Locksmiths in Bucks County, PA: long-time owners, local police advice and complaints
Updated · KeystoneProGuide editorial team
What stands out about Bucks County for lock work?
Two Census figures and two local offices. Bucks has the highest rate of home ownership of the five counties in this directory, and the largest share of householders who moved in during 1989 or earlier. At least one of its township police departments publishes advice on locks and keys. And the county has its own consumer protection office for when a job goes wrong. The 257,260 housing units counted in the county share the national price ranges and state rules, but these four things are local.
What do the Census figures say about Bucks homes?
In the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 estimates, 77.8 percent of occupied homes in Bucks County are lived in by their owners, against 75.1 percent in Chester, 71.4 percent in Montgomery, 69.6 percent in Delaware and 51.8 percent in Philadelphia. Owners, not landlords, decide when locks are changed, so in Bucks the decision falls mostly on the people who live in the house.
The county's households also stay put. In 14.1 percent of occupied homes, the householder moved in during 1989 or earlier, the highest share of the five counties, though a little below the statewide 14.9 percent. Only 3.0 percent moved in since 2023, the lowest share of the five.
Neither figure says anything about locks directly. What they suggest is a question worth asking yourself: how many keys to your house have been cut, lent and never returned since you moved in? A rekey makes every old copy useless without replacing the hardware, and the cost guide compares what that costs with new locks.
The housing is mostly postwar. Only 9.9 percent of Bucks homes were first built in 1939 or earlier, the smallest share of the five counties, and 79.5 percent of all units are single-family houses, detached or attached.
What do Bucks County police advise about locks?
Northampton Township's police department, one of the 54 townships and boroughs on the county's municipal list, publishes a crime prevention page with several points about keys. It tells residents to change the locks when moving into a new house, to give a spare key to a trusted neighbor rather than hide one outside, and not to keep house and car keys together, because an address can be traced from a license plate and keys can be copied quickly. It also says never to let in a stranger without full identification, which applies to a locksmith at the door as much as to anyone. The department says its own records show most burglaries happen in daylight.
That advice matches what the locksmiths' trade association, ALOA, tells new owners: that all the keys are rarely handed over when a house changes hands, so the locks should be rekeyed as soon as possible after you move in, along with the garage and any outbuildings. For the 3.0 percent of Bucks householders who moved in since 2023, that is the first job to book.
Do Bucks locksmiths need to register?
There is no county or state locksmith license. The Pennsylvania Attorney General says locksmiths who do repairs, replacements or installations on homes are contractors who must register under the state's home improvement law, with limits for small jobs and small businesses. The Attorney General's contractor search can be narrowed to Bucks County and has a "Locksmith" type of work, though the office says that field is new and thin, so searching by name or registration number is more reliable. The Pennsylvania rules guide covers what the law requires.
Who helps if a Bucks County job goes wrong?
The county has an office for it. Bucks County Consumer Protection/Weights and Measures, at 1260 Almshouse Road in Doylestown, says it mediates consumer complaints against businesses, whether the business is in the county or not, and works with other agencies on possible criminal cases. Several of the problems it lists fit this trade closely: false statements that services, parts or repairs are needed, claims that goods are of a particular standard or quality when they are not, and incomplete or unsatisfactory home repairs. It also takes complaints about landlord-tenant law. The office's number is 215-348-6060, and its complaint form can be filed online, by email or by mail.
The Better Business Bureau describes locksmith scammers who insist on drilling and replacing a lock and then sell "extra-secure" locks that are in fact cheap; that is the kind of case the county's list describes. Keep the quote, the invoice and the name of the technician, and file with the county as well as the Attorney General.
Where do you find a locksmith who serves Bucks County?
Businesses that serve the county are on the Bucks County locksmiths page.
Sources
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Chester County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Delaware County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-Year Narrative Profile: Pennsylvania, U.S. Census Bureau
- Crime Prevention, Northampton Township Police Department
- Municipalities, Bucks County
- Consumer Protection/ Weights & Measures, Bucks County
- Should I Change My Locks When I Move Into a House?, ALOA Security Professionals Association
- Frequently Asked Questions: Home Improvement Contractor Registration, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- Home Improvement Contractor Search, Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General
- BBB Scam Alert: Locked out? Don't fall for a locksmith scam, Better Business Bureau