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No matter if you've just purchased your home or if you've owned it for years, getting your locks re-keyed is a great way to increase your home’s security. Re-keying a home’s locks can help prevent break-ins, update old out-of-shape locks, and is a cost-effective way to keep your loved ones and possessions safe and secure.

Why You Should Re-Key After Buying a Home

Many homeowners choose to re-key their locks once they have purchased a brand-new home. This helps newer homeowners feel secure in their new house as it takes away the unease of not knowing who else may have a key to their home. The previous homeowners may have given copies of their keys to previous neighbors, babysitters, or family members— or, even worse, just lost a copy of the key that anyone could have! Re-keying a new home’s locks is a cost-effective and fast way to keep a home safe, especially while moving.

Why You Should Re-Key After Living in a Home for Years

Even though most homeowners choose to re-key their locks after they have just moved in, you can re-key your locks at any time. You may choose to re-key your home for a variety of different reasons, such as losing track of how many copies of a key have been made and who has a copy. Over time, keys can be copied over and over again, and if they fall into the wrong hands, it can spell trouble for homeowners. The longer you have the same set of keys, the more likely it is that copies of that key have wandered off and been lost. It’s always a good idea to give your locks a refresh every once in a while, for safety’s sake.

Re-Keying a Lock that is Aging

Homeowners may also want to re-key a door if the lock is a bit older. Most locksmiths say that door locks have a lifespan of seven years. A locksmith can re-key a door to help your key to fit in it better, turn better, and save you from a costly lock-picking charge if the key stops working altogether. If a locksmith comes out to your home to re-key locks, they can tell you if a lock needs to be replaced, rather than just re-keyed.

The Difference Between Re-Keying and Replacing locks

Many homeowners don’t know the difference between replacing a lock and re-keying it. Replacing a lock can be more expensive and time consuming and requires replacing the entire lock and handle mechanism. Re-keying a lock is a less expensive option that doesn’t require as much time or money as the locksmith just resets the pins in the lock mechanism of a door and creates a new key that matches.

Depending on your locks, replacing a lock may be a better option if the door and handle mechanism are older or if you’re just looking for a new look for your door handle. However, if your only goal is to increase security by getting new keys, re-keying your existing door lock can save you time and money.

The Cost to Re-Key Your Locks

Replacing a door lock can cost $40-$100, plus around $20-$30 per door lock. If you have six doors with the same key, this can get up to $280 quickly. If you re-key a door lock, HomeAdvisor estimates most locksmiths will charge about $40-$100 but then only $5-$25 per lock cylinder.

On average, hiring a locksmith for changing out door locks costs an average of $96-$210, with the high end of average costs reported being $350.

If you have a home warranty plan, you can have your locks re-keyed for a fraction of the price. All you pay is a service call fee! This can end up costing you 65% less than a traditional locksmith. (We got this number by comparing Landmark’s highest service call fee of $100 to the average cost of a full home re-key of $280.)

Using a Home Warranty to Re-Key your Locks

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A home warranty plan through Landmark allows any contract holder to re-key their home’s locks once per year for just the cost of the service call fee. A locksmith will re-key up to six locks in a home and create four copies of a key for the homeowners. This includes deadbolts!*

To open a service request for re-key service on your home, follow these simple steps:

1. Login to your portal by going to landmarkhw.com/login
2. Click the Green Submit Service Request button on the top right-hand corner.
3. Select your address.
4. Choose “Re-Key Service” on the drop down on the “Reason for Service Request”
5. Read through the coverage and accept the terms. Then click next.
6. Pay the service call fee, and your ticket will be opened for your re-key service and a contractor will be assigned to you!

Watch this video to learn more about how to open a service request on Landmark Home Warranty’s website:

*Landmark’s coverage for re-keying does not include rekeys on more than six locks, or on locks that are considered non-standard cylinder door locks, such as (but not limited to) high security door locks, storm doors, and biometric door locks. Landmark Home Warranty is not responsible for picking locks.