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GantryLocksmith

Verify, don't trust

How to check a locksmith before you let them in

This trade has a real fraud problem, and a business telling you it is trustworthy does nothing about it. So this page is the checklist — and it applies to us exactly as much as to anyone else you might call.

Do this first

The sixty-second check

Three questions. About ninety seconds. They tell you nearly everything before anyone gets near your door.

  1. 01

    Ask for the licence number

    New York City requires locksmiths to hold a DCWP licence. Ask for the number before anyone touches your door — including from us — and treat a refusal, a hedge, or a number they cannot repeat back as the answer.

  2. 02

    Look it up

    The City runs a free public licence search. Check the licensed name matches the business you are calling, and that the status is active rather than expired or revoked.

  3. 03

    Ask for the total

    Not the callout fee — the total range for the whole job. An operation running the $19 play will keep steering back to the callout fee, because the total is the part that does not sell.

Applied to us

Run the check on Gantry

Licence
Ask us for the DCWP number before any work starts and check it against the City's own lookup. We would rather you did.
Storefront
A real counter in Long Island City, open the hours listed on the contact page — not a mail drop and not a van with a phone number.
Prices
Published in full on the pricing page, before you call, with the rule that no work starts on a number you have not agreed to.
Authorisation
We will ask you to prove the property or vehicle is yours. Every time, including when it is inconvenient.
See the price list

Nine red flags, worst first

Any one of these is worth a pause. Two together is worth hanging up.

  1. 01They will not give you a licence number when you ask for it, or the name on the licence is not the name you called.
  2. 02The phone is answered generically — "locksmith service" — rather than with a business name.
  3. 03They will not give a total range up front, only a callout fee.
  4. 04The quote changes dramatically on arrival, with an explanation you cannot verify.
  5. 05No branded vehicle, no uniform, no identification.
  6. 06They reach for a drill immediately on a standard residential lock.
  7. 07Cash only, no receipt, or a receipt with no business name on it.
  8. 08The listed address does not survive ten seconds in Street View.
  9. 09They never ask you to prove the property is yours.

If it is happening right now

The price just jumped and someone is at your door

Say clearly that you do not authorise the work, and that you will pay the callout fee that was quoted. You are not obliged to let somebody drill your door because they drove to your address.

Photograph the vehicle, the plate and any paperwork. If work has already been done and you were overcharged, pay by card rather than cash where you can — a card payment is disputable and cash is not.

Then file a complaint with NYC DCWP, which licenses locksmiths and takes consumer complaints directly. It is the mechanism that exists precisely for this, and it is under-used.

Open the NYC licence lookup

Licensing and trust

How do I check a locksmith's DCWP licence?
New York City requires every locksmith to hold a licence from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP, formerly DCA) and to display that number on their advertising. Ask for the number before anyone touches your door and check it against the City's free public lookup — confirm the licensed name matches the business you called and that the status is active rather than expired or revoked. Apply that to us as readily as to anyone else.
How do I check a locksmith is legitimate before letting them in?
Three things, and they take a minute. Ask for the DCWP licence number and check it against the city's public lookup. Ask for the price before they start, and be wary of anyone who will not give one. And notice whether the business has a real, checkable address — a company that is only a phone number and a van is a company with nothing to lose by treating you badly.
Are you insured?
Yes, and we can provide a certificate of insurance on request. Most commercial buildings in Court Square and Queens Plaza require a COI on file before after-hours vendor work, and we handle that with the management office directly.
Why do you need to see my ID?
Because a locksmith who opens doors without verifying authorisation is a burglary service. New York requires us to confirm you have the right to enter, and the check protects you far more than it protects us — it is the same rule that stops someone else having your door opened.

There is a longer version of all this in our guide to spotting a locksmith scam in NYC.

Talk to a locksmith, not a call centre

Checked us out? Then let's talk.

Tell us the lock and the address and you get a real price range and an honest ETA back. 15–30 minutes is typical across Long Island City.

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Long Island City, NY · Dispatch: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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