Last Updated on September 4, 2026
Anyone can call themselves a locksmith in the UK. The Master Locksmiths Association, the trade’s own body, states the industry is not regulated in any way by government, and estimates roughly 6,500 unlicensed locksmiths operate against about 340 MLA approved professionals. So checking is the whole game. Here is how to do it in five minutes, whether you are a customer or an honest firm showing customers how.
Check one: the MLA register
The MLA runs a public find-a-locksmith search at locksmiths.co.uk. Approved companies are criminal record checked, inspected by MLA inspectors in their region, and must pass the MLA exam, and listings show licence numbers. If a firm claims MLA approval, its name should appear there. The MLA logo is trademarked and it reports false approval claims as prevalent, so check the register, not the badge on the website.
Check two: Companies House
Free and public. A trading name with no findable company, or one attached to a dissolved company, is a flag: in Whito’s July 2026 study, 30% of tradespeople found by ordinary search could not be verified, including two trading under dissolved companies. Sole traders legitimately have no company number, but then the name, address and history should still add up.
Check three: the listing itself
The MLA documents rogue operators actively impersonating legitimate businesses: cloned names and branding, copied Google reviews, and fake Google Maps listings that show a real firm’s address and photos, sometimes AI generated, with a different phone number to hijack calls. The tells: a listing whose phone number does not match the number on the firm’s own website, no named people anywhere, and reviews that describe a different trade. Ring the number on the website, not the number on the map, when anything looks off.
The claims that mean nothing
“Police approved” does not exist. The MLA is blunt: the police do not approve locksmiths. “DBS checked” is checkable only if a firm says who is checked and will show the certificate. “24/7” often means a call centre answers 24/7, then subcontracts to whoever is awake, with subcontractor details, per the MLA, often not known or shared.
If you are the honest locksmith
Publish this checklist on your own site, with your own MLA number, company number and named people on it. Teaching customers to check is the one marketing move a rogue cannot copy, because every check you invite is a check they fail. Search your own name and postcode monthly and report clone listings: the MLA’s scam pages document the standard patterns if you need the evidence.
Common questions
How do I check if a locksmith is legitimate?
Search the MLA’s public register at locksmiths.co.uk, check the business at Companies House, and confirm the phone number on the Google listing matches the one on the firm’s own website. All three checks are free and take about five minutes.
Are locksmiths licensed in the UK?
No. The Master Locksmiths Association states the trade is not regulated by government in any way. MLA approval, which requires vetting, inspection and an exam, is the nearest thing to a register the trade has.
What is a fake locksmith listing?
The MLA documents fake Google Maps listings that use a legitimate firm’s address, name or photos with a swapped phone number, hijacking calls to a rogue operator. Mismatched phone numbers between a listing and the firm’s own website are the main tell.
Is there such a thing as a police approved locksmith?
No. The MLA states plainly that the police do not approve locksmiths, and treats the claim as a scam indicator.
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