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01There is no national locksmith license in the United States. Regulation is decided state by state and in some places city by city, which means the same work is a licensed profession on one side of a state line and completely unregulated on the other. Knowing which regime you are in is the first business decision you make.
- There is no national locksmith license. Roughly a third of states license at state level.
- Verify current requirements with the issuing agency. Rules change and lists go stale.
- Licensing gates access to key codes, restricted keyways and commercial contracts.
Covers The three regimes, What licensing actually gates, Where the license does not travel.
Read this topic →A locksmith opens things that were closed on purpose. That makes documentation more than paperwork. It is the evidence that you did the right thing, and it is what answers a police officer, an insurer or a lawyer months after you have forgotten the job.
- Record identification type, ownership document, work done and time, for every opening.
- Bitting records and combinations are the most sensitive data you hold. Encrypt them.
- Hand key records over and delete your copy when a customer relationship ends.
Covers The job record, Bitting records and customer data, Damage, mistakes and insurance.
Read this topic →Skill decides what you can open. Judgment decides what you should. Every experienced locksmith has a short list of jobs they decline, and that list is the clearest marker of a professional in this trade.
- If two people both claim a door, neither gets it opened by you today.
- A landlord is generally not entitled to have a tenanted door opened. Decline politely.
- Repossession requires a contract with the lienholder, not just a confident caller.
Covers Disputes over a property, Repossession and vehicles that are not there, Teaching, publishing and the culture of the trade.
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