⚠️ If a child or animal is locked inside, call 999 now
Do not read the rest of this page first. If someone is shut inside a vehicle and there is any risk to them — particularly a baby, a young child, or a dog in warm weather — call 999 and ask for the police or fire service. A car interior heats up dangerously fast, far quicker than most people expect — the RSPCA guidance on dogs in hot cars is worth reading if you have a dog. The emergency services will not charge you for attending something like this.
A locksmith, however quick, is the wrong call in that situation. Make the emergency call first and worry about the door afterwards.
The short version
- Check every door, the boot and the windows before assuming you are locked out
- Check your breakdown cover and insurance — you may already be covered
- “Free” usually means “already paid for” through a policy, not genuinely free
- Do not attempt coat hangers, wedges or slim jims — modern doors damage easily and expensively
- A proper auto locksmith opens most vehicles non-destructively, without touching the glass
Watching your keys sit on the driver’s seat behind a locked door is a uniquely irritating experience. The good news is that this is one of the more straightforward problems in this trade — and in a lot of cases it costs less than people fear.
Here is how to work out who you should actually be calling.
First: Are You Definitely Locked Out?
It sounds patronising, but it takes thirty seconds and it works more often than you would think.
- Try every door, not just the driver’s. Central locking occasionally fails to engage on one door, particularly on older vehicles
- Try the boot or tailgate. On many estates, hatchbacks and SUVs, boot access means cabin access via folding seats
- Check the windows. A window left slightly open changes the situation entirely
- Check whether anyone else has a key. A partner, family member or colleague with the spare may be closer than any callout
If you have a spare key at home and someone can bring it, that is almost always the cheapest answer. If you do not have a spare at all, note that down — it is the actual root cause of this whole situation, and worth fixing afterwards.
“Who Do I Call For Free?” — The Honest Answer
This is one of the most searched versions of this question, so it deserves a straight answer rather than a sales pitch.
There is generally no service that will open your car for nothing simply because you ask. What does exist is cover you may have already paid for, which makes it feel free at the point of use. That is worth checking before you pay anyone.
| Who to check | What they may cover | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Breakdown cover | Many policies include lockout assistance as standard or as an add-on | Check whether yours covers keys locked inside, which is sometimes separate from breakdown |
| Car insurance | Some comprehensive policies include key cover | Using it may involve an excess, so check before claiming |
| Bank or credit card perks | Some packaged accounts bundle breakdown or motoring assistance | Easy to forget you have it — worth a two-minute check |
| Emergency services | Will attend if a person or animal is at risk | Not for ordinary lockouts — only genuine emergencies |
| Auto locksmith | Non-destructive entry, usually same day | Paid service, but frequently cheaper and faster than the alternatives |
If you have breakdown cover, call them first. If you do not, or if they quote a long wait, a local auto locksmith is usually the quicker route.
Keys locked inside right now?
Ben attends personally across Staffordshire — non-destructive entry, no call-out fee.
What Not To Do
Almost every expensive lockout starts as a cheap one that somebody tried to fix themselves. Modern car doors are far more crowded than they look — side airbags, wiring looms, speakers, window regulators and weather seals all sit inside that cavity.
🔧 Leave these alone
Coat hangers and wire. The classic image comes from cars built decades ago with simple vertical door pins. On a modern vehicle you are far more likely to tear the weather membrane, scratch the paint, or snag wiring.
Slim jims. These slide down inside the door skin and can catch airbag wiring or the window regulator. A slim jim mistake can cost several times the price of a locksmith.
Wedges and pry bars. Forcing a gap at the top of the door frame bends the frame and ruins the seal. The leak and wind noise arrive later, and they do not go away.
Breaking a window. Occasionally necessary in a genuine emergency, but almost never in an ordinary lockout — and toughened glass showers the entire cabin with fragments that are genuinely difficult to fully remove.
How A Locksmith Actually Opens It
The phrase you want to hear on the phone is non-destructive entry. It means the vehicle is opened using the existing lock or door mechanism, with nothing cut, drilled or broken, and no trace left afterwards.
The specific approach depends on the vehicle, but the principle is the same: create controlled access to the mechanism, operate it the way it was designed to be operated, and leave the door exactly as it was found. Done properly, there is nothing to see afterwards.
This is genuinely a skill rather than a gadget. It also depends heavily on the vehicle — a fifteen-year-old hatchback and a current keyless SUV are different jobs. That is why a locksmith will ask for your registration on the phone: it tells them what they are coming to.
Full detail on how this works is on the emergency vehicle unlocking page.
What About Keyless Cars?
Keyless entry systems have created a lockout scenario that did not exist before: the key is inside the car, the car can sense it, and yet the doors are locked.
This usually happens one of two ways. Either the key battery has died while the key sat inside, so the car can no longer detect it — often solvable, and worth reading about under key fob repairs. Or the car locked automatically on a timer while the key was inside the cabin.
Either way, the entry method is the same non-destructive approach. Mention on the phone that the vehicle is keyless and that the key is inside, because it changes what the locksmith expects to find.
What To Have Ready When You Call
A two-minute phone call with the right information saves considerably more time than it costs:
- Your registration number — this identifies the exact vehicle and lock type
- Where the car is, including whether it is on a driveway, in a multi-storey, or on a road with restricted access
- Whether the key is visible inside, or you genuinely do not know where it is — those are two different jobs
- Whether the car is keyless or uses a traditional key
- Proof of ownership — any reputable locksmith will check you are entitled to access the vehicle
That last one occasionally surprises people, but it should reassure you rather than annoy you. A locksmith who opens cars without asking questions would open yours for someone else just as readily. If you want to check a locksmith independently, the Master Locksmiths Association vets and inspects its members.
If The Key Is Inside And You Are Not Sure It Works
Worth separating two problems that often arrive together.
If the key is locked inside and you know it works, entry solves everything. But if the key was already unreliable — intermittent starting, needing several presses, or only working when held in a particular spot — then opening the door is only half the job.
In that case, mention it. It may be a flat battery, a worn transponder, or an early ignition fault, and it is far better to sort both in one visit than to be back in the same position next week.
Stopping It Happening Again
Almost everyone who gets locked out does it once and then changes something. The realistic options:
- Get a spare key made. The single most effective fix. A spare cut and programmed at a time that suits you costs a fraction of an emergency callout — and it turns a crisis into a mild inconvenience
- Leave a spare with someone you trust rather than hidden on the vehicle, which is exactly where a thief will look
- Get into the habit of keys-in-hand before closing any door, particularly when loading shopping or children
- Be careful with boot-loading on keyless cars — putting the key in a bag and then putting the bag in the boot is how a surprising number of lockouts happen
If you are reading this having just been locked out, the spare key point is the one worth acting on this week rather than filing away.
Locked Keys In Car — Common Questions
Locked Out in Staffordshire?
Non-destructive entry, 30-minute average response, no call-out fee. Call with your registration and Ben will confirm the approach before travelling.