North Carolina HB 829: Locksmith Licensing Act Modernization.

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 829

Short Title: Locksmith Licensing Act Modernization. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Schietzelt, Winslow, and Chesser (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Regulatory Reform, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and
Operations of the House
April 9, 2025
*H829-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO REQUIRE LICENSURE FOR LOCKSMITH BUSINESSES, TO MODIFY 2
REQUIREMENTS FOR LOCKSMITH APPRENTICES, TO CLARIFY LOCKSMITH 3
LICENSING REQUIREMENTS AND EXEMPTIONS, AND TO STRENGTHEN 4
ENFORCEMENT OF THE LOCKSMITH LICENSING ACT. 5
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 6
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 74F-3 reads as rewritten: 7
"§ 74F-3. Licenses required; violation. 8
(a) No person shall perform or offer to perform locksmith services in this State unless the 9
person has been licensed under the provisions of this Chapter. Every person providing locksmith 10
services as defined under G.S. 74F-4(5) to buildings containing medical records, pharmaceutical 11
records, educational records, criminal records, voting records, tax records, legal records, or 12
personnel records, G.S. 74F-4(5), including any person providing locksmith services who is 13
employed by or working for a school, college, university, hospital, company, institution, or 14
government facility shall be licensed in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter. 15
(a1) The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to corporations, companies, firms, 16
associations, or sole proprietorships that provide locksmith services to the public. A licensed 17
locksmith who owns and operates a corporation, company, firm, association, or sole 18
proprietorship that provides locksmith services shall obtain a locksmith business license from the 19
Board. The locksmith business license shall be renewed annually. 20
(b) Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of law providing greater 21
punishment, a violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor for the first offense. A second 22
or subsequent offense is a Class I felony." 23
SECTION 1.(b) G.S. 74F-4 reads as rewritten: 24
"§ 74F-4. Definitions. 25
The following definitions apply in this Chapter: 26
(1) Apprentice. – A person who has been issued an apprenticeship designation by 27
the Board. 28
(1a) Board. – The North Carolina Locksmith Licensing Board. 29
(2) Code book. – A compilation, in any form, of key codes and combinations. 30
(3) License. – A certificate issued by the Board recognizing the person named 31
therein as having met the requirements to perform locksmith services as 32
defined in this Chapter. 33

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 829-First Edition
(4) Locksmith. – A person who has been issued a license by the Board. In order 1
to engage in the practice of locksmith services, a locksmith must own, be 2
employed by, or otherwise be an agent of a locksmith business. 3
(4a) Locksmith business. – A corporation, company, firm, association, or sole 4
proprietorship that provides locksmith services to the public. 5
(5) Locksmith services. – Services that include repairing, rebuilding, rekeying, 6
repinning, servicing, adjusting, or installing locks, mechanical or electronic 7
locking devices, access control devices, egress control devices, safes, vaults, 8
and safe-deposit boxes for compensation or other consideration, including 9
services performed by safe technicians. The definition also includes any 10
method of bypassing a locking mechanism of any kind, whether in a 11
commercial, residential, or automotive setting, for compensation. 12
(6) Locksmith tools. – Any tools that are designed or used to open a mechanical 13
or electrical locking device in a way other than that which was intended by 14
the manufacturer." 15
SECTION 1.(c) G.S. 74F-7 reads as rewritten: 16
"§ 74F-7. Qualifications for license. 17
(a) An applicant shall be licensed as a locksmith if the applicant meets all of the following 18
qualifications: 19
(1) Is of good moral and ethical character, as evidenced in part by a criminal 20
history record check conducted in accordance with G.S. 74F-18. 21
(2) Is at least 18 years of age. 22
(3) Successfully completes an examination administered by the Board that 23
measures the knowledge and skill of the applicant in locksmith services and 24
the laws applicable to licensed locksmiths. 25
(4) Pays the required fee under G.S. 74F-9. 26
Applications for locksmith license shall be made on forms provided by the Board and shall 27
be accompanied by the application fee under G.S. 74F-9. 28
(b) An applicant for locksmith business license shall submit all of the requirements to the 29
Board: 30
(1) If the applicant is a corporation or company, articles of incorporation or 31
organization with the North Carolina Secretary of State. 32
(2) An Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal