Is it legal?

[LocksmithArmy]

Would not the in the business of rekeying, installing, repairing, opening, modifying locks, or who originates keys for locks portion only apply to individuals who are looking to operate, conduct means of business, or otherwise make a profit from California's definition of a locksmith?

i sure hope it only means this... what about poor joe blow who goes to home depo and picks out a nice new door set... hes the do it yourself kind of guy(cause his wife complains) so he installs the sucker on his own... and the police show up and cart him away for installing a lock without the proper lisence...

[ElbowMacaroni]

I am from CA and a buddys aunt asked me to rekey/masterkey her house. Im not a locksmith. What are the legal requirements for doing a job like this? And is there any thing i should mindful of?

California Business & Professions code section 6980 et. seq. governs locksmiths in this state. You should be particularly interested in the sections below:

(j) "Locksmith" means any person who, for any consideration whatsoever, engages, directly or indirectly and as a primary or secondary object, in the business of rekeying, installing, repairing, opening, modifying locks, or who originates keys for locks. A "locksmith" does not mean any person whose activities are limited to making a duplicate key from an existing key.

(m) "Lock" means any mechanical, electromechanical, electronic, or electromagnetic device, or similar device, including any peripheral hardware, that is designed to control access from one area to another, or that is designed to control the use of a device.

El Abogado

Wouldn't the "for any consideration whatsoever" mean that he'd have to receive something in return whether it be monetary or some other form of chattel or service? Who knows in the land of the loony laws and crazy circuit courts that is CA...

[WOT]

In CA, it is unlawful to perform a lot of stuff without proper license/qualifications. i.e. plumbing, electrical, etc.

[turkeysandwich]

I would stay underneath the radar and not do something dumb like post an ad on craigslist for "locksmith services" to the general public. I would think as long as the person I was working for understood and accepted that I was not a licensed locksmith it would be fine.

It's a lot like paying a friend to give your car an oil change. Sure they aren't ASE certified or properly insured but your probably willing to take your chances to save a few bucks. If things don't work out and you seek action against your friend any impartial party will probably ask you why your such a cheapskate when you could have paid a bit more and gone to a certified auto technician.

This is of course only my opinion, I am pretty sure that someone is probably going to post a reply arguing that the course of action I would take is illegal or at least not advisable. I wouldn't disagree.

[raimundo]

Do they have to hire a locksmith every time a house is built, its just hard to believe that installing a lock is such a specialist thing that only locksmiths are allowed to be paid to do it.

Don't carpenters install locks every day in calif without haveing to be reposessers or any of the other professions that will do as well as locksmith according to that law.

there are a mountain of laws, and they are still making more of them, often one law will cross purpose with another one, they are a chaotic mess and will never be sorted out,
On the plus side, no one knows all of them and most people don't give them a thought if they want to walk accross the street and some grafter in the legislature made it only legal to do if you walk half a mile to the pedestrians consideration.

Bad laws are always ignored, and enforcement of stupid laws is usually very lax.

[ElAbogado]

Do they have to hire a locksmith every time a house is built, its just hard to believe that installing a lock is such a specialist thing that only locksmiths are allowed to be paid to do it.

Don't carpenters install locks every day in calif without haveing to be reposessers or any of the other professions that will do as well as locksmith according to that law.

there are a mountain of laws, and they are still making more of them, often one law will cross purpose with another one, they are a chaotic mess and will never be sorted out,
On the plus side, no one knows all of them and most people don't give them a thought if they want to walk accross the street and some grafter in the legislature made it only legal to do if you walk half a mile to the pedestrians consideration.

Bad laws are always ignored, and enforcement of stupid laws is usually very lax.

I believe that finish carpenters who install locks for home builders are considered "manufacturers" under this law and are exempt. As for California's laws, they encompass about 177 volumes, as compared with Nevada's which are I believe less than 10 volumes. That says it all.

El Abogado

[WOT]

I would stay underneath the radar and not do something dumb like post an ad on craigslist for "locksmith services" to the general public. I would think as long as the person I was working for understood and accepted that I was not a licensed locksmith it would be fine.

It's a lot like paying a friend to give your car an oil change. Sure they aren't ASE certified or properly insured but your probably willing to take your chances to save a few bucks. If things don't work out and you seek action against your friend any impartial party will probably ask you why your such a cheapskate when you could have paid a bit more and gone to a certified auto technician.

This is of course only my opinion, I am pretty sure that someone is probably going to post a reply arguing that the course of action I would take is illegal or at least not advisable. I wouldn't disagree.

Contractors working without a proper license is a serious problem throughout the nation. They're usually not bonded or insured and if they somehow get injured, there's a good chance they'll go after you since they're not covered under workers' comp.

Here's a California page on unlicensed contractors. You'll likely get reported by competitors who are legitimate.

http://www.cslb.ca.gov/consumers/Report ... dActivity/