Quick answer
If you're locked out of your house or apartment in San Diego: check every other door and ground-floor window, call a roommate or family member with a key, and for a rental call the manager. If none of that works, call a licensed mobile locksmith, get the price and arrival window on the phone, and have your ID ready. A licensed locksmith opens almost any residential lock without damage in minutes. Daytime house lockouts typically run $75 to $175. Do not kick the door, pry a window or try the credit-card trick. See house lockout service or call (619) 304-9446.
In this guide
Try these first, in this order
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1
Other doors and windows
Back door, garage side door, the slider, the window over the kitchen sink. People leave more open than they think. Don't climb anything you'd need a ladder for.
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2
Someone with a key
A roommate, a partner, a neighbor you gave a spare to, the friend who feeds the cat. A ten-minute wait beats a service call.
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3
The manager or landlord
Apartment complexes in Mission Valley, Hillcrest and Pacific Beach usually have an on-call number for lockouts, though after hours many just tell you to call a locksmith.
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4
A locksmith
If it's a house you own or a unit you can prove you live in, a licensed locksmith gets you in without damage. Get the total price on the phone first.
What not to do
- Don't kick the door. You'll split the jamb, and a jamb repair costs many times more than a lockout.
- Don't try the credit-card trick on a deadbolt. It only works on a spring latch, and it usually ruins the card and scars the latch.
- Don't pry a window or a slider. Frames bend, glass breaks, and now you have a security problem instead of a lockout.
- Don't call the first ad that says $15. See our locksmith scams guide for why.
- Don't leave a child or pet in a locked car while you deal with the house. That's a different, urgent call. Tell the locksmith immediately, and call 911 if anyone is in distress.
What the locksmith will ask for
Your ID, and if the address on it doesn't match, something that connects you to the home: a lease, a piece of mail, a utility bill on your phone, or a neighbor who can vouch. This isn't red tape. A licensed locksmith is required to confirm you belong there, and it's the same check that protects your home from someone else claiming to be you. Have it ready before the van arrives and the whole thing takes minutes.
How the door actually gets opened
Almost every residential lock in San Diego can be picked or bypassed, which leaves the lock and the door exactly as they were. That's always the first approach. Drilling is a last resort for broken or genuinely high-security locks, and if it's ever needed, it's explained first and the lock is replaced on the same visit. If a technician goes straight for a drill on a normal knob or deadbolt, stop and ask why. Details on our house lockout page.
Make it the last time
- Get a spare cut before the locksmith leaves and give it to someone you trust, not under the mat.
- If the keys are lost rather than inside, rekey the door on the same visit so a found key opens nothing.
- Consider a keypad lock. A code can't be forgotten in the car. Popular with families in Clairemont and Mira Mesa and with rental owners at the beach.
- Save a licensed locksmith's number now. Ours is (619) 304-9446, based in Ocean Beach, open 24/7 for lockouts.
Written by Mark Hanna, owner and lead locksmith of Action Locksmith San Diego (CA LCO License #7199). Published , last updated . Prices mentioned are typical San Diego ranges; see the prices page for details.
