Emergency Locksmith in Palo Alto, CA.

This page covers emergency locksmith service in Palo Alto: what the work includes, how a call runs, the hardware involved and what sets the price.

Emergency work in Palo Alto is the urgent end of the trade: lockouts at any hour, lock changes after a break-in, keys that have to be replaced today and scheduled eviction lockouts.

Palo Alto is at the northwest corner of Santa Clara County on the Peninsula, bordering Stanford University, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. It has two downtowns, University Avenue and California Avenue, while El Camino Real, Alma Street/Central Expressway and Foothill Expressway run the length of the city, with Stanford Shopping Center, Stanford Research Park on Page Mill Road and the Baylands preserve on its edges. Homes north of Oregon Expressway include Craftsman and California Colonial houses dating to the 1890s; the south side is largely post-war Eichler and Eichler-style tracts. US-101 and I-280 bracket the city.

Technicians are dispatched to addresses across Palo Alto from the line at (888) 492-0666, which is answered around the clock; the dispatcher gives you an ETA before anyone is sent.

• Lockouts at any hour: 24/7 Emergency Lockout. Home, business and vehicle lockouts, dispatched around the clock.
• After a break-in: Break-In & Burglary Damage Repair. Compromised locks rekeyed or replaced, strikes and frames repaired, doors secured.
• Scheduled legal lockouts: Eviction Lockout Services. Court-ordered lockouts on the schedule set by the county Sheriff's civil unit.

Each of these has its own Palo Alto page with what is included, what to have ready and the questions people ask about that job.

1. Call (888) 492-0666 and say where you are. If anyone is hurt or at risk, call 911 first; the dispatcher will also ask whether you are safe where you are standing.
2. The dispatcher confirms the address and gives you an ETA. Any after-hours charge that applies to your address is stated before a technician is sent.
3. The technician verifies you have the right to enter. ID, lease, registration or the owner's confirmation; that check happens at 2 a.m. as it does at noon.
4. You get a written quote, then the door, vehicle or lock is opened or secured. Non-destructive entry first; drilling only when nothing else will work and only with your approval.
5. If keys were lost or stolen, the locks can be rekeyed or changed on the same visit. Standard hardware is handled on the spot; unusual hardware is secured and finished with ordered parts.
6. You receive a receipt describing what was done. Keep it for a police report or an insurance claim.

After a forced entry the lock is rarely the only thing that failed. These are the parts that typically need attention.

• Deadbolts and latches that were kicked, pried or drilled.
• Strike plates replaced with a reinforced strike and long screws into the framing.
• Door edge and jamb reinforcement where the frame split.
• Latch guards on out-swinging commercial doors that were pried.
• Any cylinder whose key was taken, rekeyed so the stolen key stops working.

ZIP codes served in Palo Alto: 94301, 94302, 94303, 94304, 94306.

Addresses just over the city line in Stanford, Menlo Park, East Palo Alto and Mountain View are dispatched the same way. If the address sits on a boundary, give the dispatcher the cross street.

Technicians reach Palo Alto by US-101 and I-280.

Palo Alto is served as part of the Peninsula; the same dispatch line covers all of the Bay Area that we work in.

For emergency locksmith work in Palo Alto, tell the dispatcher your address and what is wrong. You get an ETA before anyone is sent, a written quote before any work starts and a receipt when it is done. The line is answered around the clock.

One & Only Locksmith is bonded and insured; a certificate of insurance is available on request.