Locksmith license by state

By our count, 13 states require locksmiths to hold a state license, registration or permit: Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Virginia. The other 38 states and DC have no statewide locksmith license. Pick a state above for the agency, the law, who needs it and what it takes, or open its page for the full detail and sources.

Where other guides disagree

• Tennessee repealed its locksmith license in 2021. Plenty of guides still list it.
• Nebraska repealed its county clerk locksmith registration in 2021 (LB169).
• Florida never had a state license, and the Miami-Dade and Hillsborough County licenses ended in 2025 when state law took local licensing away from counties.
• Illinois still licenses locksmiths, but the law is set to end on January 1, 2029 unless it's renewed.
• New York City stops licensing individual locksmiths on May 31, 2027 and moves to a Locksmith Business license.

What a license usually takes

No two states match, but the same pieces come up. Almost every licensing state runs a criminal background check, usually with fingerprints. Most add a test or training: Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon and Virginia test individual locksmiths, Texas tests company applicants, and Alabama and Louisiana require training certificates. Insurance minimums range from $250,000 for an Alabama company to $1,000,000 in Illinois and for a Virginia business. Some states license the business (Maryland), some the person (North Carolina), and many both. Texas also requires you to check ID and get a signed statement before opening a property, and California requires a record of every opening and every car key you make.

City and county rules

We found local locksmith licenses in 4 states: Nevada, New York, Utah and Washington. The places are Washoe County, Clark County (unincorporated), City of Las Vegas, New York City, Nassau County, Yonkers, Provo, Olympia and Mountlake Terrace. Local rules change more often than state law, and plenty of towns we couldn't check may have their own, so call the city or county clerk before you work somewhere new.

How we checked

For each state we looked for the statute and the licensing agency's own pages, and used trade sources such as ALOA and Locksmith Ledger only as a starting point. A “no” means we found no statewide license: locksmiths are missing from the state's official list of licensed occupations or its professions law. Requirements are listed only when the source states them. Each state page lists the sources we used. Last checked October 2026. This is a guide to help you find the right office, not legal advice.

Whatever your state, check ID and proof of ownership on every lockout and keep a record. The lockout authorization form gives you a signed one.