How to Check a Locksmith in Broward County
Updated: November 2026
Locksmiths in Broward County are not licensed: the county stopped licensing and registering locksmiths on July 1, 2021, after Florida's HB 735, and Florida has no statewide locksmith license. (Broward County). So any "license number" printed on a Broward locksmith website today means little. Here's what to check instead.
- Licensed & insured
- 6-month workmanship warranty
- About 20 min to you
Why this matters
Many websites still show old Broward license numbers, and AI answers sometimes say Broward locksmiths must be licensed. They don't — which means the checks are up to you.
6 questions to ask on the phone
- "What's the total, including the trip and labor?" Not "the service call." A real answer sounds like "most lockouts like yours are $95–160."
- "What's the name of your business?" Then search it. A vague "locksmith service" is a warning sign.
- "Who is coming, and will they show ID?"
- "Will you try to open it without drilling?" Most standard locks can be opened without damage.
- "Do you have insurance?"
- "Do your technicians pass background checks?" — a question the Palm Beach County consumer office puts on its own checklist (PBC Consumer Affairs).
How the bait price works
- You call a number from an ad. A call center quotes "$19 service call."
- A technician arrives, sometimes in an unmarked car.
- On site, the price grows: "labor," "high-security lock," "after-hours."
- The lock gets drilled and replaced when it could have been picked. Real Florida examples: a $70 phone quote that became $300 in Tallahassee (Motor1); a Clearwater call center whose owners were indicted for overcharging (report).
What a trustworthy Broward locksmith can show you
- A business name that matches the invoice and the online listings
- A Business Tax Receipt from the city or county where they're based
- Insurance
- A written price list — like ours
- A real local presence — a name, a city, not a list of 40 cities
If it goes wrong
- Don't pay with a method you can't dispute — a card gives you a chargeback option
- Ask for an itemized invoice
- File a complaint with Broward's Consumer Protection office, or with Florida's Attorney General
Do locksmiths in Broward need a license?
Not a county or state locksmith license, as explained above. What a Broward locksmith business does need is a local Business Tax Receipt from the city where it's based — in Sunrise that's the City of Sunrise BTR, renewed every year by September 30 (City of Sunrise). Insurance isn't something the county checks for you, so ask for it.
Checking a locksmith in Sunrise, step by step
- Get the business name from the phone call, the text or the invoice — not just "locksmith."
- Look it up in the city's database. The City of Sunrise Business Tax Receipts page links to "Online Business Tax Receipt Inquiries"; the business tax line is (954) 572-2352. A company with no Sunrise location won't be there — that alone isn't a red flag, but then ask where it is based.
- Match the name on the database, the technician's ID and the invoice.
- Something feels wrong at the door? You can send the technician away before any work and owe nothing to an honest company. If you think you're being scammed or threatened, Sunrise Police take non-emergency calls at (954) 764-4357, and 911 is for anything urgent (City of Sunrise Police).
Where we stand
Sunrise Mobile Locksmith is licensed & insured: a City of Sunrise Business Tax Receipt, commercial general liability insurance with the certificate available on request, and a named technician, Alex B., who shows photo ID and a business card at the door. Full price list published. The price on the phone is the price on the invoice, paid only after the work is done and tested.
Locked out? Call — the price comes first.
Same price at any hour. A Sunrise technician comes to you.
Call (954) 287-8377