833) 589-8078 for a quote on your specific locks.
Most locks take 15 to 30 minutes each to rekey, so a typical three-lock house is done in under two hours from arrival. High-security cylinders like Mul-T-Lock or Abloy may take a bit longer due to tighter tolerances. We’ll give you a time estimate when you call (833) 589-8078.
Rekeying in San Francisco runs $75 to $160 per lock at Citadel Locksmith, which includes labor, new pins, and the new keys you receive. A full house with three or four locks generally lands between $225 and $640. The exact price is quoted on the phone before we dispatch, and it’s the price on the invoice.
Yes. We carry pinning kits and brand-specific tools for all four, plus Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, and Yale. Not all locksmiths speak Medeco or Abloy; we do. If you have a premium Baldwin mortise lock or a Sargent commercial cylinder, we rekey it without sending you elsewhere.
If you’ve had a break-in, a lost key, or a lockout and need rekeying done immediately, call (833) 589-8078 and we’ll get you on the schedule as fast as possible. We understand that security can’t wait until Monday. Emergency availability is built into our service model, not an afterthought.
Every rekeying job we do is backed by our workmanship guarantee. If a lock we rekeyed has any mechanical issue related to the rekey, we’ll come back and make it right. We stand behind the work because Roland Vásquez has built Citadel Locksmith on the principle that a rekey should feel invisible: you just know your key works.
Have your current keys ready so we can test against them, and make a list of every exterior lock you want rekeyed, including gates and garages. Decide whether you want all locks on one key or different keys for different doors. That’s it. We handle everything else on-site, and the whole visit usually wraps in under two hours.
Schedule Your Rekey Locks Service in San Francisco Today
Ready to take back control of who holds a key? Call (833) 589-8078 for a free, no-obligation estimate on rekeying your San Francisco home. We’ll quote you a firm price before anyone is dispatched, and that price is what you’ll pay. One call covers your car, your home, and your emergency.
Written by Roland Vásquez, Owner at Citadel Locksmith, serving San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area.