Key stuck in the lock and won't come out? How to get it out without breaking it

You unlocked the door, or locked it, and the key will not come back out. It may turn a little, or not at all, but pulling on it does nothing. This is one of the most common lock problems, and most of the time the key comes out with patience and no tools.

The risk is in the next five minutes. A key that is yanked, twisted, or worked with pliers is the most common way a key ends up snapped off inside the cylinder. This guide covers home and business door locks only. Roger does not handle vehicles of any kind.

Why a key gets stuck

Inside a standard lock is a row of small spring-loaded pins. The key lifts them to the right height so the cylinder can turn. The key can only slide out when the cylinder is back in its starting position and the pins can drop into the slots they came out of. Almost every stuck key is something keeping that from happening.

• The cylinder is not all the way back to where it started. Even a few degrees off and the pins cannot drop, so the key stays locked in place.
• The deadbolt or latch is binding on the strike. If the door has shifted, the bolt drags on the strike plate and holds the cylinder slightly turned.
• Dirt, grit, or old oil in the keyway. Gummed-up pins move slowly or stick partway.
• A worn, bent, or freshly copied key. A copy with burrs on the edges, or a key bent from being used as a lever, catches on the pins on the way out.
• Ice. On a freezing morning, water inside the cylinder can freeze around the key.
• A loose or failing cylinder. If the whole cylinder spins or has shifted in the door, or a pin or spring inside has broken, the key may not come out until the lock is opened up.

Try these first, in order

• Stop pulling. Let go of the key for a moment so you are not loading the pins.
• Turn the key back to the exact position you inserted it. On most locks that is straight up and down, or straight sideways. Turn it gently past that point a hair in each direction and try again.
• Push the key all the way in, then pull it straight out slowly while giving it a very light up-and-down wiggle. Small movements, not leverage.
• Take the pressure off the bolt. Push the door firmly shut, or pull it toward you, so the bolt is not dragging on the strike. Then return the key to its starting position and try again.
• Puff a dry graphite or PTFE lock lubricant into the keyway alongside the key, wait a minute, and work the key gently back and forth. Avoid oily sprays as a fix. They loosen things briefly, then hold grit.
• If it is below freezing, warm the lock face with your hand or a hand warmer pack, or use a lock de-icer made for door locks. The frozen lock guide linked below covers the safe ways to thaw it.

What not to do

• Do not twist the key hard or use pliers to turn it. Turning force on a stuck key is what snaps it off at the shoulder.
• Do not pull sideways or bend the key to get leverage. A bent key is weaker, and it will stick again even if it comes out.
• Do not hit the key or the lock.
• Do not spray an oily lubricant in and hope. Use a dry lock lubricant.
• Do not take the lock apart from the outside. You can damage the door and still not free the key.

If you have to leave and the key is still in the door

A key stuck in an outside lock is a key anyone can turn. If you cannot get it out and you need to leave, do not walk away with the key in the door. Lock up from the inside with the thumb turn if you can, use another door, or wait for a locksmith. If the key is stuck in the inside of the lock, the door is still secure from outside.

When a locksmith is the better call

Call a locksmith if the key will not come out after the steps above, if the key has started to bend, if the cylinder spins or moves in the door, or if the key snapped. A locksmith can remove the cylinder with the key still in it, free the key on the bench, and fix whatever caused it. That might be cleaning and lubricating the cylinder, replacing a broken pin or spring, rekeying the lock, or replacing a worn cylinder.

If the door is out of line and that is what is holding the bolt, the locksmith can adjust the strike so the bolt slides freely again. Fixing the alignment is what keeps it from happening next week.

What moves the price is whether the key comes out whole or has to be extracted, whether the cylinder needs servicing, rekeying, or replacing, whether the strike or door needs adjusting, how many locks are involved, and the time of day. You see a qualitative range up front, and the locksmith confirms the price in person after seeing the lock.

After it comes out

• Look at the key. If it is bent, twisted, or worn smooth, stop using it. Get a new key, ideally cut from a good original or to the lock's original specification.
• If it happened with a new copy, take the copy back with your original and have it recut, or file only the burrs off the edges.
• If the key went in and out stiffly before this, the lock is telling you it needs service. A small visit now is easier than a broken key later.

Booking through Roger

Describe the problem: which door, whether the key is in the outside or inside of the lock, whether it is a deadbolt or a knob or lever, whether it turns at all, and whether the key is an original or a new copy. A photo of the lock with the key in it helps. Roger books one vetted local locksmith and confirms the appointment, so you know which company is coming. Home and business only.

You can describe the problem on rogerrepair.com and get one locksmith booked.