Spare Car Key & Key Duplication across greater Los Angeles, Ventura County & the Bay Area.

This page explains spare car key & key duplication: what the job includes, what to have ready, honest limits and what sets the price.

A spare car key is a copy made while you still have a working key. The blade is duplicated from your original or cut fresh to the vehicle's key code, and the transponder or fob is cloned or enrolled in the car next to the existing key. Because the car still has a key to authorize the new one, it is the least involved car-key job there is, and it is the one that keeps a lost key from turning into an all-keys-lost job later. Coverage is most makes and model years; we confirm your year, make and model on the phone.

We dispatch across greater Los Angeles, Ventura County, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area; see the city pages for local detail. The dispatch line at (888) 492-0666 is answered around the clock.

• Identification of what your key actually is: plain metal, transponder, remote-head, flip key, laser-cut high-security, or proximity smart key
• Blade duplicated from your original on a duplicator, or cut to code when a worn original would only copy its wear
• Chip cloned onto a cloneable blank when your chip family allows it, which leaves the car untouched, or a new chip enrolled through the OBD port when it does not
• Remote buttons paired and tested on the new key, and the emergency blade cut for a smart-key spare
• Function test on both the original and the spare: cold start, every door, trunk or hatch, and the glove box where it is keyed
• A count of how many keys the car now has stored, so you know how many more it will accept

• You only have one car key and that's risky
• Spouse or family member needs their own key
• Teen driver getting their own key
• Used car only came with one key
• Want a backup for vacation or rental scenarios

• Photo ID plus registration or insurance card
• Year, make, model and trim
• Your working key or fob, and any other keys you have; some onboard procedures need two working keys to add a third
• A photo of the back of your fob showing the FCC ID and part number if you want a remote spare
• Whether you want a full remote spare or a plain non-remote (valet-style) key that starts the car and opens the doors
• A car with a healthy 12V battery, parked where we can reach the OBD port

Typically 15-45 minutes. A plain metal duplicate or a cloned transponder is at the short end; a smart-key spare that needs an emergency blade cut and a module enrollment, or a make that requires a security PIN before it will accept a key, is at the long end. Several spares in one visit add a few minutes each.

• Dealer-locked systems cannot be added to on-site: most Mercedes FBS4 keys and many 2020-and-newer BMW, Audi, Porsche and Range Rover fobs; we tell you on the phone
• Many 2018-and-newer Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles need security-gateway authorization before a key can be added
• Encrypted chip families (Toyota and Lexus 8A and DST-AES, later Honda ID47, Ford ID49, Hyundai and Kia AES) cannot be cloned and must be enrolled through the port
• Some onboard add-a-key procedures require two working keys; with one key the job becomes a tool-based add, which still works but takes longer
• Every immobilizer has a maximum key count; if the car is full, an old key has to be erased before a new one goes in
• A badly worn original copied on a duplicator produces a worn spare; where a key code is available we cut to code instead
• A low or dead 12V battery blocks enrollment
• Tesla key cards and phone keys are added from the car's own touchscreen with an existing card, which is an owner procedure rather than a locksmith job

The quote depends on the key type (a plain metal spare costs less than a transponder key, which costs less than a remote-head or smart key), whether the chip can be cloned or must be enrolled through the port, OEM versus quality aftermarket for remotes and fobs, the number of spares, and whether we are already at the vehicle for another job, since the travel is shared. A spare made next to a working key is the least expensive version of any car-key service.

The dispatcher gives you a range on the phone, and the technician confirms a written quote before any work starts.

Payment is by Cash, Credit Card, Debit Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and you receive an itemized receipt listing what was done.

• Plain edge-cut and double-sided blanks for pre-immobilizer vehicles
• Cloneable transponder blanks (CN, YS, LKP and similar families) for chip types that permit cloning
• OEM-equivalent transponder blanks across TI 4C/4D/DST-AES, Philips ID46 and Hitag, Megamos 48 and AES, ID47, ID49 and 8A families
• Remote-head keys, flip keys and proximity smart keys matched by FCC ID and part number
• Laser-cut (sidewinder) blanks including HU66, HU92, HU100, HU101, HON66, TOY48, TOY51 and NSN14
• Non-remote valet-style blanks for a low-cost spare that starts the car

A dealer orders the key by VIN and usually needs the vehicle at the dealership, which can mean a tow if you have no working key. A mobile locksmith comes to the vehicle, cuts and programs on site, and usually finishes in one visit. The dealer is the right call when the make requires dealer-only programming or a security gateway the locksmith cannot access. The dispatcher tells you which applies once they have your year, make and model; we cover most makes and model years and confirm on the phone.

We dispatch across greater Los Angeles, Ventura County, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area; see the city pages for local detail. For spare car key & key duplication, the city pages list ZIP codes, nearby communities and any local access notes.

Greater Los Angeles includes the San Fernando Valley, the Westside, the South Bay, the San Gabriel Valley, the Gateway Cities, the Santa Clarita Valley and the Antelope Valley. Ventura County includes the Conejo Valley and the coastal cities. In the Bay Area we cover Silicon Valley, the Peninsula and the southern East Bay.

For spare car key & key duplication, 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.