Key types, and what can actually be duplicated

Most house, office and padlock keys copy in a couple of minutes. A few cannot be copied at all, and it is worth knowing which is which before you make the trip.

Copying a key means finding a blank with the right profile for your lock, then cutting your original's depths onto it. That works for the great majority of everyday keys. It does not work when the blank is legally controlled, or when the key carries electronics that need programming rather than grinding.

What a blank actually is

A blank is an uncut key shaped for one manufacturer's keyway. Look at the long edge of your key and you will see a profile of grooves and ridges running its length. Those are not decorative: they are what lets the key enter that cylinder at all, before any of the cutting matters. Kwikset and Schlage, the two most common residential brands in this area, use different profiles and are not interchangeable.

So a copy is a two-step match. First the right blank, which is about the brand and keyway. Then the cuts, which are about the depths ground into the blade. Get the blank wrong and the key will not go in; get the depths wrong and it goes in but will not turn.

The everyday cases

House and office keys. Standard pin-tumbler keys on common keyways. Copy quickly and reliably.

Padlock keys. Usually straightforward, though some smaller padlocks use proprietary blanks that are harder to source.

Mailbox and cabinet keys. Often small flat keys on their own keyways. Frequently copyable, occasionally not.

What cannot be copied, and why

Restricted and patented keyways. If your key is stamped "do not duplicate", or came from a managed system in an office building, the blank itself is controlled. The manufacturer only sells it to authorised dealers, and the point is that copies are traceable. This is a legal and contractual restriction rather than a technical one — the machine could cut it, but nobody can lawfully supply the blank.

Transponder car keys. Since the late 1990s most vehicle keys carry a chip in the head that the car interrogates before it will start. Cutting the metal perfectly gets you a key that turns the ignition and does nothing else. The chip has to be programmed to that specific vehicle, which needs diagnostic equipment, not a key machine.

Laser-cut and high-security keys. Sidewinder car keys with a wavy channel milled into the flat of the blade, and high-security residential keys with drilled dimples, need different cutting machines than a standard duplicator.

Copy from the best original you have

This is the tip that saves the most trouble. A duplicate is cut from your key, so any wear on that key is copied onto the new one, and errors compound. Copy from a copy a few times and eventually you get one that sticks.

If you have an original from the lock — or the least-used key on the ring — bring that one, not the worn one in your pocket. And if a key has started needing a wiggle to turn, that is the moment to cut fresh copies from the best original, before the good one is lost.

What to bring

Bring the physical key. A photograph or a code number stamped on the lock is not enough for a standard duplicator, which works by tracing your key's actual profile. If you are having several cut, say so up front — they are cut sequentially and a handful takes a few minutes.

Where to start

We cut house, office and most padlock keys while you wait, generally in about two minutes, from $2 per key (as of 2026). We stock chip-less automotive and motorcycle blanks, and colored, contractor and novelty blanks. We also re-key Kwikset and Schlage cylinders, which is often the better answer when you want old keys to stop working rather than more keys to exist. Transponder and high-security laser keys need a locksmith with programming equipment; we will tell you straight away if yours is one of those.

See key duplication for the service, or the fasteners and hardware department, which is where the key wall lives alongside the cabinet locks, hasps and gate hardware.