# Are locksmiths a regulated profession? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009 "2026-10-20T18:41:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/41 "2026-10-22T22:40:57Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Of course, he is a highly skilled picker. One, he’s been picking locks since he was thirteen and two, it could be he simply doesn’t upload the locks he fails on. I kind of doubt the latter since he makes his successes look so easy – for the skilled. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/42 "2026-10-22T22:41:07Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Medeco makes the locks, keys, and the special machines able to duplicate them. All that is protected by copyright, etc., and they’re aggressive about suing anyone who’d make copycat blanks or cutting machines. Copyright wouldn’t work, because it’s not a creative work. The relevant area of intellectual property law would be patents, but patents expire after 20 years. Maybe they keep coming out with new innovations in lock technologies, and keep the newest ones patented, but that won’t help someone with a 20-year-old lock and key. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/43 "2026-10-22T22:52:47Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Or even there’s specialists like that company that parks vans in Costco parking lots and copies your existing key for $75 or whatever. Maybe for a regular key but when I wanted to buy a couple spare fobs for my Bolt the one here quoted $200 each. I bought them from an online dealer for $20 then went to a locksmith to have a meandering groove cut in the flat of the physical emergency key for $35 each. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/44 "2026-10-22T23:19:10Z")
Have you tried starting the car and driving with just the replacement fob you bought? Or is your only desire to open the mechanical door locks with the mechanical emergency key? There’s a process to teach the car and fob to recognize each other. Different eras and different brands do it differently. But one of the key (heh) features is it takes special equipment to do that. It’s not DIY. Even back in the late 80s / early 90s cars had a combined mechanical key + electronic head where you still stuck the mechanical key in a switch on the side of the steering column & rotated it to start & run the car. But if the car didn’t recognize the right chip adjacent to the steering column too, turning the key did nothing but mechanically unlock the steering wheel. No go. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2026, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/45 "2026-10-22T23:54:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But if the car didn’t recognize the right chip adjacent to the steering column too, turning the key did nothing but mechanically unlock the steering wheel. Or let the car start and run briefly, but not unlock the transmission and shut down the engine after a brief period. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/46 "2026-10-23T00:04:17Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > One, he’s been picking locks since he was thirteen and two, it could be he simply doesn’t upload the locks he fails on. > > I kind of doubt the latter since he makes his successes look so easy – for the skilled. He does post his failures. Most famous is the Bowley. I don’t think he ever figured it out. On the other side, the successes may look easy but we don’t see is that some of them might take several hours to figure out in the first place and we only see the “easy” solution. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/47 "2026-10-23T00:11:39Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > He does post his failures. Most famous is the Bowley. I don’t think he ever figured it out. “The lock even I can’t pick” is more interesting than never posting a failure. I totally believe this. I’ve watched a few of his videos, they can be entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/48 "2026-10-23T00:20:51Z")
I hope that the original FQ has been answered enough that we can continue this hijack. This is a fun read with videos. In short, a lock company claimed that their lock was unbreakable. Lock Picking Lawyer shims it open in seconds using a shim made from a beverage can. The reaction from the lock company was for the CEO to sue him and his employees to harass him and call him a fraud. It’s a fun read with videos. > **[Lock Company Sues Man Who Picked Its Lock, Gets Horribly Humiliated](https://futurism.com/future-society/lockpick-lawsuit-trevor-mcnally)** > > The company charged him with eight separate offenses, including copyright infringement and "defamation by implication" ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/49 "2026-10-23T02:04:59Z")
Did they not notice that he was a lock-picking lawyer? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/50 "2026-10-23T02:14:22Z")
Unless I’m misunderstanding something, hajario’s link is to an incident involving Trevor McNally, who is a YouTuber and a lock picker, but is not Lock Picking Lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/51 "2026-10-23T05:09:35Z")
Oops. My mistake. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/52 "2026-10-23T05:41:29Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Maybe for a regular key but when I wanted to buy a couple spare fobs for my Bolt the one here quoted $200 each. I bought them from an online dealer for $20 then went to a locksmith to have a meandering groove cut in the flat of the physical emergency key for $35 each. No, I mean electronic key fobs, dealers want stupid amounts for the current non-keys (note there’s almost certainly a physical key hidden inside it if you run out of batteries, and it will still start your car passively if you hold it against it). Or for the previous keys that have electronics inside. The Costco company (not sure if it’s a chain or a bunch of local ones, don’t remember the name on the van) will duplicate them by copying the codes from an existing key for cheap **er**. A regular key from the 90s any locksmith can do. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/53 "2026-10-23T05:48:29Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > In short, a lock company claimed that their lock was unbreakable. Lock Picking Lawyer shims it open in seconds using a shim made from a beverage can. The reaction from the lock company was for the CEO to sue him and his employees to harass him and call him a fraud. It’s a fun read with videos. [LPL revealed vulnerabilities in a Vaultek safe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5YsZLJ5FjY) and they responded in like 24 hours with a fix (scroll to top comment) and provided customers a fix. That’s the way to run a company I think. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/54 "2026-10-23T21:35:13Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > There’s a process to teach the car and fob to recognize each other. Different eras and different brands do it differently. But one of the key (heh) features is it takes special equipment to do that. It’s not DIY. On my '23 Chevy Bolt, if I have two fobs and want to program a third it is remarkably easy. I put the two working fobs in the special spot at the bottom of the console, use a mechanical key to turn the door lock five times in less than ten seconds, remove the known fobs, put the new one in the special spot, and press the power button on the dash. When the readout in front of the steering wheel shows the fob has been programmed, remove it and press either the lock or unlock buttons on it. If there are fewer than two old fobs available it’s a similar process except the door lock is cranked first, the power button is pressed, pressed again after about ten minutes, and a _third_ time after another ten minutes. This deprograms all of the existing fobs and they all have to be reprogrammed in the special spot. No special tools are required, just a lot of patience. I printed the instructions to take out to the car when I programmed the two spare fobs I bought. > [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > dealers want stupid amounts for the current non-keys (note there’s almost certainly a physical key hidden inside it if you run out of batteries, and it will still start your car passively if you hold it against it). Yeah, when I said “dealer” I surely did not mean a Chevy dealer. The spares I bought look exactly like the OEM fob except they are missing the Chevy bowtie. Darn. Again, on the Chevy if the battery in the fob is dead, you can get into the car with the physical key then put the fob into that special spot I mentioned above. I suspect it induces enough power into the fob to make it detected and let the car be driven. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2026, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/55 "2026-10-23T22:36:11Z")
Wow! TIL. Thank you. How surprisingly sane of the manufacturer to have built that process into their software, ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/56 "2026-10-24T00:16:40Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > TIL. Thank you. How surprisingly sane of the manufacturer to have built that process into their software, Of _that_ manufacturer of _that_ car, anyway. Most cars by most manufacturers, keyfob programming is carefully locked away behind special diagnostic systems and software. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2026, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009/57 "2026-10-24T19:19:25Z")
'Zactly. Hence my surprise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-locksmiths-a-regulated-profession/1034009.md?page=2)