Can the lock be saved, or does it have to be replaced?

Most of the time the broken piece comes out and the same lock stays in place. If the keyway is chewed or the internals are damaged, the cylinder gets replaced. The locksmith tells you which it is and what it costs before starting.

Can I get a new key if both halves are damaged?

Usually yes. A key can be cut from the surviving half, and if that is not usable, it can be cut from the lock itself once the broken piece is out.

My car key snapped. Is that the same job?

The extraction part is similar, but vehicle keys often involve transponder chips, proximity fobs or push-to-start smart keys. Many locksmiths in Florida cut and program these, and they will ask for photo ID plus proof of ownership such as the title or registration.

Is a locksmith licensed in Fort Lauderdale?

Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license. The trade is regulated at the county or city level, and Broward County has historically required local locksmith registration. Requirements change, so check current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office.

Who are you, exactly?

One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service. We arrange the work with independent locksmiths across all fifty states — we are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work ourselves.

Urgent

Key snapped in the lock in Fort Lauderdale, FL

You turned the key and it gave way. Part of it is in your hand and the rest is still in the lock. That is a broken key, and it is one of the more common reasons people call us. The good news is that the piece in the keyway can usually be taken out and a new key cut, as long as nothing else gets pushed in after it.

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It rarely happens out of nowhere. A key that has been stiff or needed a wiggle for a few weeks was already telling you the cylinder was worn. In Fort Lauderdale that wear comes on faster than it does inland. Salt air off the Atlantic and the city's canals corrodes exterior locks and deadbolts, and the humidity that sits here nearly year-round swells wood doors and frames so the bolt binds against the strike plate. You push harder on the key, the key takes the strain, and eventually it snaps.

While you wait — please don't

Do not put the other half back in. Trying to use the broken half as a tool usually drives the stub deeper into the cylinder and turns a straightforward extraction into a lock replacement.
Do not poke at it with a pin or a blade. Anything pushed into the keyway can damage the internal parts, and a snapped-off pin or blade tip inside the lock makes the job harder for everyone.
Do not use glue. Glue is what makes a lock unrecoverable — once it sets inside the cylinder, the lock has to be replaced rather than saved.
Do not keep forcing the door. If the key broke because the bolt was binding, more force only adds damage to the door and frame on top of the lock problem.

What the technician does

Identification firstBefore anything is opened, the locksmith asks for identification and proof that you are entitled to enter the property or the vehicle. That is standard practice in Florida, and it protects you as much as anyone.
The broken piece comes outThe stub is extracted from the keyway. How that is done is the locksmith's work, not something we publish here.
The cylinder gets checkedOnce the piece is out, the lock is inspected for damage. If the keyway is chewed up and will not take a key cleanly, the cylinder is replaced.
A new key is cutA replacement key can be cut from the surviving half, or from the lock itself if both halves are too far gone.
The lock is lubricatedA dry, gritty cylinder is a big part of why keys break. Lubrication helps the key turn without you having to lean on it.
The door alignment is checkedIf the bolt was dragging on the strike plate, that gets looked at too, so the same thing does not happen again next month.

Why this happens in Fort Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale is hard on metal hardware. The city sits on the Atlantic with hundreds of miles of canals and Intracoastal frontage, and salt spray plus constant humidity corrodes lock cylinders, deadbolts and hinges far faster than inland. Waterfront homes in Rio Vista, Las Olas Isles, Coral Ridge or along the Galt Ocean Mile often need lock service years before a manufacturer's average would suggest. Blown sand near the beach and fine grit after a storm work their way into keyways and grind at the parts inside. Freezing is not a factor here, so when a key snaps in Fort Lauderdale it is almost always wear, corrosion or a binding door rather than cold.

The housing stock plays a part as well. Much of the single-family stock is 1950s to 1970s concrete block and stucco on slab, which means a lot of original or long-serving door hardware still in daily use in Victoria Park, Poinsettia Heights, Imperial Point, Croissant Park and Tarpon River. On the condo and townhome side, shared entries, mailbox locks and amenity doors see heavy use and heavy humidity year-round. Demand picks up in the November to April snowbird season, when seasonal residents come back and turn a key in a lock that has sat untouched through a hot, stormy summer. That first turn after months of sitting is when a worn key often gives up.

Questions people ask

Can the lock be saved, or does it have to be replaced?: Most of the time the broken piece comes out and the same lock stays in place. If the keyway is chewed or the internals are damaged, the cylinder gets replaced. The locksmith tells you which it is and what it costs before starting.
Can I get a new key if both halves are damaged?: Usually yes. A key can be cut from the surviving half, and if that is not usable, it can be cut from the lock itself once the broken piece is out.
Why do keys keep breaking at my Fort Lauderdale house?: Salt air and year-round humidity corrode exterior cylinders here, and that same humidity swells wood doors and frames so the bolt binds against the strike plate. You end up forcing the key every time. Lubricating the lock and correcting the door alignment usually stops the cycle.
My car key snapped. Is that the same job?: The extraction part is similar, but vehicle keys often involve transponder chips, proximity fobs or push-to-start smart keys. Many locksmiths in Florida cut and program these, and they will ask for photo ID plus proof of ownership such as the title or registration.
Is a locksmith licensed in Fort Lauderdale?: Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license. The trade is regulated at the county or city level, and Broward County has historically required local locksmith registration. Requirements change, so check current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office.
Who are you, exactly?: One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service. We arrange the work with independent locksmiths across all fifty states — we are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work ourselves.

One call

Call (866) 690-5848 and we will arrange a locksmith for your broken key in Fort Lauderdale. Every job comes with a free estimate, and the locksmith gives you the price before any work starts, for you to approve first.

Call now · (866) 690-5848

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One Call Locksmiths arranges the visit; the technician does the work and gives you the price.