Emergency Locksmith in Ann Arbor, MI

What makes a lock problem urgent

Most lock trouble is an inconvenience. Some situations are urgent.

• Shut out in deep cold. Being locked out overnight in winter, particularly with a child, an older person or needed medication inside, is urgent.
• Someone shut in a vehicle. Call 911 first; the car lockout page covers the parking rules that follow.
• A building that will not lock. In March 2026, MDOT reported ice on trees, power lines, structures and roads in a band from Manistee and Ludington to Alpena and Alcona, leaving tens of thousands of homes and businesses without power as overnight lows dipped into the single digits. That storm hit northern Michigan, but any outage raises the same question: a powered entry or garage door opener may stop working, and a door that will not close leaves a building open. Keep the mechanical key on your ring.

After a break-in

Call the police first, and do not go inside if someone may still be there. Let officers see the damage before the lock or frame is touched, and take photos for your own records.

Temporary fixes can create new problems. Ann Arbor's rental pre-inspection checklist, part of the Chapter 105 housing code, calls for removing hasps and barrel bolts from egress doors, so in a rental, tell the landlord right away and ask before adding a hasp or barrel bolt as a stopgap. The Ann Arbor page lists the city's other rental lock rules. This is general information, not legal advice.

What to include

For an emergency locksmith request, include:

• What happened, and whether anyone is at risk; if so, call 911 first.
• The address and which door, window or vehicle is involved.
• Whether the door can be closed and latched at all.
• Whether police have been called, and the report number if you have one.
• Photos of the damaged door, frame or lock.

If the only problem is a locked door, see house lockout.