Lost Car Keys Worthing With a New Key Made at Your Car

When every key is gone, there is nothing to copy. The new key is built from the car. The blade is cut to the code for your locks, the chip is programmed to the immobiliser, and the lost key is removed from the car memory. Locksmiths call this an all keys lost job. It is the same result as a new key from a dealer, done at the car. If you would like to compare it with the other key jobs first, the car key replacement page sets them side by side.

Three situations feel the same and are not. If the keys are inside the locked car, you need locked keys in car, not a new key. If they are missing, you need a new key. If they were stolen, you need a new key and the stolen one removed today.

Roughly one in five lost key calls ends with the key found. Ten minutes of searching can save the cost of a new key.

Do these in order. The longer checklist is in our guide on what to do when you lose all your car keys.

1. Make sure you are safe. On a busy road or at night, move away from traffic first.
2. Search where you last had them. Pockets, bags, the last shop and the car park.
3. Decide if they were stolen. If so, call the police and note the crime reference.
4. Find your V5C and photo ID. A new key cannot be made without them.
5. Call with the registration. The key type is confirmed and the price agreed before a van leaves.

A stolen key is a risk to the car, not just a lost item, and it should be treated as a same day job. Get a police crime reference number before calling a locksmith or a dealer, and tell your insurer.

When the new key is made, the stolen key is deleted from the car, which is a key deletion and immobiliser reset. From then on it will not start the engine, even if the thief has the car in front of them.

Treat it as urgent. Change the house locks as well as removing the car key, and do not leave the car on the drive overnight until it is done.

Four steps, all at the car. Nothing has to be sent away.

The car security data is read through the diagnostic port, or directly from the immobiliser when the port is locked.

The factory code for your locks gives a blade cut as new, which is car key cutting from code rather than from a copy.

The new chip and remote are registered to the car, which is car key programming.

The missing key is deleted, then the new key is tried on the doors, boot and engine before you pay.

Losing the last key costs more than a spare, because the key is made from the car rather than copied. These are typical 2026 UK figures by key type.

All keys lost runs £200 to £300 on common makes, £300 to £500 on premium makes and £400 to £700 on the newest keyless prestige cars, with a spare on the same visit adding £80 to £150. The price for your car is agreed in writing on the call.

All keys lost takes 30 to 60 minutes on common makes and 60 to 90 minutes on premium makes, once at the car. Older cars sit at the quick end and the newest keyless cars at the slow end.

The dealer route is slower, at three to seven days, and the car usually has to be recovered to the dealer first.

The car, not the locksmith, sets the pace of an all keys lost job. Three kinds of car take longer than the rest, and you are told on the call if yours is one of them.

The new key has to be paired to the keyless system as well as the immobiliser, and the emergency blade cut, which adds time.

Many cars from the last few years need a live login to the maker before a key can be added. Stellantis, Volkswagen Group and BMW cars are common examples.

Makes such as BMW, Mercedes and Land Rover keep the key data in modules that have to be read carefully before anything is written.

A car from before the mid 2000s is usually the quickest all keys lost job of all, because its immobiliser is simpler to read.

Both can make a key with none left. The difference is the wait, the tow and the price.

The dealer is the right call for a few of the newest cars that only accept a key coded by the maker. That is checked from the registration, so you are told before anyone sets off.

Proof of ownership matters most on a lost key job, because a key is being made with no key to show. Expect to be asked for all of these.

• The V5C logbook in your name.
• Photo ID, a driving licence or passport.
• Proof of address, sometimes, if the V5C address is old.
• A letter from the keeper for a lease, finance or company car.

A new V5C can be ordered from the DVLA. Until it arrives, call and explain, because other proof may be accepted on some jobs.

Only if your policy has key cover. Some comprehensive policies include it, and others sell it as an add on. Two kinds of cover are common.

Some policies cover up to £1,500 for lost, stolen or damaged keys, with a hire car for up to 72 hours.

Some policies cover all key types, including smart keys, with up to three days of hire car or £250 towards travel.

Have the crime reference if the keys were stolen, and ask for an itemised invoice showing the new key and the lost key removed.

A lost key rarely happens at a good time. If you are stranded late at night, the 24 hour emergency auto locksmith covers every hour, and the new key is made where the car is parked.

Vans follow the same process on a tighter clock, and lost keys for the Transit, Sprinter and Vivaro are covered under van key replacement.

Three habits keep most drivers away from a second lost key job.

Once the new key works, a second key costs far less than it would later. That is a spare car key, and it can be done before the van leaves.

Keys by the door are easy to take, and keyless keys can be read through it. A signal blocking pouch costs around £10.

A name, address or registration on the keyring turns a lost key into an invitation. A plain tracker tag is safer.

A lost key job follows four steps from the first call, whatever the car.

Lost car keys are replaced at the car across 15 towns and districts in BN11 to BN17, BN43, BN44, BN5 and RH20. Arrival times for each town are listed under areas we cover.

The questions asked most by drivers who have lost every key, from the cost and the time to insurance and stolen keys.

Have the registration, the V5C and photo ID ready. The key type is confirmed and the price agreed in writing before a van leaves.