Business Lock Rekeying
When an employee leaves your Durham business — whether on good terms or not — every key they ever held becomes a potential liability. The same is true after a break-in, a lost keycard situation, or even a simple office reorganization that put master keys in the wrong hands. Business lock rekeying is the fastest, most cost-effective way to restore full control over who can access your building, without replacing every lock cylinder on the door.
Open 24 hours, 7 days a week · Licensed, bonded & insured
Durham Pro Locksmith responds to exactly these situations every day across Durham — from the dense commercial corridors along Ninth Street and South Square to warehouse facilities near the Patriot Center and professional offices downtown. Our mobile locksmith team comes directly to your location, fully equipped to rekey your commercial locks on the spot, confirm access control is restored, and get your business back to normal operations — all without unnecessary disruption to your workday.
What we do
Available 24/7
Day, night, weekends and holidays — a real local locksmith answers and rolls a fully-stocked van.
Fast local response
Based in Durham, we reach the Durham area in well under an hour.
Insured & background-checked
Vetted technicians, up-front pricing, and no surprise add-ons when we arrive.
Damage-free entry
We pick and bypass locks the right way, so most lockouts are solved without drilling anything.
More about our work
Everything you need to know about how we help — at a glance.
Why Business Lock Rekeying Is a Smart Security Move After Employee Turnover
Most business owners think about rekeying only after a crisis — a terminated employee who left on bad terms, a missing master key, or a confirmed unauthorized entry. But the smarter practice is to treat rekeying as a standard part of your offboarding process, especially in positions that carry key or access privileges. When a lock is rekeyed, a locksmith reconfigures the internal pin tumblers of the existing cylinder so that old keys no longer operate it. Your physical hardware stays in place; only the internal combination changes. This means you get a genuinely new security configuration in a fraction of the time it takes to replace an entire lock set.
For Durham businesses with multiple entry points — a front entrance, a rear loading dock, a server room, a manager's office — rekeying all relevant cylinders in a single visit is far more practical than a piecemeal approach. Our technicians assess your entire entry profile during the service call, flag cylinders that are worn or vulnerable, and rekey or recommend replacement based on actual condition, not just convenience. The result is a tighter, more deliberate access hierarchy rather than a patchwork of old keys floating around the community.
Security Breaches and Break-Ins: When to Call a Locksmith Immediately
A security breach changes the calculus entirely. Whether someone forced a door, a key was stolen, or you simply cannot account for a master copy, the window between discovery and your next unauthorized entry can be very short. This is exactly why Durham Pro Locksmith operates around the clock — our 24/7 mobile service means a trained, insured technician can be on-site at your Durham location regardless of whether the incident happens at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday or 2 a.m. on a Sunday morning.
After a breach, our locksmith will first assess what happened to the existing hardware. If a cylinder was forcibly compromised, replacement may be more appropriate than rekeying — we will tell you honestly which option applies to your specific situation and confirm the exact price before any work begins. Where the hardware is still structurally sound, rekeying is typically faster and achieves the same security outcome. We carry a full inventory of pins, replacement cylinders, and key blanks on every service vehicle, so we can cut new keys on-site and hand them to you before we leave. If your situation is urgent, call (919) 809-6664 — we answer 24/7 and dispatch immediately.
Commercial Lock Rekeying: What the Process Looks Like on Your Premises
Rekeying a commercial lock is a precise, skill-dependent task — the pin stacks in a commercial-grade cylinder are engineered to tighter tolerances than residential hardware, and master key systems add another layer of complexity. Our experienced locksmith technicians work with a wide range of commercial hardware, including high-security cylinders from brands like Schlage and Medeco, mortise locks common in older Durham office buildings, and knob or lever sets found in retail and medical environments.
When we arrive, we verify your authority over the property — standard practice to protect building owners and tenants alike — then remove the relevant cylinders, re-pin them to your new key code, and reinstall them without damaging the door, frame, or surrounding hardware. We work damage-free wherever the existing installation allows. Once complete, we test every rekeyed cylinder with the new keys in front of you and provide you with the number of copies you need, cut on-site. The entire process for a typical multi-door commercial property is efficient enough to complete during a normal business day without closing your doors.
Factors That Determine Your Rekeying Quote — and How We Price It
Pricing for commercial lock rekeying is not one-size-fits-all, and we do not believe in quoting a number before we understand what you actually need. Several variables shape the final cost: the number and type of locks being rekeyed, the complexity of any existing master key system, the specific hardware brand and cylinder grade, the time of day (after-hours and emergency dispatch carry different considerations than a scheduled daytime visit), and travel distance to your Durham location. If replacement parts — new cylinders, high-security pins, or additional key blanks — are required, those factor in as well.
What we commit to in every case is transparency: before a single cylinder is touched, we confirm your exact price and walk you through the scope of work. There are no surprise charges after the fact. If you are managing costs across a large property with many entry points, we can also help you prioritize which cylinders are highest-risk and address those first. Our goal is to give your business the security outcome it needs, explained clearly and executed professionally. For a same-day or emergency assessment, call (919) 809-6664 — we are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
Frequently asked questions
Answers to what our customers ask most. Still unsure? Just call.
How is rekeying different from replacing a lock entirely?+
When a lock is rekeyed, the internal pin tumblers inside the existing cylinder are reconfigured so that only a new key will operate it — all old keys become useless. The physical hardware, including the lockset, handleset, and door prep, stays exactly as it is. Lock replacement means removing and installing entirely new hardware. Rekeying is the right choice when your existing hardware is in good condition; replacement is appropriate when a cylinder is damaged, worn, or a security upgrade is warranted. A Durham Pro Locksmith technician will assess your specific situation and recommend the right path.
Can you rekey a master key system for our commercial building?+
Yes. Master key systems — where a single master key operates all locks while individual keys open only specific doors — require precise pin-stacking work to maintain the hierarchy after a rekey. Our experienced locksmith technicians are familiar with commercial master key systems across a variety of hardware platforms, including Schlage and Medeco cylinders commonly found in Durham office and mixed-use buildings. We rekey individual cylinders within the system without disrupting the master key function for authorized keyholders.
How quickly can you respond to an after-hours security emergency at our Durham business?+
Durham Pro Locksmith operates 24/7, including weekends and holidays. When you call (919) 809-6664 after hours due to a break-in, a terminated employee situation, or a missing key emergency, we dispatch a mobile technician immediately. Response time depends on your location within the Durham area and current call volume, but our goal is always to reach you as fast as possible — fully equipped to rekey, repair, or replace hardware on the spot, without a second trip.
Do you rekey all types of commercial locks, including high-security cylinders?+
Yes. Our technicians work with a wide range of commercial hardware — standard knob and lever sets, mortise cylinders, deadbolts, rim cylinders, and high-security restricted keyway cylinders. If your building uses hardware from brands like Schlage, Kwikset, Medeco, or similar manufacturers, we carry the appropriate tooling and pin inventory to service them. If you are unsure what type of cylinder your building uses, we will identify it during the site visit before confirming the scope of work.
What information or documentation do I need to have ready when you arrive?+
We verify that the person requesting service has authority over the property — this protects both building owners and tenants. For commercial properties, a business card, lease agreement, or business license showing your name and the address is typically sufficient. If you are a property manager acting on behalf of a building owner, a work order or authorization letter helps us proceed efficiently. Our technicians handle this verification step professionally and discreetly — it is a standard part of every commercial locksmith visit.
Should we rekey our locks every time an employee with key access leaves the company?+
It is a sound security practice to rekey any lock for which a departing employee held a key, especially if that employee had access to sensitive areas like server rooms, cash handling areas, or executive offices. Even when a departing employee returns their key, there is no way to confirm whether copies were made. Rekeying eliminates that uncertainty entirely. Many Durham businesses set up a standing relationship with Durham Pro Locksmith to schedule rekeying as part of their formal offboarding process — it is a straightforward way to maintain consistent access control without overcomplicating the procedure.