Non-destructive entry first, always - and we re-key Schlage, Kwikset, and Baldwin locks on the spot while you watch
You get a price before we start. It does not change when we arrive. No surprises.
Fast, Reliable Emergency Locksmith Across Memphis
A standard emergency lockout in Memphis runs $85 to $165, and we typically reach most neighborhoods from Downtown to Cordova within 30 to 45 minutes. That price includes opening the door, and you’ll know the full amount before a technician leaves our Memphis dispatch desk. If you’re locked out right now, call (331) 310-8471 and a live person will answer.
We work the streets of Memphis daily, so we know that a lockout in a Midtown craftsman bungalow is a different job than one in a Frayser rental or a Whitehaven home with a steel security screen door. The hardware matters, the frame matters, and how you open the door without destroying either is where local experience separates a real locksmith from a call-center dispatcher running a rotating roster of subcontractors.
Why Novak Lock & Security Is Memphis’s Preferred Emergency Locksmith Company
Daniel Novak founded this company in 2002 on a rule that has never changed: the price quoted on the phone is the price on the invoice. That rule is written into Haven Standard Clause 1, and the technician who arrives at your door in Memphis is contractually prohibited from changing that figure. No call-out surcharge added on arrival, no inflated “emergency fee” invented after the fact. You’ll hear the number before anyone is dispatched.
Every Memphis job is handled by a background-checked, uniformed technician. When the work is done, you get a documented photo record showing exactly what was found and what was fixed. Not a text summary. Photos. That’s the Haven Standard applied to every one of the 60,000-plus locks, keys, and systems we’ve serviced since 2002.
Memphis has more than its share of locksmiths who advertise a $19 service call and bill $300 at the door. We built this company as the opposite of that model. You get a firm written price, a tech who knows the difference between a Schlage tapered driver and a Kwikset wafer, and a 365-Day Done Right Promise on every installation, rekey, and emergency call.
Our Emergency Locksmith Services in Memphis
24/7 Emergency Lockout
Locked out of your house in Cooper-Young, High Point Terrace, or anywhere else in Memphis at 3 a.m.? We answer the phone with a person, not a voicemail queue, and we dispatch immediately. Most non-destructive entry jobs in Memphis take under 20 minutes once the tech arrives. We use bypass tools, picks, and shims before any drill touches a lock, because preserving your hardware is the difference between a $100 job and a $400 hardware replacement.
Broken Key Extraction
Keys snap in Memphis locks more often than you’d think, usually because of age, wear, or a key that was already bent being forced in a stiff deadbolt. We extract broken key fragments with spiral extractors and broken-key pullers, then check the lock to see whether the break was a symptom of a deeper problem. If the cylinder is worn or the springs are shot, we’ll quote a replacement cylinder in writing before removing anything. Typical broken key extraction in Memphis runs $75 to $125.
Safe Opening
Safes in Memphis range from small fire boxes in East Memphis bedrooms to gun safes and floor safes in Bartlett and Germantown homes. We open safes non-destructively whenever possible, using manipulation techniques, borescope inspection, or drilling as a last resort. A standard combination lockout or drill-and-repair job in Memphis typically runs $180 to $350, quoted in writing before work begins. We also rekey and repair safe dials, electronic keypads, and handle assemblies.
Eviction Lock Change
Memphis’s rental market is dominated by out-of-state landlords holding hundreds of single-family properties across Shelby County, and every eviction means rekeying before the next tenant gets keys. We handle post-eviction lock changes in Binghampton, Orange Mound, Raleigh, and throughout the city, rekeying existing hardware to new keyways or swapping deadbolts when the old ones are compromised. Landlords and property managers get a documented photo record for their files, which matters when a former tenant disputes a security deposit.
What happens when you call
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A real person answersNo phone trees - you reach a local pro.
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You get an upfront price rangeHonest numbers before anyone is dispatched.
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A background-checked tech heads outLicensed & insured, dispatched right away.
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You approve before work beginsNothing starts until you say go.
Trusted Brands We Service in Memphis
We’re factory-authorized on Medeco, Mul-T-Lock, and Baldwin hardware, and we service the full spectrum from entry-grade Kwikset and Schlage to high-security cylinders that can’t be picked or bumped by standard tools. Yale locks are common in Memphis, particularly on older Midtown and Central Gardens homes, and we stock Yale-compatible parts locally. If you have a proprietary screen-door lock from a regional hardware chain on your South Memphis or Whitehaven home, we can often source the blanks and parts that national distributors don’t carry. Tell us the brand stamped on the cylinder and we’ll tell you what’s available before we arrive.
Common Emergency Locksmith Problems We See in Memphis Homes
- Swollen wooden door frames from Memphis humidity. The humid subtropical climate here makes pine and oak frames expand in summer, binding deadbolts and latch bolts so tight the key won’t turn. Technicians who don’t know Memphis try to force the lock and strip the screws. We adjust the strike plate or plane the frame edge, then lubricate the cylinder with a dry graphite or Teflon lubricant.
- Deteriorated strike plates and frames on rental housing stock. South Memphis, Frayser, and Binghampton are full of post-WWII wood-frame rentals where decades of deferred maintenance have left door frames too soft to hold a deadbolt. We routinely replace standard strike plates with reinforced box strikes and longer screws that bite into the jack stud, because a new deadbolt in a rotted frame is a false security upgrade.
- Frozen pin tumblers after ice storms. The freeze-thaw cycles that accompany Memphis ice events seize padlocks, deadbolts, and shed locks across the metro. When it’s 15 degrees and your back door lock won’t turn, the problem is almost always moisture inside the cylinder. We warm the keyway carefully, flush it with a de-icing lubricant, and test the springs before calling it fixed. Never force a frozen key; a snapped key fragment turns a $90 service call into a $160 extraction plus replacement.
- Double-door security screens with proprietary locks. In Whitehaven, South Memphis, and parts of Frayser, it’s standard to find a steel security screen door layered in front of the main entry door. Those screen-door locks are often proprietary brands sold through regional hardware chains, and the keyways don’t accept standard blanks. A tech from out of town will drill the lock and tell you to buy a new door. We source the right cylinder from the start.
Pricing for Emergency Locksmith in Memphis, TN
Here are the real numbers for Memphis, not a teaser rate that doubles by the time the invoice prints.
- House lockout (non-destructive entry): $85 to $165
- Broken key extraction: $75 to $125
- Deadbolt replacement (standard residential grade): $110 to $180 including hardware
- Rekey per cylinder: $25 to $45
- Safe opening (standard combination lockout): $180 to $350
- Post-eviction lock change (rekey existing hardware): $85 to $150, quoted per property
What affects the price, in real terms: whether the lock needs non-destructive entry or the cylinder is already damaged beyond picking, whether we’re rekeying one cylinder or five, and whether the door frame needs reinforcement work. We quote the full number on the phone before anyone is dispatched. The number you hear is the number on the invoice. No exceptions.
Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote before you commit to anything. Estimates are free.
We Also Serve Cities Near Memphis
Our Memphis office dispatches to surrounding communities throughout Shelby County and into the adjacent metro. That includes Germantown, Collierville, Spring Hill, and Franklin. The same pricing rule applies everywhere we go: written price before work begins, documented record when we leave. For all Emergency Locksmith calls in Memphis and nearby cities, call (331) 310-8471.
Serving Memphis, TN - Our Local Coverage Area
We’re based in the Memphis area and know this community well. Use the map below to see our service coverage - if you’re nearby, we can almost certainly help.
FAQs - Emergency Locksmith in Memphis
Yes. Original mortise locks in Midtown craftsman homes built between 1910 and 1940 are nearly always serviceable. We remove the mortise cylinder, replace the pins to a new key, and reinstall it. The cost is comparable to a standard rekey, typically $35 to $55 per cylinder in Memphis. The original brass hardware stays on the door, which matters to preservation-minded owners who would never allow a drill-and-replace. Call (331) 310-8471 and describe the lock; we’ll tell you whether it’s a standard mortise cylinder before we arrive.
Yes. The proprietary screen-door locks you find in South Memphis, Whitehaven, and Frayser are often brands sold through regional hardware chains that national locksmith distributors don’t stock. We keep a network of local and regional suppliers specifically for those keyways. Before you replace the whole door, send us a photo of the lock face and key, or read the brand stamp to us over the phone at (331) 310-8471. We’ll confirm whether we can match the cylinder before dispatching anyone.
Yes. Post-eviction lock changes are one of the most common jobs we run in Memphis, driven by the city’s large absentee-landlord rental stock. We rekey existing hardware to a new keyway or swap compromised deadbolts, document the work with photos, and hand the property manager a written record they can file with the unit’s paperwork. In Binghampton, Frayser, and Orange Mound, we’ve done these jobs at 2 a.m. and had the unit ready for a 9 a.m. showing. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll quote the job per property in writing.
Usually both. Memphis’s freeze-thaw cycles push moisture into cylinders and pin tumblers, which seizes the internal springs. But the swollen frame underneath is often the root cause: the door shifts, the bolt binds, and the lock takes the blame. A technician who only defrosts the cylinder is treating half the problem. We clear the ice from the keyway, flush the cylinder with a de-icing lubricant, then check the strike alignment and frame clearance. If the door needs planing or the strike needs shifting, we’ll tell you the cost before doing it. Call (331) 310-8471 for an exact quote.
Yes. Break-in response is a larger share of emergency calls in Memphis than in most U.S. cities, so we run these jobs constantly. We rekey the existing deadbolt to a new key, replace the strike plate with a reinforced box strike if the frame shows kick-in damage, and repair the jamb if the wood is split. If the deadbolt itself is beyond salvage, we replace it with a new ANSI Grade 1 unit. Same-night rekey and reinforcement in Memphis typically runs $150 to $300 depending on frame damage, quoted in writing before we start. Call (331) 310-8471 and we’ll get a tech to you within the hour.
Written by Daniel Novak, Owner at Novak Lock & Security, serving Memphis with written pricing and documented workmanship since 2002.