Emergency Locksmith in Tacoma, WA

When a lock problem cannot wait

A lock problem is urgent when safety is at stake or a door cannot be secured. In Tacoma that can mean:

• a forced door, including a broken sidelight or transom on a North Slope or Wedge house, where the City's guidelines note that historic entry doors commonly have sidelights and occasionally a transom
• a lockout in winter rain with a child, an older person or needed medication outside; most of Washington's precipitation falls in winter, per NOAA's climate summary

After a break-in

Call the police first, and 911 if anyone may still be inside or is shut in a car or room. Photograph the lock, the frame and any broken glass, and ask the police whether to leave the door as it is. Then the door can be secured, and the locks rekeyed if keys were taken.

Salmon Beach and downtown addresses

Salmon Beach is about 100 stilt cabins at the base of a steep bluff on the Tacoma Narrows, so describe how to reach the cabin. Downtown, name the entrance and suite.

Lock changes for tenants under state law

Two sections of Washington's Residential Landlord-Tenant Act address urgent lock changes:

• RCW 59.18.575(4). A tenant who, or whose household member, is a victim of sexual assault, stalking or unlawful harassment by a landlord may change or add locks at the tenant's expense. Within seven days the tenant must deliver written notice plus a copy of 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.
• RCW 59.18.585. A tenant whose court order grants possession to the exclusion of a cotenant may ask, at the tenant's expense, for a lock to be replaced or rekeyed. Once given a copy of the order, the landlord must comply and may not give new keys to the excluded tenant.

This is general information, not legal advice.

What to send

1. What happened, and the police report number after a break-in.
2. Photos of the lock, the door edge, the frame and any broken glass.
3. ID or a lease showing you live or work at the address.

A door that is only locked belongs on the house lockout page; see also emergency locksmith and Tacoma.