Do I need to rekey if I might still find the keys?

That is your call, but a key found later does not undo the time it spent missing. If anything on the ring pointed to your address, most people rekey and stop thinking about it.

I live in a Brickell condo. Can the building locks be done too?

Your own unit locks can be rekeyed or the cylinders replaced. Lobby, gate and amenity access is usually controlled by the association or management, so contact them about those, and exterior work in HOA communities often needs their approval.

Are locksmiths licensed in Florida?

Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license and has no state licensing board; the trade is regulated at county or municipal level instead, and Miami-Dade has historically required local registration, permits or background checks. Requirements change, so verify current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office. For general business registration and consumer complaints, FDACS and the Florida Department of State are the usual points of contact.

A car key was on the same ring. What now?

Say so when you call so both parts are arranged together. Automotive work is common in Florida, and many locksmiths cut and program transponder keys, proximity fobs and push-to-start smart keys, normally asking for photo ID plus proof of ownership such as the title or registration.

Are you the locksmith?

No. One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service that arranges work with independent locksmiths across all fifty states, including Miami. We are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work.

Stop using the door

Keys lost in Miami, FL

You have looked in the usual places twice. The keys are not there. That is the whole problem, and it is a common one, so start from what you can control: the locks those keys open. Once the locks are rekeyed, the lost keys stop working, and it stops mattering where they ended up. Call (866) 690-5848 and we will arrange a locksmith to come out to you in Miami.

Call now · (866) 690-5848

Phones answered around the clock · free estimate

Think back to everything that was on that ring. In Miami that list is usually longer than people expect. A house or condo key, a mailbox key, a fob or key for a shared entry or gate, and very often a car key too. Condominiums and gated, HOA-governed communities make up a large share of the housing here, from Brickell and Downtown Miami to the older concrete block homes inland, so a single ring can carry access to a lobby, a garage gate and an amenity room on top of your own front door. Tell us everything that was on it when you call, because keys lost with a car key on the ring turn one job into two.

While you wait — please don't

Do not assume they will turn up. If anything on that ring showed your address — a tag, a fob, a parking pass, a registration in the glovebox — treat the keys as being in a stranger's hands, and finding them next week does not undo that.
Do not leave a door unlocked while you search. Propping a door or leaving a window open so you can get back in later leaves the property open to anyone who tries it.
Do not forget the shared doors. A lobby key, mailbox key or gate fob on the same ring affects more than your own unit, so mention them and speak to your building or association where the hardware is theirs.
Do not skip the car key. If a vehicle key or fob was on the ring, say so up front so the right work can be arranged at the same visit rather than as a second call later.

What the technician does

Identification and entitlement checked firstBefore anything is opened or changed, the locksmith will ask for identification and proof that you are entitled to enter the property or the vehicle. Standard practice in Florida is photo ID plus something tying you to the address, such as a lease, deed, utility bill, vehicle registration or title, or confirmation from a property manager.
The price given before work startsThe locksmith looks at the doors and the hardware, then gives you the price. You approve it first, and nothing begins until you do.
Locks rekeyed so the old keys are deadRekeying changes what the existing lock accepts, so the lost keys no longer work. Where a lock is too worn or corroded to be rekeyed, the cylinder is replaced instead.
Every exterior door brought onto one keyFront, back, side and any other exterior door can be matched so one key runs the lot. That is usually easier to live with than the mixed set you had before.
New keys cut for the householdFresh keys are cut on the spot for everyone who needs one, so nobody is left borrowing.
Mailbox and shared-entry locks addressedWhere a mailbox key or a shared-entry key was on the same ring, that can be handled too, subject to whatever your building or association controls.

Why this happens in Miami, FL

Miami sits on salt air. Along Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic, that salt and the year-round humidity corrode exterior locks, cylinders and metal hardware far faster than inland, and it pits brass and steel. Padlocks and gate locks left outdoors seize. So when a locksmith rekeys after lost keys here, the condition of the cylinder matters as much as the rekey itself — a coastal lock that has been sitting in that air for years sometimes has to be replaced rather than rekeyed, and that is a judgement made at the door, with the price quoted to you first.

The housing stock shapes the job too. Miami is mostly concrete block and stucco, with mid-century single-family homes in the older inland neighbourhoods like Coral Way, Little Havana and Allapattah, and a large share of high-rise condominiums Downtown, in Brickell and along the bay in Edgewater. Condo associations and gated communities are very common, so some hardware is yours and some belongs to the building. Prolonged heat and humidity also swell wood doors and frames, so a deadbolt that already binds against the strike plate is worth mentioning while someone is there. Work runs all year in Florida rather than spiking with a cold snap, though it picks up through summer moving and rental turnover and again in the winter months when seasonal residents come back and open up homes and condos that sat empty.

Questions people ask

Do I need to rekey if I might still find the keys?: That is your call, but a key found later does not undo the time it spent missing. If anything on the ring pointed to your address, most people rekey and stop thinking about it.
I live in a Brickell condo. Can the building locks be done too?: Your own unit locks can be rekeyed or the cylinders replaced. Lobby, gate and amenity access is usually controlled by the association or management, so contact them about those, and exterior work in HOA communities often needs their approval.
Are locksmiths licensed in Florida?: Florida does not issue a statewide locksmith license and has no state licensing board; the trade is regulated at county or municipal level instead, and Miami-Dade has historically required local registration, permits or background checks. Requirements change, so verify current rules with the county or city consumer protection or licensing office. For general business registration and consumer complaints, FDACS and the Florida Department of State are the usual points of contact.
A car key was on the same ring. What now?: Say so when you call so both parts are arranged together. Automotive work is common in Florida, and many locksmiths cut and program transponder keys, proximity fobs and push-to-start smart keys, normally asking for photo ID plus proof of ownership such as the title or registration.
Are you the locksmith?: No. One Call Locksmiths is a referral and scheduling service that arranges work with independent locksmiths across all fifty states, including Miami. We are not the locksmith and we do not perform the work.

One call

One call to (866) 690-5848 and we will arrange a locksmith for your address in Miami, with a free estimate on every job. The price comes before any work starts, and nothing happens until you approve it.

Call now · (866) 690-5848

Something else in this area

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