Are Lock Picks Legal?

First a disclaimer: We are not attorneys nor are we experts in the law. The answer to this question varies from location to location based on local, state, and federal laws. If you need an accurate answer, please contact an attorney in your local jurisdiction.

Are Lock Picks Legal?
Now that that’s out of the way, In most of the US and Europe, possession of lock picks is generally considered to be similar to possession of a screwdriver. It is legal in most of these places to possess lock picks unless you are possessing them with the intent to commit a crime. Often the phrase found in the law is similar to: “possession of tools with the intent to commit burglary” and intent must be shown for a crime to have been committed. Possession of the tools alone is typically not a crime in most places.

We are aware of the following exceptions to this rule and there are probably other locations where possession of lock picks may be illegal. Mere possession of lock picks may be illegal (usually without a locksmith’s license) in the following areas:

Possession of lock picks is illegal in the city of Washington D.C.
As of 2007, it may be illegal to possess lock picks in the state of Tennessee.
Lock Picks are illegal to possess in the country of Poland
Lock Picks are illegal in New South Wales and Western Australia.
Possessing lock picks is illegal in Japan
Possession of lock picks may be illegal in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada without a license.

In the US, it is illegal to ship lock picks or impressioning tools via US Postal Service. We ship all of our packages via US Postal Service except for orders that include lock picks or impressioning tools. Orders that include these restricted items are shipped by UPS Ground. Unfortunately, UPS shipping outside of the US is so prohibitively expensive that we only ship lock picks within the United States. All other items ship anywhere and we have shipped to more than 40 countries.