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If you’ve got a high security safe at home and when trying to access its contents, you’ve been unable to because the lock isn’t working or you’ve forgotten the combination, you’ll need to call out a residential locksmith to get it open for you without causing too much damage.

In many instances, a licensed locksmith will drill into the safe if the combination has been lost, if the lock has completely failed, or if the internal door has malfunctioned. However, there are some other options a locksmith can try before resorting to drilling:

For electronic locks where drilling isn’t required– in some circumstances, a safe company will have an override or reset capability for an electronic lock, but they may require the presence of a locksmith to verify whether you are the genuine owner of the safe – and understandably so.

Locksmiths will try to obtain an override code for the electronic locks or the dial, before resorting to drilling.

Drilling the safe open – a qualified and licensed locksmith or safe specialist will usually obtain specific drill points for a given safe, and these are the locations that give the safe technician access to the inner workings of the safe through a very small hole of just a quarter of an inch. Heavily guarded secrets, these drilling locations are not provided without the verification of a locksmith.

Once the drilling points have been located, the safe technician will use a lighted scope or video camera to see the mechanics of the lock and bypass it to open the door.

Then, the drill point is filled with a steel rod and cut flush, followed by the replacement of the lock body or dial. The safe can then be returned to its original purpose; protecting your items of value.

In the absence of drill points – if the safe locksmith can’t find the drill points, they’re still able to access the safe, but it will take longer.

Safe cracking by a licensed locksmith or safe specialist typically costs more due to their level of expertise and training.

Because of the expertise and training and often licensing or tradesman membership being required, you can expect to pay more for a safe cracking locksmith compared to other locksmith services. In some instances, homeowners with smaller, less expensive safes, find that the cost of paying a locksmith to open it, is more than the value of the contents. If this is the case, it may be that the locksmith simply uses brute force to gain entry to the safe, and then you can simply replace the safe with another low cost one.

Ultimately, whatever problem you’re experiencing with your safe, a locksmith or safe installer will be able to fix it by some means or another. So, if you can’t get into your safe, don’t despair, simply call up a locksmith and have them get you back into it as quickly as possible.