How to Become a Locksmith in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, the nation’s smallest state, locksmithing is even more competitive than in other states due to the limited available service area.

Consequently, you may also wish to serve customers in neighboring Connecticut and Massachusetts.

If so, you’ll need to register your business in each state.

However, by filing paperwork in all three states, you will never have to worry about providing locksmithing services on the wrong side of a state line.

Gaining a Professional Edge in Rhode Island Locksmithing

When you present yourself as a professional, you increase trust.

This requires treating customers with dignity and respect, taking care not to damage their property more than necessary, being bonded and insured, maintaining acceptable grooming standards, and keeping vehicles and tools clean and in good repair.

Since Rhode Island does not license its locksmiths, it falls on you to ensure that you have the proper knowledge and experience to provide locksmith services.

Consequently, seeking certification through an accredited locksmith training program will help you present that professional demeanor your customers will expect.

Steps to Becoming a Locksmith in Rhode Island

1. Apprentice yourself to a Master-level Rhode Island locksmith or attend an accredited locksmithing program.
2. Find a locksmith in Rhode Island willing to hire you or open a shop yourself.
3. Decide on a Rhode Island locksmith’s business name.
4. Look for your intended business name in the Rhode Island Department of State Corporate Database.
5. Use your intended locksmith business name only if you do not find it in the database.
6. Obtain a copy of your FBI Criminal Background Check, and request your Criminal History Record from the Connecticut State Police Bureau of Identification.
7. Decide where to locate your physical business and whether to offer roadside services in Rhode Island only or also serve Connecticut and Massachusetts.
8. Next, register your locksmith business with the Connecticut State Department of Consumer Protection.
9. Finally, register with MassTaxConnect.
10. Open for business and announce your availability to provide Rhode Island locksmithing services.
11. Hold a Grand Opening at each physical location your business serves.

Licensing Requirements to Become a Rhode Island Locksmith

Rhode Island does not require locksmiths to hold a license.

However, you need to register your business using a unique name.

Note that general partnerships and sole proprietors do not pay filing fees.

Moreover, these two business types do not pay minimum corporate taxes in Rhode Island, either.

Salary

US locksmiths make a mean annual salary of $47,810.

However, those in Rhode Island make $55,350.

That difference in wages provides another $354,380 over your working lifetime.

To make it more understandable, that’s enough to buy a median-priced three-bedroom home in Providence.

Annual Salary Range:* Salary information last updated 2025

Regional Salary in Rhode Island

* Salary information based on the May 2024 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey for Locksmiths and Safe Repairers, OCC Code 49-9094, BLS.
* Employment conditions in your area may vary.

Online and At-Home Training Programs for Rhode Island Locksmiths

Penn Foster Career School: Locksmith and Home Security Technician Career Diploma

This accredited five-month program costs $1089 if you opt for the monthly payment plan.

Otherwise, you can pay in a lump sum of $799.

The Distance Education Accrediting Commission oversees program quality at Penn Foster.

The program includes six courses: Orientation, Introduction to Keys, Locks and Ket Mastering, Fundamentals of Home Security, Home Security Wiring, and a class called CCTV, Recording, and Detection Systems.

In addition, students take 19 exams and complete two projects before graduation.

Completing this career diploma will teach you everything necessary to start a successful Rhode Island locksmith business.

Stratford Career Institute: Locksmith Training Course

If you choose the Zero-Interest Monthly Payment Plan, the course costs $989.

However, if you make a single, lump-sum payment instead, the program costs only $689.

The entire program consists of four modules: Introduction to the Locksmithing Profession and Professional Locksmithing Techniques Volume One, Two, and Three.

As you finish each section of a module, you take an exam.

When you complete all the exams in that module, the materials for your next one will arrive soon afterward.

Although you can complete the course in six months to a year, you have two years in which to finish.

In-Person Locksmithing Classes Near Rhode Island

North Bennet Street School: Locksmithing & Security Technology

Although Rhode Island does not offer in-person locksmithing courses, neighboring Massachusetts does.

The NBSS program lasts 36 weeks.

The curriculum includes Key Machinist, Shop Locksmith, Keys by Code, Lock Servicing and Repair; Master Keying, High-Security Locks; Pin and Master Key Cylinders; Lock Installation, Safe Manipulation and Servicing; Alarm Locks and Access Control; Auxiliary Door Hardware; Review and Setting Up Shop; plus field trips and guest speakers.

The program costs $23,200, including $1900 for hand tools, $200 for books, and $100 for the class trip.