FAQs

For a home or business you own or rent, yes, someone with authority over the property needs to be on site. For property managers and commercial accounts with an established relationship, we can arrange access differently. For a first-time call, expect to be there and expect to show proof that the property is yours.

No. Precision Lock and Key handles residential and commercial work only. Automotive locksmithing needs different equipment and different programming tools, and we would rather tell you that up front than send a truck that cannot help. If you are locked out of a vehicle, start with your roadside assistance provider or your dealer.

No. Precision Lock & Key is available Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM only. We do not provide locksmith service at night or on weekends. Please contact us during regular business hours to schedule service.

It depends on where you are and what time it is. Calls in Spring, The Woodlands and Conroe are usually the fastest because that is where we are based. Coastal calls in League City and Galveston take longer. When you call, we give you a realistic arrival window rather than a number designed to get you off the phone.

We serve 19 cities across the Greater Houston area: Spring, The Woodlands, Conroe, Houston, Cypress, Katy, Kingwood, Humble, Porter, Tomball, Magnolia, Montgomery, Willis, Splendora, Jersey Village, Pasadena, Sugar Land, League City and Galveston. We are based in Spring. If you are not sure whether your address is covered, call (346) 670-2818 and we will tell you straight.

Yes. Precision Lock and Key is the locksmith side of the same operation, run by the same ownership out of the same Spring base, covering the same 19 cities. Restoration and lock work land on the same properties more often than people expect, especially after a break-in, a fire or a flood that puts doors and frames back together.

Yes, we carry liability insurance, and we will provide a certificate of insurance on request. Commercial clients and property managers usually need one for their own files, and we are set up to send it quickly. Any locksmith who cannot produce a certificate of insurance is a locksmith who cannot pay for the door they damage.

Not everything, but a lot. The most common locksmith complaint pattern nationally involves out-of-town call centers dispatching unmarked, unbranded subcontractors who quote low on the phone and raise the price on the doorstep. We are a local company based in Spring, we come in marked vehicles, and the phone number you call is answered here.

Yes. Individual locksmith registration in Texas requires a criminal history check through the Department of Public Safety. Every technician who works on your property carries that registration. We also send you the technician's name before arrival so the person knocking on your door is the person you were expecting.

You are hiring someone to defeat the thing protecting your property, then hand you the new keys. Texas licensing requires a background check on the people doing that work. An unlicensed operator has been screened by nobody. The stakes are different from most home services, and that is the whole reason the state regulates the trade.

Ask for the company license number and the technician's individual registration, then check them against the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau records. A legitimate company gives you the number without hesitating. You can verify the company and technician records directly through the DPS search before authorizing work.

Yes. Texas regulates locksmiths under Chapter 1702 of the Occupations Code, administered by the Texas Department of Public Safety Private Security Bureau. A company cannot legally act as a locksmith company, or even advertise using the word "locksmith," without a security services contractor license. Individuals doing the work must be registered as well.

Yes. Multi-property owners, property management companies and commercial clients can set up an account with agreed rates, scheduled service and consolidated billing rather than a new quote every time a tenant moves out. If you turn over units regularly, this is almost always cheaper than calling a locksmith cold each time.

There is a service call charge that covers getting a licensed technician and a stocked truck to your property. It is quoted on the phone before we dispatch, and for most jobs it is folded into the total rather than added on top. You will know the full number before anyone drives out.

Four things. The hardware you choose, since a Grade 1 commercial deadbolt costs more than a builder-grade Grade 3. The number of locks. The time of day, because after-hours dispatch costs more. And the condition of the door, since a warped door or a damaged frame is carpentry work sitting on top of lock work.

Because it is a hook, not a price. State consumer protection agencies have warned about this pattern for years. The low number gets a truck to your address, then the job is reclassified as "complex," the lock gets drilled rather than picked, and the final bill lands several times higher. A real quote covers the whole job, not just the drive.

It depends on the job, the hardware and the time of day, so anyone who quotes a flat number before hearing your situation is guessing or baiting you. What we commit to is this: you get a price before work starts, and that is the price you pay. We do not revise the number once the technician is standing at your door.

Yes. A locksmith can originate a new key from the lock itself rather than copying an existing one, so having zero keys is not a dead end. Depending on the lock, that may mean decoding the cylinder or disassembling it. Bring it up when you call so the technician arrives with the right blanks and tools.

For some households, yes. They solve the key handoff problem for family, cleaners, dog walkers and short-term rental guests, and they log who came and went. They also need batteries, they live outdoors in Texas heat, and a cheap one is a cheap lock with a screen on it. Buy the lock quality first and the smart features second.

Often it is not. Along the Gulf Coast, humidity swells doors, foundations shift with the wet and dry cycle, and frames move enough to throw the strike plate out of alignment. The lock is fine and the hole it is aiming at has moved. That is usually an adjustment, not a replacement, and it is a much cheaper visit.

That is the goal on nearly every call. A trained locksmith opens the majority of residential locks non-destructively. Drilling is a last resort for locks that are already damaged, seized or high security by design. If drilling is the only option, we tell you before we start and we quote the replacement hardware at the same time.

Before the first night. You do not know how many keys exist. Builders, previous owners, contractors, cleaners, house sitters, real estate agents and former tenants may all have had one, and a lockbox key may still be floating around. Rekeying is inexpensive and it is the single cheapest security upgrade a new homeowner can make.

Rekey in most cases. Rekeying changes the pins inside the existing lock so old keys stop working, and it costs far less than new hardware. Replace instead when the lock is worn out, damaged, low grade, or when you want to upgrade to a higher security level or a smart lock. Either way, do it before you move in.

Yes. Commercial door hardware fails on a cycle count, not a calendar, so a high-traffic entrance wears out predictably. Scheduled service on closers, latches, hinges and exit devices catches the wear before the door stops locking on a Friday night. Property managers and multi-site operators get the most value from this.

Yes. Exit hardware is a life safety issue and it is inspected, so it needs to be correct rather than merely installed. Requirements depend on your occupancy type, occupant load and the local authority having jurisdiction. We will install and service the hardware, and we will tell you when a question belongs with your fire marshal rather than with us.

If they returned the key and you trust that, nothing. If they did not, or if you are not certain, rekey the doors that key opened. That is the case for key control: a restricted keyway means employees cannot get copies cut at a hardware store, so departures stop turning into a rekey of the entire building.

A master key system lets one key open every door while each employee's key opens only what they need. It is worth it once you have multiple doors and multiple roles, such as a building with tenant suites, a shop with an office and a stock room, or any site with contractors. Below about three doors it is usually overkill.