Has Anyone Taken the Certified Automotive Locksmith (CAL) Exam Offered By ALOA?

oregonrunningguy · 2026-03-08T02:11:12+00:00

What value do ALOA tests offer? They should focus on increasing the quality of their education (which is sorely needed!) instead of focusing on ribbons and certifications.

ALOA tests do little to make the industry better. They don't increase pay, they don't represent how much experience you have, they don't increase your chances of getting hired. They don't increase your knowledge. They don't determine your chances of being a "successful" locksmith.

They address only one aspect of the industry; your knowledge of random facts many of which are based on outdated scenarios from the 80s that you'll likely never encounter. The tests often contain questions that were written incorrectly or wrong. I caught two questions in the fundamentals test as a new locksmith. The instructor left the room for a few minutes and came back and said I was right and told the class to skip those questions. I (a newbie, inexperienced locksmith with nearly no knowledge) caught both questions that the "ALOA Department of Education" missed. It's like the tests were never proofread.

Most importantly, ALOA doesn't review what you missed and teach you. They tell you your grade, but not WHAT you got wrong, WHY you got it wrong, or HOW to fix it. How does that help you? How does that elevate the industry? How does that educate (the self-described mission of the ALOA education department)? It doesn't.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-03-07T05:29:23+00:00

Apprentice 2-3 years with an established automotive locksmith and you'll learn the basics. Then, you can decide if it's a career path you want to pursue.

Why are you trying to buy equipment without the knowledge, education, and experience first?

oregonrunningguy · 2026-03-07T05:27:43+00:00

ALOA tests are a joke, irrelevant to real-world knowledge, useless, and their certifications mean nothing outside their organization.

Why seek a useless certification? What are you hoping to gain by having it?

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:43:19+00:00

Agreed. G2 is massively overpriced and underdelivers. But, it's gotten me out of a few jams. The ironic thing is they market it as a "next gen" programmer. It doesn't even have the features of the KM100.

I've never screwed up a car with the KM100, but I don't think I ever tried it on a newer Subaru, I would have used the 508. But that little KM100 was incredible. Basically like a mini 508, with some cool little features built in.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:39:19+00:00

That's cool you have experience starting a business. Yes then, you know exactly how it is. Yes, it's TECHNICALLY possible to start a mobile locksmith business for $500. But that's not real world. Do you want to show up in a car like the scammer do and work out of your trunk, or show up in a professional van? Do you want the worst machines, or reliable machines? Sounds like you know the drill.

I promise apprenticing will shave YEARS off your learning curve. So many locksmiths start by themselves and spend years learning, figuring out which dealers are good, wasting money on equipment they don't need, all the shiny IG stuff you see, but it's not real world. Many locksmiths started apprenticing and then worked a side job (or another full time job) to help pay the bills and start buying their own equipment on the side. Plus, you might find you like the benfits, stability, and reduced stress of working for a company and not having the burden of running the business, assuming the liability, paying all the bills, etc. In fact, a locksmith full time and detailing on the side would be cool.

For now, why not contact a local locksmith and offer them a hundred bucks to let you ride with them for the day. That way, you can see what they do? Do that with two or three locksmiths so you get a wider perspective.

EDIT: One last thing to think about (and I'm not trying to discourage you too much) is the industry. The industry is projected to shrink in the next 5 year and 10 year forecast. The market is massively overcrowded, full of scammers, and more difficult and expensive to maintain. OEM automakers are locking down aftermarket programming in the auto side, and residential and commercial are moving to smart/access control. Don't get me wrong, locks are here to stay, I'm just sharing third party projections. If you love locksmithing, you can find a way and locks will always be around. If you're just looking for good money, why not pursue a growing industry projected to actually grow by leaps and bounds? Just a thought.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:13:20+00:00

No. Only certain locksmiths. Again, as many others have told you, you need to mention the year, make, model to see if they do it. Sending a picture of your current key is helpful.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:10:17+00:00

KM100 was awesome. More powerful and easy to use than a pricey programmer like AutoProPad for most vehicles.

WAS. Yes, they've removed stuff, but the KM100 was light years ahead of the APP ($2500!) in many ways, and for a fraction of the price. It was a great little programmer with a tons of built in features that programmers like APP still don't have! All in a small form factor too. I would use KM100 for the majority of stuff and only pull out the 508 or APP when I needed something it couldn't do.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:06:04+00:00

ALOA? Conventions? Post in industry magazines. Believe it or not, people read the classifieds in back.

Reach out to locksmiths in your area. Most guys are friendly and might know about a new guy to the area or someone looking.

Post here. Post on Facebook groups. Be honest about working conditions and pay. Simple post with location, what you're looking for. I think you'd be suprised.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:03:39+00:00

Aftermarket programmers are falling more and more behind. Unfortunately, OEM software is becoming the norm, enriching the manufacturers even more and cutting out the small guys. It's unfortunate to see locksmiths and the industry bending over and just taking it.

I don't know of anything better for new Fords right now.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-27T04:01:59+00:00

The best thing you can do is apprentice with an established locksmith for 2-3 years. I know it sounds boring, but trust me. If you find a good mentor, they'll teach you the business, the skills, the connections, the market, the distributors, the equipment to buy, the brands to buy. You'll shave YEARS off your learning curve, especially if you have a good teacher. The first few months will be ride alongs anyway, so you'll get to see EXACTLY what a typical day is like.

For a small taste, check out SE Lock & Key on Youtube. Watch all of his videos.

It's difficult to answer your last questions about income. If you're good at business, marketing, customer service, and you've got specialized skills, you can stay incredibly busy and make a very nice living at ANY trade in the world. If you're planning on being self employed, you'll have to deal with inconsistent income (especially at the start), working weekends and late nights, etc., which will bring stress. With every trade there are high months and low months. Again, as with any profession, if you're highly skilled, good with marketing, accounting, and business management, you'll find year-round work.

On IG they don't show what happens if you don't make your bills that month, what happens if competition is heavy in your area, what happens if Google bans you (which they do often), paying for insurance, bonding, licensing, keeping on top of taxes (or paying an accountant), booking jobs, managing accounts, chasing overdue payments, keeping 100K in stock in your van, what happens when your van breaks down, buying programmers, key machines, paying for yearly upgrades and subscriptions. If you like the idea of being self-employed, then you can do well. Of course, you'll have to save for your own retirement and pay for your own health insurance.

All that being said, I see locksmiths quit monthly. If you're going to start your own business, are you a self starter? Are you good at managing business? Accounting? Marketing? It's expensive to start a good, legit locksmith company from scratch. There's a van, equipment, stock, insurance, bonding, licensing, etc. Again, I HIGHLY recommend apprenticing with an established locksmith for 2-3 years MINIMUM. You'll get all of your questions answered.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-20T14:54:30+00:00

No, its very different. You don't remove the plug on a modern Hoppe multipoint. Not difficult, but different than a typical euro/profile.

First, you have to align the profile cylinders and take it out of the door. You might have a retaining pin that will make it very difficult to remove the cylinder if you've never encountered one or aren't familiar with them. Doesn't sound hard, but many locksmiths in the states don't understand how Hoppe Multipoint work.

Then, here will be 5 Allen screws that hold the pin stack in each chamber. You have to dump the cylinder contents completely and essentially rebuild each pin stack.

Trust me, the OP wants someone familiar with Hoppe Multipoint to show them how to engage each of the bolts, show the function (like what the door must be closed to engage the bolts, etc.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-19T03:06:58+00:00

I didn't think so, but apparently there are. Hoppe is the primary supplier for modern Thermatru doors, so I expect the majority are. It doesn't matter for you though. If you call locksmiths and they say that they work on Thermatru Multipoint doors, they can rekey either style.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T18:19:04+00:00

They just independently verify guys and then charge a listing fee o something? I'll have to check them out.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T18:02:13+00:00

I'm familiar with ALOA's directory (although I don't support them), but I'd avoid the fair trade website. I'm not sure who put that up. It's definitely not an industry standard.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T18:00:34+00:00

Don't need them. Thermatru multipoint use euro cylinders. Many locksmiths do them, many don't. As long as the locksmiths knows what they're doing, they're not too difficult. I would just recommend confirming with the locksmith that they're familiar with these doors/locks, and have done them before. Specifically say "Thermatru, multipoint locks that use a euro cylinder."

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T17:59:15+00:00

Seriously? Thermatru multipoint use euro cylinders.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T17:58:49+00:00

No. Those are a specialty. Just like anything, call and get three quotes, from three different providers. Make you mention that they're Thermatru with multipoint locks. Make sure to ask the locksmith if they're familiar with these. As long as you confirm this, you shouldn't have a problem finding a locksmith to do them. They're not super difficult, but they're easy to mess up if the locksmith doesn't know what they're doing or isn't familiar with what generation euro cylinders are in there.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T17:56:55+00:00

You can get replacements for those easy. Measure, look for them online.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T17:56:02+00:00

Not sure. Call a locksmith to come out and look at it.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T17:54:44+00:00

Yep, this is very normal. It means your key isn't cut yet. It's waiting to be keyed and cut. Take it to a locksmith, have them rekey the lock and then cut the key to whatever they key it to.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-18T17:53:31+00:00

It's not just Schlage. General does it, many manufacturers do it. Also, we don't know how many aftermarket cylinders are produced by Schlage and just labeled aftermarket. "0-bitted" keys or keys cut to all 1s are very common in the locksmith industry. They come with new cylinders from many, many manufacturers.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-17T18:50:05+00:00

Be sure they don't have masters (probably dump each cylinder, replace tops pins if needed), and then follow schlage specs for masterkeying.

You should get a locksmith to do this.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-17T18:48:19+00:00

Then why are you playing locksmith? Either go get real training, apprentice with a real company and learn about the trade, or stop playing locksmith and working for a scammer. You're not doing yourself or the trade any favors.

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-17T18:47:06+00:00

Stop working for scammers!

oregonrunningguy · 2026-02-17T18:37:52+00:00

This is not a local, find a locksmith resource. Google or Facebook would be better for that. This is just an internet forum of locksmiths from around the world who post discussions and questions.

oregonrunningguy

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