Emergency Locksmith in Seattle, WA

What counts as urgent

If anyone is hurt, in danger or shut inside, call 911 before anything else. After that, some lock problems in Seattle cannot wait for a convenient day:

• After a break-in. Call police first and leave the scene as it is until they have seen it. Photograph the damaged door, frame and lock before anything is fixed.
• A door that will not lock. A deadbolt that no longer throws, or a frame split by forced entry, leaves a home or shop open overnight.
• A lockout in the weather. NOAA's state climate summary notes that most of Washington's precipitation falls in winter, so a lockout on a dark, wet evening is harder to ride out, especially with children or someone unwell.

When the door belongs to someone else

Seattle Municipal Code Chapter 22.214 covers rentals through the RRIO Checklist, which counts a working deadbolt or deadlatch on every entrance door among its significant items. A rental door that will not lock can therefore be a landlord matter as well as a lock matter. In a tower, tell building management too if the damage is to a shared lobby or garage door.

Two Washington rules also come up in urgent situations:

• Harassment or stalking by a landlord. RCW 59.18.575(4) lets a tenant who is a victim of sexual assault, stalking or unlawful harassment by a landlord change or add locks at the tenant's expense. Within seven days the tenant must give the landlord written notice plus a valid order for protection or a written record of a report signed by a qualified third party. Common-area locks may not be changed.
• Shut out by a landlord. RCW 59.18.290(1) makes it unlawful for a landlord to remove or exclude a tenant except under a court order. Legal help may be worth seeking.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What to send

1. The address or cross streets and the neighborhood.
2. What happened: break-in, broken lock, lost keys or a lockout, and which door.
3. Whether police have been called, and the report number if you have one.
4. Photos of the lock, door and frame.

Washington Locksmith Pros takes service requests from homes, businesses and drivers in Seattle. For a plain lockout, see house lockout; for a car, car lockout.