Best Locksmiths in Wellington
We assessed 13 locksmiths in Wellington and ranked the top 5 on public rating quality, review volume and how recent the reviews are. The businesses listed below hold 1,090 Google reviews between them. No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Last updated 9 September 2026. How we rank →
Before you hire
Anyone can call themselves a locksmith in New Zealand, since the trade has no licence. Membership of the Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia means the business employs trade-qualified locksmiths and has passed police and insurance checks, and its member search is public. For a lockout, get the full price before they set off, including the call-out fee and any after-hours surcharge, and ask whether they will try to open the lock without drilling it first. Expect to be asked for proof that you live there.
Top 5 Locksmiths in Wellington
The 5 highest-scoring businesses from 13 analysed. Ranked on independent signals only. Scroll for our take on each, plus what to ask before you book.
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1
Rocky Locks - Automotive Locksmiths Specialist
verifiedVerified★ 4.9 228 reviews Top5 Score 1725★ 220 4★ 4 2★ 2 1★ 2Rocky Locks cuts, programmes, and clones automotive keys, including smart keys, transponder chips, and proximity fobs, and turns up to do it at your location rather than requiring you to bring the car in. Technicians like Blake and Rina have repeatedly come through after hours and undercut dealership or name-brand quotes by significant margins, without hidden fees.
location_on 16 Rondane Place, Tirohanga, Lower Hutt schedule Mon–Fri 8am–5pm · Sat–Sun Closed
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2
Beveridge Locksmiths
★ 4.7 199 reviews Top5 Score 1635★ 181 4★ 2 3★ 1 2★ 4 1★ 11Beveridge Locksmiths covers car key cutting and programming, residential lock installation, deadlocks, electronic locks, and lockouts, often completing jobs the same day or within the hour. Where dealership pricing has put people off, they have come to the customer's home to programme car keys on site at a noticeably lower cost, and have offered refurbished remotes as a budget-friendly alternative.
location_on 131 Queens Drive, Hutt Central, Lower Hutt
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3
Beveridge Locksmiths Wellington
★ 4.6 176 reviews Top5 Score 1605★ 143 4★ 15 3★ 4 2★ 4 1★ 10Beveridge Locksmiths gets people back in quickly across residential lockouts, car key cutting and programming, and door lock repairs, including after-hours and public holiday callouts. Technicians like Chris, Rory, and Colin regularly walk customers through what they are doing on the job, and pricing has come in below competitor quotes even on out-of-hours work.
location_on 50 Cambridge Terrace, Te Aro, Wellington
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4
Lost My Key Locksmith Group Wellington Wide
★ 4.9 87 reviews Top5 Score 1565★ 85 4★ 1 1★ 1Lost My Key turns around car key cutting, transponder programming, and remote fob replacement on the same day you call, including weekends, public holidays, and evenings. Pricing is quoted upfront before the job starts, and technicians like Danny have shown up ahead of the estimated arrival time and taken on additional requests on the spot.
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5
Access Lock and Safe Limited
★ 5.0 68 reviews Top5 Score 1555★ 68Access Lock and Safe handles residential lockouts, door lock replacements, sliding door and window locks, digital lock installation, and rekeying, with Geoff sourcing parts and completing jobs the same day rather than making customers wait on orders. Upfront pricing, mobile EFTPOS, and a willingness to take callouts well into the night have made a visible difference on stressful jobs.
Before you book a locksmith in Wellington
Drawn from 678 customer reviews collected for this page. The first answer is what it costs.
What does a locksmith typically cost in New Zealand? expand_more
Locksmithing in New Zealand has no regulated price scale, so costs vary widely between providers and jobs. A standard residential or car lockout during business hours runs roughly $80 to $160 as a call-out fee, with the total landing between $150 and $300 once labour and parts are counted.
After-hours, weekend, and public holiday work adds around $50 to $150 on top, and reviews here confirm that out-of-hours call-outs remain affordable with the right provider. Car key replacement is the most expensive common job, ranging from around $150 for a basic cut key up to $600 or more for a transponder key, and smart or proximity keys can exceed $1,000 at a dealer, though locksmiths regularly come in well below that figure.
Does a locksmith need a licence in New Zealand, and how do I check one is legitimate? expand_more
Locksmithing is not a licensed trade in New Zealand and the title is not protected, meaning anyone can call themselves a locksmith without formal qualification. There is one statutory boundary: under the Private Security Personnel and Private Investigators Act 2010, a business that installs or repairs alarms, safe or strongroom locks, or security cameras is classified as a security technician and must hold a licence or certificate of approval from the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority (PSPLA), which maintains a public register you can search online.
Ordinary door locks, rekeying, and car key work fall outside the Act. The practical check is membership of the Master Locksmiths Association of Australasia (MLAA), whose member businesses must employ trade-qualified locksmiths trained under the New Zealand Apprenticeship in Locksmithing at Level 4, pass police checks, and carry adequate insurance, with a public member search available at findamasterlocksmith.co.nz. A legitimate locksmith will ask for proof of ownership or tenancy before opening your property, and that request is a mark of professionalism, not an obstacle.
How do I tell a genuine local locksmith from a call-centre operator? expand_more
A genuine local operator answers the phone themselves, gives you a named person, and that same person turns up to do the job, which several reviewers here specifically called out as reassuring. The price quoted over the phone is the price charged on site, with no additions appearing once the locksmith is at your door. A real local business arrives in a marked vehicle, carries common replacement hardware on the van, and attempts non-destructive entry before reaching for a drill, which reviews confirm the better operators here do.
What are the warning signs of a locksmith you should not use? expand_more
- –A phone quote that doubles or multiplies once the locksmith is standing at your door is the most common complaint and a clear reason to walk away.
- –Drilling a lock without first attempting to pick it, then charging you for a replacement lock, is a known upsell tactic used by operators who prioritise profit over skill.
- –No proof of identity, an unmarked vehicle, or a refusal to provide a written receipt or invoice after the job are all red flags, as one reviewer here experienced significant difficulty obtaining a basic receipt from an established business.
- –A locksmith who opens your property without asking for any proof that you are entitled to enter has no safeguard against letting in someone who has no right to be there.
- –Follow-up communication that simply stops, with emails or photos requested and then ignored for weeks, appeared in more than one review here and signals an unreliable operation.
- –Fitting a low-grade lock at a premium labour rate, without disclosing the lock quality, leaves you paying top price for hardware that may fail quickly.
What should you ask before booking a locksmith? expand_more
- –Ask for the total price upfront, naming the call-out fee, labour, any after-hours or weekend surcharge, and the cost of parts, since reviewers who confirmed costs before arrival avoided bill shock on site.
- –Ask how long until they arrive, and get a specific window rather than a vague answer, as reviews here show the better operators give realistic ETAs and stick to them.
- –Ask whether they will attempt to open the lock without drilling first, because a skilled locksmith can pick or bypass most standard residential locks, and drilling should be a last resort.
- –Ask whether they carry common replacement locks and key blanks in the van, since several positive reviews noted that same-visit repairs were only possible because the locksmith had stock on hand.
- –Ask whether your existing lock can be rekeyed rather than replaced, which costs significantly less and suits situations such as a change of tenancy or lost key.
- –Ask whether they can cut and program a replacement key for your specific car make and model before they drive out, as not all mobile locksmiths carry the software for every vehicle.
Also recommended locksmiths in Wellington
Ranked 6 to 10 on the same public review record.
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6
Berhampore Locks Ltd.
★ 4.7 93 reviews Top5 Score 1535★ 83 4★ 3 3★ 1 2★ 1 1★ 5Berhampore Locks gets people back inside quickly, covering jammed door locks, residential lockouts, car lock work, and key cutting including unusual and duplicate keys. Blair has shown up within 10 to 20 minutes of a call across Wellington, and has rekeyed new locks to existing keys on the spot so customers walk away without juggling multiple sets.
location_on 211 Rintoul Street, Berhampore, Wellington
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7
IKEYMATE Locksmiths (on-site services only)
★ 5.0 56 reviews Top5 Score 1525★ 56IKEYMATE responds to lockouts, smart lock installation, car key cutting and programming, and door handle fitting, with multiple reviewers reporting arrival within 30 to 60 minutes on weekends and after hours. Technicians like Jag and Sam take time to walk customers through new technology, including setting up apps for smart locks, before leaving the job.
location_on Jackson Street, Petone, Lower Hutt
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8
IKEYMATE North City
★ 5.0 54 reviews Top5 Score 1525★ 54IKeymate North City cuts and programmes car keys, including smart key remotes and transponder keys, replaces key fob cases, and fits door locks and handles, all from its ground-floor shopfront in North City Shopping Centre. Customers who have been quoted hundreds at a dealership have walked away paying significantly less, with most car key jobs completed in 20 to 30 minutes while they grab lunch nearby.
location_on Shop 111, North City Shopping Centre Level-G/2 Titahi Bay Road, Porirua City Centre, Porirua
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9
Master Locksmiths Services
★ 4.5 87 reviews Top5 Score 1495★ 72 4★ 6 2★ 1 1★ 8Master Locksmiths fits digital locks, cuts keys, repairs door locks and handles, and backs this up with in-depth advice that walks customers through unfamiliar security decisions at their own pace. Technicians like Chris have problem-solved non-standard lock situations on the spot, and staff have talked customers through fixes over the phone rather than defaulting to a callout.
location_on 22 Webb Street, Mount Cook, Wellington
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10
Lance the Locksmith
★ 5.0 42 reviews Top5 Score 1485★ 42Lance the Locksmith fits front door lock replacements, digital lock installation, sliding door and window lock repairs, and on-the-spot key cutting from his van. He regularly talks customers through problems over the phone first, and has resolved issues without charging a callout at all when the fix turned out to be simple.
About this ranking
What the 10 locksmiths listed above hold, at the 9 September 2026 check.
Across the 10 locations we assess locksmiths in, the 91 businesses listed have a median rating of 4.8, and one-star reviews are 2.7% of their total.
How are the top locksmiths in Wellington chosen? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for locksmiths in Wellington. Each one is scored on its public rating and review record. Businesses outside the area, or whose reviews describe a different line of work, are left out, and a business whose main Google category is a different trade is held back until a person has checked what it does. A business whose website no longer resolves and that has had no Google review for six months is treated as dormant and left off the page until either changes. Every category and city is rechecked on a rolling cycle, about every two to three months. A location with a subscribing business is rechecked every month, and the whole page updates with it. See how we rank for the full method.
What does a business subscription offer? expand_more
No business can pay for a place in these rankings. Claiming and verifying a listing is free. It adds a phone number to the card and a small trust bonus (+3 points) to its score, for confirming a real operator stands behind the listing. The owner also gets a dashboard showing how their score is made up. A paid subscription provides an enhanced card with more ways to reach the business, including a website link and a detailed profile page. It also refreshes this page monthly and adds ranking history and competitor analysis to the owner's dashboard. The subscription adds nothing to the score. Claim your listing or see what a subscription includes.
Why isn't my business listed? expand_more
We build this page from Google Maps results for locksmiths in Wellington. The usual reasons for missing out are a Google Business category that does not match, too few reviews to score near the top, or an address outside the area we cover. Sometimes we miss a business that should be here. Check where you rank first. If you are not there and think you should be, get in touch.