How to Tell If You’re Calling a Real Local Locksmith

1. You can find the name of the actual locksmith

A real local locksmith business usually has a real person attached to it — a name, a face, a history. If a website never tells you who the locksmith actually is, or the "company" seems to exist under a slightly different name everywhere you look, that's worth a pause. When you call GreenKeys, you're calling me: Ben Pearson. I'm the owner, I answer the phone, and I'm the one who shows up at your door.

2. The license is real, and you can check it yourself

In California, a locksmith company has to be licensed by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS), and the license number should be easy to find — not buried, not missing. Mine is LCO 5134, and it's printed right on this website and on my business card. Don't just take my word for it: you can look any locksmith's license up on the state's BSIS license search before you hire them. A legitimate locksmith won't mind you checking. I encourage it.

But here's the part most people don't know, and it matters: the license has to belong to the person who actually shows up. Under California law, the individual doing locksmith work has to hold a license or be registered with the state in their own right — nobody is allowed to work "under" somebody else's license. Some operations post one person's genuine license on their website, their Google page, or their Yelp page, and it looks completely legitimate — but that person never comes near your home. The people actually sent out are subcontractors with no license and no registration of their own. A real license, attached to the wrong people, protects you from nothing.

So ask this question before you book anyone: "Who exactly is coming to my home, and are they licensed or registered themselves?" When I come to your home, the answer is simple: the license is mine, the business is mine, and I'm the one standing at your door.

3. The name, the phone number, and the reviews all match

Search the business before you call. Does the same business name show up everywhere? Is it the same phone number on the website, on Google, and on the review sites? Is there a real review history — spread over years, mentioning actual jobs and actual neighborhoods — or just a handful of generic five-star reviews that could be about anyone? A business that has been operating under one name and one number for a long time leaves a trail. For years my number has been (510) 209-8317 — it's the number on this site, the number I answer, and the only number I use now.

One honest exception, so you can judge this fairly: an old number floating around the internet isn't automatically a scam. When I first started my business, I had a few other numbers that forwarded to my cell phone, and some of them are probably still listed in forgotten corners of the internet. They all reach me. So the real test isn't whether a stray old number exists somewhere — it's where the number leads. If it reaches the named, licensed locksmith you were able to look up, that's a business. If it reaches a call center that can't tell you who is coming, that's the problem this page is about.

4. Be suspicious of a price that sounds too good to be true

The most common pattern I hear about from customers who had a bad experience: they were quoted a very low "starting" price on the phone — then the bill at the door was many times higher, with the explanation that their lock was "high security" or the job was "more complicated than standard." A lockout or a rekey is real work with a real cost, and no honest locksmith can give you an exact final price without knowing your situation. What I can do — and what you should expect from anyone — is an honest estimate once you've described the job, and a clear total before the work starts.

5. You get the price before the work begins — and you can say no

This one is simple: nobody should start drilling, prying, or replacing your hardware and then tell you what it costs. You should hear the price, agree to it, and only then does the work start. And if you don't like the price, you should be able to say no. If someone makes you feel trapped into a yes, that's a bad sign.

6. The first instinct is to repair, not to drill

A good locksmith's first goal is to get you in and fix your problem with the least damage and the least cost. Drilling a lock or replacing hardware is sometimes genuinely necessary — but it should be the last resort, not the opening move. If the first thing someone wants to do is drill out your lock or sell you a full replacement, ask why, and get a second opinion if the answer doesn't make sense. A lot of locks that "can't be fixed" can be.

Why I'm telling you this

I'd rather you know how to check than just trust me because my website says so. GreenKeys is a one-man business: no call center, no dispatch service, no subcontractors, no employees. When you call (510) 209-8317, I answer. When someone comes to your door, it's me, in my van, with my name and license on the card I hand you. My reputation — hundreds of reviews under my own name, over years of local work — is the business. I can't afford to burn it, and I wouldn't want to.

If you're locked out, thinking about a rekey, or trying to figure out whether a quote someone gave you sounds right, call or text me at (510) 209-8317, Monday–Sunday, 9:30 AM–11:30 PM. Occasionally I am unavailable during these times because I may be helping another customer — if you don't reach me, please try again shortly.

— Ben Pearson, Owner/Locksmith, GreenKeys Locksmith · CA License LCO 5134 · Mobile service in Fremont, Newark, Union City, Palo Alto, Menlo Park & Atherton