Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
How Do I Get a Spare Key for My Car?
Three routes produce a spare. A mobile auto locksmith, who comes to the car and prices lowest, a franchised dealer, which carries the highest figures and the longest wait, or your breakdown provider where the cover includes key assistance. A key cutting counter is a fourth route and a narrower one, because it copies a plain blade and repairs a damaged key rather than authorising a chip. The gap between the routes is wide. Published figures put a spare copied from a working key at £11 to £140 or more, an auto locksmith job at £50 to £200, and a like for like key from the manufacturer at £240 to £1,000 or more. The time to use the cheap end of that range is while both of your keys still work.
- £120Car keys start from
- 30 minTypical response
- 12 monthsWarranty on every key
Request a quote online
- Over 7,000jobs completed
- 5.0from 130+ Google reviews
- SERMI approvedDBS checked and fully insured
- 12 month warrantyon every key
The routes, cheapest and quickest first
The locksmith trade body publishes its own ranking of these routes, and it puts the franchised dealer last on price and last on speed, noting that dealerships use auto locksmiths themselves. That is worth knowing before you ring the dealer first out of habit.
The figures below are published ranges rather than quotes, and the catch column is where the difference between them actually sits.
| Route | Published figures | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile auto locksmith | £50 to £200 for the job, including where both originals are gone | Not every operator covers every make, so ask before booking |
| Spare copied from a working key | £11 to £140 or more | Needs a key that works, which is why this route closes the day the last one goes |
| Franchised dealer | £240 to £1,000 or more for a like for like key | Slowest. The key is ordered and the car goes to the dealer |
| Breakdown provider | Inside the cover where key assistance is carried, with annual cover at £60 to £100 | Turns on the key coding equipment the attending patrol carries |
| Key cover on an insurance policy | £12 to £30 a year as a premium | The limit, the excess and the waiting periods are set by the policy |
| Key cutting counter | Cheapest for a plain blade or a key repair | A chipped or remote key is a separate authorising step |
Model level examples from the same published guide put a Ford Fiesta key at £317 and a Toyota Yaris key at £448, which shows how little the route alone tells you about the figure.
What a spare costs by key type
Key type moves the figure as far as the route does, because a plain blade and a proximity key are different pieces of hardware with different work behind them. The chip is the whole reason.
Electronic immobilisers were made a requirement for every new passenger car by a European type approval directive, and that requirement bit on new vehicles from 1 October 1998. Any car sold new in the United Kingdom from that date carries one, which is why a plain blade copied at a counter opens the door and leaves the engine where it was.
| Key type | Price band for the key | Authorising charged on top |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical key | £50 to £90 | None |
| Basic remote key | £70 to £130 | £50 to £100 |
| Transponder key | £90 to £180 | £70 to £150 |
| Smart proximity key | £150 to £350 or more | £120 to £250 or more |
Published averages for a replacement car key range from about £240 to about £340 depending on who measured and what they counted, and one of those figures is the average value of a settled insurance claim rather than a retail price. That is why no single headline average belongs in a quote.
Why a spare costs less than a replacement
Two different jobs sit behind those numbers. A spare key cut from the key you still hold is read from that key, which is quick work. With nothing left, the immobiliser data held by the vehicle has to be read instead, some cars release a security code before a new key is accepted at all, and some models require a component to come off first. Every one of those adds labour to the same outcome.
That is the entire argument for doing this early rather than well. The cheap version of this job exists only while a working key does.
What you hand over before anyone cuts a key
No reputable operator starts without proof the car is yours. There is no government licensing of locksmiths in the United Kingdom, so this is trade practice rather than statute, and for an operator certified for manufacturer security access it is an audited scheme obligation. A company that asks for none of it is the warning sign.
- Photographic identification such as a driving licence.
- The make, the model and the registration.
- The vehicle identification number, stamped at the base of the windscreen and readable from outside the car.
- The V5C, which shows the registered keeper. On a financed, leased or company car the keeper and the legal owner are different people, and the owner authorises the work.
- A replacement V5C at £25 where yours is missing, which arrives within 5 to 7 working days.
- The count of keys that exist for the car, and where every one of them is.
The all keys present question, answered precisely
The claim that every existing key has to be present circulates in the trade and it is wrong as a general rule. Manufacturer procedures for adding a key work from one currently registered key, and one of them is written for a customer holding one valid key or none at all.
What is an all keys present job is the security reset, the procedure that wipes the stored key list on the vehicle. Every key not present at a reset stops working afterwards. So hand over every key you intend to keep, and expect a competent operator to ask how many exist and where they are before quoting rather than after.
That same procedure is the feature rather than the constraint. A key that has gone missing is deleted so it no longer starts the car, which answers the question of who else is walking around with a key to your vehicle.
The access scheme worth asking about
Security related work on a modern car depends on access to protected manufacturer information, covering keys, the ignition, the door locks and the engine control unit. The scheme that grants an independent operator that access is the Security Related Vehicle Repair and Maintenance Information scheme, run jointly by vehicle manufacturers and independent operators, and it replaces separate certification with each manufacturer with one approval and authorisation process.
Two things about it matter to you as a customer. It went live in the United Kingdom on 1 April 2026 and it is voluntary here, so holding it is a choice a company made and paid for rather than a baseline every operator meets. And a certified operator carries obligations that work in your favour, including an auditable register of customer identification, vehicle identification and proof that the customer instructed the work, with that register checked at inspection.
Asking whether the company holds it is one short question, and the answer tells you whether the key on your car is being authorised through the manufacturer or around it.
Who Wrote This
Darius is the owner of Herts Car Keys and the locksmith on every job. He has six years in the trade and has completed over 7,000 car key and lockout jobs.
He is approved under the SERMI scheme, DBS checked and fully insured, and every key he supplies carries a 12 month warranty.
Car Keys Made at Your Vehicle
Call Darius with the registration and the model year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Call 07308 888825How do I get a spare key for my car if I have only one key left?
Use the working key while it still works. A locksmith reads the existing key and cuts and authorises a second one, which is the cheap end of every figure on this page. Bring photographic identification, the V5C and the vehicle identification number, and say how many keys exist for the car.
Can I get a spare car key made without the original?
Yes. With no key left the operator reads the immobiliser data held by the vehicle instead of a key, then cuts and authorises a new one against the car. It takes longer and costs more than a copy, and the proof of ownership matters more in that job rather than less.
How long does it take to programme a new car key?
On a mobile visit the cutting and the authorising happen in one appointment at the car. The dealer route runs longer, because the key is ordered against the vehicle first. No published figure covers every make, so take the lead time along with the quote. Matching the chip to the vehicle is car key programming, and the time at the car follows the make.
Can I programme a new car key myself?
No. A key carrying a chip is authorised to the vehicle with diagnostic equipment, and some cars release a security code to the operator before the key is accepted. A plain blade carries nothing to authorise, and on any car registered new from 1 October 1998 a plain blade alone opens the door and does not start the engine.
Are online car keys reliable?
An online key is a part rather than a finished job. It still has to be cut to your lock and authorised to your car, and those two steps carry both the cost and the compatibility risk. Confirm who is doing them, and at what price, before anything is ordered.
Where can I get a spare car key made?
A mobile auto locksmith comes to the car and covers chipped, remote and proximity keys. A key cutting counter copies a plain blade and repairs a damaged key. A franchised dealer orders the key against the vehicle. The locksmith route is the one the trade body itself ranks cheapest and quickest. Cutting the blade to the lock is car key cutting, and both halves are finished in one visit.
Does a spare key have to be registered to my car?
A key with a chip does, because the immobiliser reads that chip before the engine is allowed to run. Cutting the blade alone opens the door and nothing more, which is the difference between a copy and a working key.