Home Rekey Service
Moving into a new home in Birmingham — whether it is a bungalow off Crestwood Boulevard, a townhouse near Five Points South, or a newer build in Hoover — is exciting. But excitement should never come at the cost of security. When you take possession of a property, you have no way of knowing how many copies of the existing keys are floating around: former tenants, previous owners, contractors, neighbors who held a spare. A professional rekey service eliminates that uncertainty completely without replacing every lock on the door, giving you full control over who can enter your home from day one.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · Licensed, bonded & insured
Lost a key? That is a different but equally urgent reason to act. A missing key is an open question mark hanging over your household — you do not know where it ended up or whose hands it may be in. Pro Birmingham Locksmith operates 24/7 as a fully mobile team, meaning our trained and insured technicians come directly to your door anywhere in the Birmingham metro area. We handle everything on-site, restore your security the same visit, and confirm an exact up-front price before a single tool leaves our bag.
What we do
Available 24/7
Day, night, weekends and holidays — a real local locksmith answers and rolls a fully-stocked van.
Fast local response
Based in Birmingham, we reach the Birmingham area in well under an hour.
Insured & background-checked
Vetted technicians, up-front pricing, and no surprise add-ons when we arrive.
Damage-free entry
We pick and bypass locks the right way, so most lockouts are solved without drilling anything.
More about our work
Everything you need to know about how we help — at a glance.
What Our Home Rekey Service Actually Does to Your Lock
Rekeying is the process of reconfiguring the internal pin tumbler or wafer mechanism inside your existing lock cylinder so that it responds only to a new key — rendering every previously cut key permanently useless. The lock hardware itself stays in place; only the small driver pins and key pins inside the cylinder are replaced and re-stacked to a new combination. For most standard door knob locks and deadbolts found on Birmingham residential properties, the process is straightforward and leaves zero damage to your door or frame when performed by a skilled technician. If your home features a mortise lock — the larger, rectangular body set into a pocket carved into the door edge, common in older Southside and Highland Park homes — the rekeying procedure is more involved, but our team works with mortise lock cylinders routinely and carries the parts to service them on the spot.
After rekeying, you receive a fresh set of keys cut to the new configuration. If you have multiple entry points — front door, back door, garage side door — we can key all cylinders alike during the same visit so a single key opens every lock. That convenience upgrade alone saves years of fumbling at the door.
Home Rekey Service for Every Lock Type We Encounter in Birmingham
Birmingham's housing stock is genuinely diverse, which means the locks we service range just as widely. Older craftsman homes near Avondale and Norwood often feature vintage mortise lock assemblies that require careful disassembly and precise pin work. Newer subdivisions in Vestavia Hills or Trussville typically use modern cylindrical door knob locks or Schlage or Kwikset deadbolts that rekey quickly with the right follower and pinning kit. We carry an extensive inventory of pins, springs, and cylinders on every service vehicle so we are rarely waiting on parts. Our technicians are also trained on high-security and restricted keyway cylinders for homeowners who want an added layer of protection after a rekey — a worthwhile upgrade when a key loss is the reason for the call.
Need help right now? Call 205-479-4233 — we answer 24/7, dispatch immediately, and our mobile units are already on Birmingham roads around the clock.
Securing Birmingham Homes: Mortise Lock Rekeying and Upgrade Options
A mortise lock is not just a cylinder — it is a complete locking mechanism that includes a latch bolt, a dead bolt, and sometimes a privacy or passage function, all housed in one cartridge set into the door itself. Because the entire assembly must be extracted to access the cylinder, mortise lock work takes longer and demands more experience than a simple cylindrical deadbolt rekey. Our technicians have hands-on experience with both antique and modern mortise lock formats, and we carry a selection of replacement cylinders if the original is too worn to rekey reliably. For homeowners in historic districts like Redmont Park or Forest Park, where original door hardware is part of the character of the home, we make every effort to rekey in place and preserve the existing hardware rather than recommending an outright replacement.
Beyond rekeying, we can discuss whether a mortise lock upgrade makes sense for your security goals. A high-security mortise lock cylinder with a restricted keyway prevents unauthorized key duplication at hardware stores — a meaningful safeguard after a move or a key loss event. We walk you through the options, explain what each change means for your day-to-day access, and let you decide before any work begins.
How Pricing Works and What Determines Your Quote
We understand that cost is a real consideration — many Birmingham residents search for information like how much is a locksmith in Birmingham or how much is a locksmith in Alabama before they call. Those are fair questions and we answer them directly. Our pricing is never a mystery. Before we touch your locks, we diagnose the job, identify every factor involved, and give you a firm, all-in price. You decide whether to proceed. There is no commitment until you say yes.
The factors that shape any rekey quote include the type and brand of lock involved (a standard door knob lock rekeys differently than a high-security mortise lock cylinder), the number of locks being serviced in a single visit, whether replacement parts such as new cylinders or pins are needed, the time of day (after-hours and overnight calls carry different rates than daytime appointments), and the travel distance from our nearest available technician to your location. Residents in outlying areas like Alabaster or Gardendale can expect travel distance to factor into the final number, while calls within the city limits of Birmingham typically see our mobile units arrive faster and with a tighter rate. Questions about what locksmiths charge in general or how costs compare across Alabama are ones our team answers honestly on every call — dial 205-479-4233 any time, day or night.
Frequently asked questions
How much should locksmiths charge for a home rekey in Birmingham, AL?+
There is no single flat answer because several variables affect the final price: the type of lock being rekeyed (a standard door knob lock versus a complex mortise lock), the number of locks on your property, whether any parts need to be replaced rather than just repinned, the time of day you call, and how far our technician needs to travel to reach you. What we guarantee is that we provide a complete, confirmed price before any work starts — no hidden fees added to the invoice afterward.
Is rekeying actually more secure than just changing the locks?+
Rekeying achieves the same core security outcome as replacing the lock: every previously existing key stops working. If your current lock hardware is in good condition and is a quality brand, rekeying is the smarter move — it costs less, takes less time, and leaves your door hardware intact. If the lock itself is damaged, low-quality, or very old, our technician may recommend a full replacement and will explain exactly why. We never recommend hardware replacement just to increase a bill.
Can you rekey a mortise lock on an older Birmingham home?+
Yes. Mortise locks are one of our core specialties. The process requires extracting the full lock body from the door pocket, accessing the cylinder, and either repinning it or fitting a compatible replacement cylinder keyed to your new key. Many older homes in Birmingham's historic neighborhoods — Southside, Highland Park, Norwood — still have original mortise lock hardware, and we work to preserve that hardware whenever possible rather than recommending replacement.
Where can I find a trustworthy locksmith in Birmingham, AL after a move or key loss?+
Pro Birmingham Locksmith is a fully mobile, 24/7 operation serving the entire Birmingham metro area. Our trained and insured technicians come to your location — you never drop anything off or wait at a shop. We verify ownership before performing any work, which protects you and ensures the service is always legitimate. Call 205-479-4233 at any hour and a real dispatcher picks up.
How long does a home rekey appointment take?+
A single standard deadbolt or door knob lock typically takes 15 to 30 minutes once our technician is on-site. Rekeying multiple locks during the same visit adds time proportionally but is almost always faster and more cost-effective than scheduling separate visits. A mortise lock rekey takes longer due to the complexity of the mechanism — usually 30 to 45 minutes per lock — and our technician will give you a realistic time estimate when they arrive and assess the hardware.
Do you offer emergency locksmith rekey service after hours in Birmingham?+
Absolutely. We operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays. If you have just moved into a new place, discovered a key is missing late at night, or experienced a break-in and need your locks serviced immediately, our emergency locksmith dispatch is available right now. Call 205-479-4233 and we will have a trained technician on the way. Time of day does affect pricing, which we disclose fully before any work begins.