How to become a locksmith

How to become a locksmith, step by step

1. Finish high school or get a GED.
2. Get hired by a locksmith shop or a security company and learn on the job. O*NET puts training for this kind of work at a few days to one year.
3. Look for a Registered Apprenticeship if you want a structured program. O*NET lists apprenticeship titles approved for locksmiths.
4. Check whether your state licenses locksmiths. Where it does, the state row below shows what it asks for.
5. Get your business license and insurance, then take your own calls.

Apprenticeship and on-the-job training

O*NET lists locksmith apprenticeship titles that are vetted by industry and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor for Registered Apprenticeship programs.

Find registered openings near you in the Apprenticeship Job Finder. In each state page below, we note whether the state runs its own apprenticeship agency or works through the U.S. Department of Labor.

Trade school and other ways in

On the job. Locksmith work is learned mostly on the job: repairing and opening locks, making keys, changing locks and safe combinations, and installing and repairing safes.

Apprenticeship. A Registered Apprenticeship pairs paid work with a mentor and classroom instruction, and ends in a credential recognized across the country.

Licenses and exams

Some states license locksmiths, often through a security or alarm board. The state rows below show the ones we have checked.

Of the 14 states we have checked against the official boards, 11 require a state locksmith license, 0 license only part of the work, and 3 leave it to cities and counties. Every state, with fees and forms: locksmith licenses by state.

What locksmiths earn

Locksmiths earned a median $24.68 an hour in May 2025. The lowest-paid tenth earned under $17.08 and the top tenth over $38.17.

Among the states with a page below, the highest medians are in Connecticut ($33.31), California ($29.33) and Illinois ($27.94).

State labor market offices project jobs for locksmiths and safe repairers nationally going from 18,200 in 2022 to 16,100 in 2032, -11.5%, with about 1,700 openings a year.

Pay in every state: locksmith salary by state.

From the truck to your own shop

O*NET lists two approved apprenticeship titles for this work: locksmith, and safe and vault service mechanic.

Once you can handle the work alone, running your own shop comes down to the license where your state requires one, insurance and a steady flow of calls.

Before you go out on your own, price your hours. At the national median of $24.68, the labor rate calculator gives $113.93 per billable hour on its starting numbers.

The checklist every new trade business shares is on the start a business page. The free Koira Office plan gives you a website on a Koira address, estimates customers sign with a deposit, invoices with card payments and your day's jobs in one place, with no per-person fee. See the plans.