Replacing a door lock in the UK typically costs £60–£160 including parts and labour. Where you land depends mainly on the door: a cylinder swap on a uPVC door sits at the bottom of that range, while a new multipoint mechanism or a mortice lock cut into solid timber sits at the top. Here is how the bill breaks down.
What you are actually paying for
Locksmith pricing has two parts: a callout fee of £30–£60 to get to you, and an hourly rate of roughly £50–£80 in normal working hours. Many locksmiths fold both into a fixed price for routine jobs such as lock changes, which is why asking for the total matters more than asking for the rate. A straightforward swap usually fits within the first hour, so the realistic shape of the bill is parts plus a minimum charge. Our full guide to locksmith costs in the UK shows how that pattern holds across every job type.
Typical costs by door type
uPVC and composite doors
Most uPVC and composite doors take a euro cylinder, the barrel your key slides into, and it is the cheapest lock to replace: £15–£40 for the part or £80–£160 fitted. The costly version is different. When the multipoint mechanism inside the door edge fails (the strip that throws the hooks and rollers), the gearbox or the whole strip needs replacing, and that is the sort of job that climbs toward the top of the range.
Timber doors
A solid timber front door usually carries a mortice deadlock or sashlock set into the edge, often with a night latch on the inner face as well. Fitting a replacement mortice involves carpentry as much as locksmithing, so it tends to sit in the upper half of the £60–£160 range. Where the existing cutouts happen to suit a standard modern lock, the price drops nicely, which is worth mentioning when you ring round.
Night latches and back doors
The Yale-style rim latch common on flat doors is one of the quickest swaps in the trade, which keeps costs down. Back and kitchen doors vary, so photograph the lock face and the door edge before collecting quotes: a clear picture gets you a far tighter figure and fewer surprises on the day.
When a repair beats a replacement
Not every faulty lock needs new hardware. Stiff handles, a dropped door and a key that will not turn are frequently alignment problems, fixed by adjusting hinges or keeps rather than buying parts. If your uPVC door is sulking, our guide to uPVC door repair costs explains which faults end in a cheap adjustment and which genuinely need new mechanisms. An hour of tweaking beats a gearbox you did not need.
What pushes the price up
Timing first. Evenings, weekends and bank holidays carry premium rates, commonly £90–£120 an hour, so a lock change that can wait until Tuesday morning should. Next, specification: choosing an upgraded, higher-security lock costs more than a like-for-like part, though it stays within the ranges above and is often worth it on a front door. Access last: a lock that has seized, or been painted over by an enthusiastic previous occupant, takes longer to extract, and extra time means extra labour. If a quote lands wildly above these bands, find a local locksmith near you and cross-check it before committing.
DIY or call a locksmith?
Confident DIYers can swap a euro cylinder with a screwdriver and a tape measure, and a rim latch is manageable too. Mortice locks are a different animal: chopping the recesses square and true is easy to get wrong, and a botched cut weakens the very door you are trying to secure. Be honest about your patience as much as your toolbox. A badly fitted new lock is worse than an ageing old one, because it is exactly the point a burglar tests first.
What to ask before you book
- What is the total price, including callout, labour, the lock itself and VAT?
- Is there a cheaper like-for-like option, and what would an upgraded lock add?
- Are you the locksmith attending, and can you show ID on arrival?
- What happens if the lock turns out to need more work than expected?
- Do you guarantee your workmanship if the new lock misbehaves?
The answers separate careful tradespeople from cowboys faster than any review score. Our guide on how to choose a locksmith you can trust goes deeper on qualifications, insurance and the warning signs worth walking away from.
Find a locksmith near you
Lock replacement is planned work, not an emergency, so use that leverage. Compare local locksmiths near you and you will see day rates and callout fees before anyone picks up a screwdriver. In cities, browsing locksmiths in Manchester or locksmiths in Leeds shows the spread of prices in seconds. Collect two or three totals in writing, pick the firm that explains your options rather than the one quoting lowest by reflex, and ask for the old lock’s faults to be noted on the invoice for your records.