Frequently Asked Questions
Many locksmiths do make decent money but like any business or trade you need to put in the effort. Locksmiths willing to works 24/7 who don't overcharge customers always do well and trade for many years. Those not willing to work unsociable hours and when they do get a job charge way over the top don't last long in the industry.
You do not need any official qualifications to work as locksmith. Most locksmiths do attend specialist locksmith training colleges and achieve a Level 3 Diploma (the highest qualification available and registered with Ofqual) However there are still many rogue locksmiths who attend 3 day crash courses and achieve private (meaningless) certification. Unfortunately without any official regulation these locksmiths and training centres are doing nothing wrong.
You would think the answer would be yes, especially as you are entering people's homes, copying their keys, learning to pick locks etc. But you don't actually need a DBS check to offer locksmith services in the UK. That being said, the official training colleges who offer the official Ofqual Diplomas make it a requirement before you can attend the course.
Up until 2019 there where a few different locksmith training courses run by a number of locksmiths training college's across the country. When the official Ofqual Diploma courses where released in 2019 most of the training colleges switched to these new courses making them the officially recognised courses for the locksmith industry, so the best and most in depth locksmith training course you can take.
There are a few private locksmith training centres refusing to change and continuing to run their own unofficial courses but they are not recognised or approved by Ofqual.
There are a few private locksmith training centres refusing to change and continuing to run their own unofficial courses but they are not recognised or approved by Ofqual.
There are a few locksmith training colleges around the country who offer the official Level 3 Ofqual Diplomas in commercial locksmith and property security and a number of universities too. Simply search "Ofqual Locksmith training" or "Ofqual Lockmith Diploma" on Google or you can visit the government's official Ofqual. website. Do beware of private companies pushing courses using official sounding names or targeting the Ofqual keyword, if the course does not have the word Ofqual in it then it's not official.
Standard listings on Smart locksmiths are free for genuine, local locksmiths. You'll show up for searches within 10 miles of your location as long as the area hasn't been sponsored by a premium member.
Locksmiths can update to premium membership for just £29.95 PCM (cancel anytime) and get premium features including
- Enhanced, featured listing
- Expanded coverage (Up to 20 miles)
- Use your own logo
- No ads on business page
- Do follow website link
- Do follow social media links
- Free promotion via our social media pages
We group all locksmiths together whether you are a commercial/domestic locksmith or an automotive locksmith. We do this because of the exclusive sponsorship rights we give to premium members and the fact that many locksmiths offer both of these services.
Initially when we launched in 2018 we had these fields split and some areas ended up with two sponsored locksmiths one who came up when a locksmith was searched for and one who came up when an automotive locksmith was searched for and if both companies offered both services it caused complaints especially if Google decided to rank one or the other for any locksmith search which Google often does.
In 2020 we merged both fields into a standard locksmith field and introduced the services section
Initially when we launched in 2018 we had these fields split and some areas ended up with two sponsored locksmiths one who came up when a locksmith was searched for and one who came up when an automotive locksmith was searched for and if both companies offered both services it caused complaints especially if Google decided to rank one or the other for any locksmith search which Google often does.
In 2020 we merged both fields into a standard locksmith field and introduced the services section
We don't consider ourselves a directory; we are a database of genuine, local, independent locksmiths.
What makes us different is that the websites founders are from a locksmith background so know the industry well; we understand what people search for and understand what locksmiths need from a site like ours.
Unlike directory websites like Yell and Thomson Local where you get pages and pages of made up and duplicate listings, non working emails, telephone numbers and a barrage of national companies (call centres) sponsoring the listings, all our locksmiths are vetted and checked by a human before going live so we know that a member of the public who uses our website WILL be able to get in contact with their local locksmith.
Our initial research into the locksmith industry also revealed that customers looking for a locksmith want access to a direct telephone number not a messaging/booking system as most locksmith call outs are "one offs"....So when it's an emergency situation (which locksmith jobs usually are) websites like trustatrader, checkatrade etc where you post a job and wait for a tradesman to get back to you where not what customers wanted.
Our website is also fully bespoke and built from the ground up specifically for this business, we haven't just installed Wordpress and a bunch of plug-ins which is a thing you see so much of nowadays.
What makes us different is that the websites founders are from a locksmith background so know the industry well; we understand what people search for and understand what locksmiths need from a site like ours.
Unlike directory websites like Yell and Thomson Local where you get pages and pages of made up and duplicate listings, non working emails, telephone numbers and a barrage of national companies (call centres) sponsoring the listings, all our locksmiths are vetted and checked by a human before going live so we know that a member of the public who uses our website WILL be able to get in contact with their local locksmith.
Our initial research into the locksmith industry also revealed that customers looking for a locksmith want access to a direct telephone number not a messaging/booking system as most locksmith call outs are "one offs"....So when it's an emergency situation (which locksmith jobs usually are) websites like trustatrader, checkatrade etc where you post a job and wait for a tradesman to get back to you where not what customers wanted.
Our website is also fully bespoke and built from the ground up specifically for this business, we haven't just installed Wordpress and a bunch of plug-ins which is a thing you see so much of nowadays.
Smart Locksmiths advertises in a number of ways. After our launch in 2018 we focused mainly on paid ads to get our site noticed.
As Smart Locksmith grew and started to be a recognised name in the locksmith industry we introduced Social Media advertising and employed a marketing company to do organic work on and off our site
We currently do many forms of advertising to get work for our members and in 2020 we introduced the member WebPages after we got feedback that a number of locksmiths did not have their own webpage and those that did didn't want to pay £100's every month to a marketing company to rank their own website when the Smart Locksmith domain was already being promoted.
Many members now use their Smart Locksmiths page as their official website.
We currently do many forms of advertising to get work for our members and in 2020 we introduced the member WebPages after we got feedback that a number of locksmiths did not have their own webpage and those that did didn't want to pay £100's every month to a marketing company to rank their own website when the Smart Locksmith domain was already being promoted.
Many members now use their Smart Locksmiths page as their official website.
No, none of the locksmiths listed on our website are employed by Smart Locksmiths.
Smart Locksmiths is simply a directory of local, independent locksmiths and each listing contains the locksmiths own contact details so you can contact them direct.
We are not a national call centre nor do we claim to be a national locksmith company. These national call centres/national locksmith companies usually have central switchboard that you ring and speak to an operator who will then send out the nearest local locksmith on their books.
The problem with this business model is that rogue locksmith can hide behind the national call centre phone number, never revealing their own details and if you feel the need to complain the call centre will tell you that all locksmiths are self employed and independent so nothing to do with them.
Prices are usually sky high as the call centre wants a fee/cut and the locksmiths are usually amateur moonlighters getting that odd job here and there. Decent locksmiths do not register with these types of companies.
Smart Locksmiths is simply a directory of local, independent locksmiths and each listing contains the locksmiths own contact details so you can contact them direct.
We are not a national call centre nor do we claim to be a national locksmith company. These national call centres/national locksmith companies usually have central switchboard that you ring and speak to an operator who will then send out the nearest local locksmith on their books.
The problem with this business model is that rogue locksmith can hide behind the national call centre phone number, never revealing their own details and if you feel the need to complain the call centre will tell you that all locksmiths are self employed and independent so nothing to do with them.
Prices are usually sky high as the call centre wants a fee/cut and the locksmiths are usually amateur moonlighters getting that odd job here and there. Decent locksmiths do not register with these types of companies.
Smart Locksmith has nothing to do with the MLA. The MLA are private company who run their own locksmith training courses (not the official ofqual courses) and operates, what they call "their own licensing and members scheme" for locksmiths who have passed their own private locksmith courses.
There is nothing official about any of their schemes or badges despite the clever wording they use. The locksmith industry is as yet completely unregulated.
What Smart locksmith does is personally check out any new members before their listing goes live on our website. This is simply a vetting process where we check the member's details against other websites, social media accounts and/or check in with their training provider if they have only just qualified.
A listing on our website simply means that we have done our best to make sure members are decent locksmiths, using industry standard pricing and do not have a load of negative reviews anywhere. You are NOT Smart Locksmiths approved or Smart Locksmiths licensed as they is no license required to operate as a locksmith in the UK.
There is nothing official about any of their schemes or badges despite the clever wording they use. The locksmith industry is as yet completely unregulated.
What Smart locksmith does is personally check out any new members before their listing goes live on our website. This is simply a vetting process where we check the member's details against other websites, social media accounts and/or check in with their training provider if they have only just qualified.
A listing on our website simply means that we have done our best to make sure members are decent locksmiths, using industry standard pricing and do not have a load of negative reviews anywhere. You are NOT Smart Locksmiths approved or Smart Locksmiths licensed as they is no license required to operate as a locksmith in the UK.
Smart Locksmiths has nothing to do with Train Locksmiths. We choose to promote their locksmith training courses on our blog and social media pages without any payment or commission because they are one of the few locksmith training colleges who runs the official Ofqual vocational diploma courses (launched in 2019) which ties in with our company's aspirations of cleaning up the locksmith industry to provide the public with trustworthy and competent local locksmiths.
Smart Locksmiths employ the services of a well known and respected Manchester based marketing company which happens to be the same company used by Train Locksmith which makes their marketing material and course information readily available to us.
We would be happy to promote other official locksmith training colleges on our blog and social media pages, simply get in touch on marketing@smartlocksmiths.co.uk
We don't however promote private locksmith courses due to their unofficial capacity, very short course lengths and the fact that unlike the official regulated courses there is no benchmark to set the quality of private courses against.
Smart Locksmiths employ the services of a well known and respected Manchester based marketing company which happens to be the same company used by Train Locksmith which makes their marketing material and course information readily available to us.
We would be happy to promote other official locksmith training colleges on our blog and social media pages, simply get in touch on marketing@smartlocksmiths.co.uk
We don't however promote private locksmith courses due to their unofficial capacity, very short course lengths and the fact that unlike the official regulated courses there is no benchmark to set the quality of private courses against.
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