Broward County, FL
Rekey Locks in Boca Raton — Keep the Hardware, Retire Every Old Key
Same-day rekeying across Boca Raton, usually done in under an hour. Owner-operated, licensed & insured, quoted before we start, 1-year parts and labor warranty.
What Rekeying Actually Does to Your Lock
Inside every standard house lock is a cylinder holding a row of small spring-loaded pins. The right key pushes each pin to exactly the right height, a line forms, and the cylinder turns. Rekeying means taking that cylinder apart, swapping those pins for a different combination of heights, and cutting a new key to match.
The practical result is the thing people actually want: every key that used to open that door stops working, permanently. Your lock, your handle, your finish and your door all stay exactly as they are. Nothing is unscrewed from the outside and nothing about the house looks different afterward — which is also why it almost never runs into an HOA rule.
It is quick, it is the cheapest real security upgrade there is, and for a Boca Raton home with three to five exterior cylinders it is normally finished well inside an hour.
When Boca Raton Homeowners Call Us to Rekey
These are the six reasons behind nearly every rekeying job we do in this city. If one of them describes your week, it is worth a call.
You just closed on the house
The single most common one. Previous owners, their grown children, a housekeeper, a pool service, contractors, a realtor lockbox — nobody can honestly tell you how many working keys are out there. Rekeying resets the count to zero on day one.
A tenant moved out
Standard turnover practice for Boca landlords and property managers, and far cheaper than new hardware on every unit. Our Florida landlord rekeying guide covers the timing and the paperwork side in detail.
A key went missing
Lost at the beach, gone from a gym bag, taken with a stolen purse that also had mail with your address on it. A missing key is a different problem from a key locked inside, and this is the fix.
Someone’s access should end
A roommate who moved out, a contractor who kept a copy, an ex-partner, a former caregiver, a seasonal helper. No confrontation required and no need to explain yourself — the keys simply stop working.
You are tired of four keys
Front door, back door, garage side door, lanai — all on separate keys because they were installed at different times. Keying them alike gives you one key for the whole house, which is a quality-of-life change more than a security one.
Seasonal and rental turnover
Boca has a lot of snowbird properties and short-term rentals. Rekeying between seasons, or after a stretch of guests and cleaners, is cheap insurance on a home that sits empty half the year.
Rekey or Replace? The Honest Answer
A locksmith who always recommends new hardware is selling hardware. Most of the time rekeying is the right call, and we will say so even though it is the smaller ticket. Here is the line we actually use.
Rekey when…
- The locks work fine and you simply want the old keys dead
- You just bought, or a tenant just left
- The hardware is decent quality and matches the house
- You want several doors on one key
- Your association has opinions about exterior door hardware
Replace when…
- The key already sticks, grinds or needs jiggling
- Salt air has corroded the cylinder — common in East Boca
- It is thin builder-grade hardware on an exterior door
- You want a keypad, smart lock or a higher security grade
- There is visible damage from a break-in attempt
Plenty of Boca houses end up with a mix — rekey the three solid doors, replace the one tired lock. That is a perfectly normal outcome and you will get it quoted that way, itemised, before anything is touched. If a full swap is what you need, see lock changes in Boca Raton.
Things That Are Specific to Rekeying in Boca Raton
Condo buildings often key to the building
Many mid-rise and association buildings downtown, along A1A and in Century Village keep unit doors on a master or emergency key system so management can reach a unit in a fire or a flood. That can be preserved while still changing your key — but it has to be planned, not discovered halfway through. Tell us if you are in an association building.
Multipoint hardware on impact doors
Homes built or re-doored to hurricane code across west Boca frequently run multipoint locks. The cylinder can normally be re-pinned like any other, but the surrounding hardware is brand-specific, so saying “impact door” or “French doors” on the phone changes what comes on the van.
Guard gates add time, not difficulty
Boca West, Broken Sound, Boca Pointe, Woodfield, St. Andrews, Mission Bay and Loggers’ Run all check visitors in. Because rekeying is a scheduled appointment rather than an emergency, this is easy to handle — just add PBC Locksmith to your list when you book.
Mixed brands in one house
Doors added over the years rarely match. Most Kwikset-family or Schlage-family cylinders in a single home can be keyed alike within their own family; crossing between families needs a cylinder swap on at least one door. We check before quoting and tell you which doors can join the set.
What moves the price: how many cylinders, whether they are all one brand family, whether anything is multipoint or mortise, and whether you want them all keyed alike. There is no flat rate published here because there is no flat job — you get a specific number on the phone, free, before we come out.
Other Boca Raton Locksmith Services
We rekey throughout the area, including Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach, Highland Beach, Parkland and Coconut Creek.
What customers say
"My experience with Joe with PBC Locksmith was an amazing one. I contacted him/the company to rekey my Accordion Shutters. Joe was professional, easy to work with, punctual and clear about the cost. He made the entire process so simple, easy, quick! Exactly what I needed."
"Imagine closing on a new home, and then going to open it for the first time and the lock is busted! I called Joe at PBC Locksmith, and he said he could be there in a half hour! The deadbolt was completely broken so he took that out and replaced it, and was able to just rekey the bottom lock."
"As the HOA President in my community, we needed our common area door lock issue addressed as soon as possible. Joe from PBC came the next day and immediately addressed the situation. I'm aware many companies take advantage of a HOA, but Joe charged us what he would charge any other customer."
A few of our 270+ five-star reviews — Thumbtack · Google · Yelp
Frequently Asked Questions
What does rekeying a lock actually do?
The lock stays on your door. We take the cylinder apart, swap the small pins inside for a different combination, and cut a new key to match. From that moment the lock only answers to the new key and every old key in circulation is dead metal. The door, the hardware and the finish never change.
Is it cheaper to rekey or to replace the locks?
Rekeying is almost always the cheaper of the two, because you are paying for labor and a few cents of pins rather than for new hardware. Replacing makes more sense when the lock is worn out, corroded, builder-grade junk, or when you want a different function entirely — a keypad, a smart lock or a higher security grade. We will tell you honestly which one your door needs.
I just closed on a house in Boca Raton. Should I rekey?
Yes, and it is the first thing worth doing. Between the previous owners, their relatives, a housekeeper, a pool service, contractors, a realtor lockbox and whoever else picked up a copy over the years, nobody can tell you how many working keys exist. Rekeying resets that to zero in about an hour.
Can all my locks be rekeyed to one key?
Usually, yes — as long as the locks share a keyway, which most Kwikset-family or Schlage-family hardware in a single Boca home does. Keying alike means one key for the front door, back door, garage side door and lanai. If your doors are a mix of brands, we will tell you what can be matched and what would need new hardware to join the set.
How long does rekeying take?
A typical Boca Raton house with three to five cylinders is usually finished inside an hour, and it is normally a same-day appointment. Larger homes, multipoint hardware on impact and French doors, or an association property with many doors take longer, and you get that estimate on the phone before we come out.
Do I need HOA approval to rekey in Boca Raton?
Almost never. Association rules generally govern how the outside of your door looks, and rekeying changes nothing you can see — same lock, same finish, same hardware. It is replacing a front-door lock that can bump into those rules. One exception worth checking: some condo buildings keep unit doors on a building-wide emergency key system, and your association will want that kept intact.
Can you rekey the locks on impact or French doors?
Usually, yes. Impact and French doors around Boca often run multipoint hardware that throws bolts at the head and sill as well as the latch, but the key cylinder itself can normally be re-pinned like any other. Mention the door type when you call so the right parts and tools are on the van from the start.
My tenant just moved out of a rental in Boca. Is rekeying enough?
For most Florida landlords, yes, and it is the standard turnover step between tenants. It is fast, it costs far less than new hardware on every unit, and it gives you a clean record that the previous tenant’s keys no longer work. Replace the hardware instead when the lock is damaged, worn, or was already failing.
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Serving Boca Raton, FL
PBC Locksmith covers all of Boca Raton, FL — same-day appointments, 9 AM to 7 PM, 7 days a week. Call or text and you will reach Joe directly.
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