Rekeying locks in Jacksonville

Taking back control of your keys in Duval County

Rekeying swaps the pins inside a lock so it needs a different key. The lock stays on the door, the old keys stop working, and the cost is a fraction of new hardware. In Jacksonville, with military families rotating in and out and homes changing hands constantly, it is often the first thing to do after getting the keys to a new place. It also makes sense after a key ring goes missing at work, at the gym or at the beach, since you cannot know who picked it up.

Rekey when you report in, not months later

Homes near Naval Station Mayport and NAS Jacksonville often turn over with each set of orders. The last family may have handed keys to a sitter, a neighbor and a moving crew. If you are renting, ask the landlord whether the locks were rekeyed and request it if not. If you bought the house, schedule it for move-in week, ideally before the household goods arrive and strangers are carrying boxes through open doors.

Landlords with rentals on both sides of the river

Plenty of Jacksonville landlords own a unit in Arlington, another on the Westside and a third near the Beaches. Rekeying at each turnover keeps former tenants out. If you want one key for yourself and separate keys for each tenant, ask about a master-keyed setup so you are not carrying a pocketful of keys across the Mathews Bridge.

Historic district homes

In Riverside, Avondale and Springfield, exterior changes generally need approval through the city's historic preservation process. Rekeying sidesteps that question: the work happens inside the cylinder, so the look of the door is exactly the same afterward.

Making several locks take one key

Front door, back door, garage entry, each with its own key? If the locks share a keyway, which usually means the same brand, a locksmith can rekey them to match. If they do not, one cylinder may need replacing first. It is worth doing when you rekey anyway, since the locksmith is already at the door and the pins are already out.

Need something else in Duval County?

See everything on the Duval County locksmith page, or browse Florida locksmiths.

Want the background first? Read our guide: Lock Rekeying.