How to check a North Carolina locksmith license

The two-minute check

1. On the phone, ask for the locksmith's legal name or the business name, and the license number. A licensed locksmith's advertising has to carry the number anyway: G.S. 74F-12(b) requires a licensed locksmith's advertising to include a valid license number issued by the board.
2. Go to the board's Verify License page and open the license search. The board's own instruction is to type only the name or part of it, and to leave the "Credential" field alone.
3. Check that the name you were given comes up. The board also posts a downloadable list of licensed locksmiths.
4. When the locksmith arrives, ask to see their board ID card. G.S. 74F-11 gives each licensee a photo ID card that must be available for inspection while they work.

What the law says

• A license is required to perform or offer locksmith services (G.S. 74F-3). Those include repairing and rekeying locks and safes. They also include installing them, and bypassing a lock for pay (G.S. 74F-4).
• Working without one is a Class 1 misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class I felony after that (G.S. 74F-3(b)).
• Applicants go through state and national criminal history checks (G.S. 74F-7 and 74F-18).
• An apprentice works under a licensed locksmith's supervision, carries a colored badge card from the board, and can hold that status for no more than three years (G.S. 74F-7.1).
• The license must be displayed at the place of business, and ads must show the license number (G.S. 74F-12).

Who doesn't need one

The law exempts businesses that open vehicles as part of their ordinary work (tow services, repair shops, repossessors, dealers, motor clubs), as long as they don't present themselves as locksmiths (G.S. 74F-16). It also exempts hardware stores that cut keys without presenting themselves as locksmiths, property owners working on their own buildings, and a licensed locksmith's own supervised employees. So the tow truck from your roadside club can open your car. Someone who advertises as a locksmith and shows up to drill your front door cannot, without a license.

Why this matters in Raleigh

Locals already know the trick. When a Raleigh office manager asked a local forum for a commercial locksmith, one of the first replies was to verify any candidate with the license board before hiring. The board has gone after unlicensed operators here before. In February 2010, WRAL reported fraud charges against three operators of a Raleigh firm for sending unlicensed workers out in Wake County and two others. That July, Raleigh police arrested two unlicensed locksmiths after the board's investigator tipped them off; one had quoted $35 to open a door and charged more than $400, the other quoted $29 and charged $334. The board chairman put it plainly at the time: "A person on one of these calls who is unlicensed, you don't really know who they are."

The board can only discipline licensees

The board says it "ONLY has jurisdiction over licensed locksmiths." It will investigate unlicensed activity, but has to hand its findings to local law enforcement. So the license check is also your best protection: a licensed locksmith who overcharges you answers to the board, and an unlicensed one answers to nobody until the police get involved.

If something went wrong

• File a complaint with the North Carolina Locksmith Licensing Board using the form on its Complaints page.
• File with the North Carolina Attorney General's consumer protection division too, as the board recommends: online at ncdoj.gov, or 1-877-5-NO-SCAM (1-877-566-7226).
• If the person was unlicensed, report it to the Raleigh police non-emergency line, 919-829-1911.
• Dispute a card charge with your bank, with the invoice and the phone quote.