Lock Picking Belt Ranking: Levels, Locks and How to Progress

The lock picking belt ranking is the locksport community's answer to "am I any good yet?". Created by r/lockpicking and used by clubs and Discord servers worldwide, it grades locks from white belt to black belt by how hard they are to single pin pick. You earn a belt by opening a lock of that level — with a hook, one pin at a time, and a video or photo to prove it. This page explains the levels, which locks sit where, and what to buy next at each stage.

How the lock picking belt system works

• Every belt has a list of qualifying locks. Open one by single pin picking (raking, bumping and bypasses do not count from yellow belt up) and you have earned that belt.
• Belts are cumulative: you go white → yellow → orange → green → blue → purple → brown → red → black. You cannot skip.
• Proof is a short video of the open posted to the community (r/lockpicking, or your club). For the first belts, most people simply track their own progress.
• Re-pinned locks count at the level of their hardest pins — which is why repinning becomes the main way to progress from green belt.

Belt levels and which locks earn them

White belt: any pin tumbler lock

Open any standard pin tumbler lock by SPP. A transparent padlock, a 2–4 pin progressive lock or a budget brass padlock all qualify. Skill learned: tension, finding the binding pin, setting a pin. Most people reach it on day one.

Yellow belt: 5–6 pin locks at real tolerances

Standard pins, no window: cutaway padlocks (picked with the window turned away), basic Euro cylinders, mid-range brass padlocks. Skill learned: consistent SPP by feel alone, reading binding order. One to three weeks.

Orange belt: your first security pins

Locks with one or two spool pins: a security-pin practice lock, or a re-pinned cylinder with two spools. Skill learned: recognising a false set and counter-rotation, letting the wrench move. Two to six weeks — this is where most people plateau, and where a clear lock with spools pays for itself.

Green belt: several security pins, tighter keyways

Mixed spools and serrated pins, paracentric keyways, better European padlocks (ABUS 55-series class, mid-range Master). Skill learned: serrated pins, tension control under counter-rotation, working around warding with offset hooks. One to three months.

Blue belt: quality locks and new mechanisms

Quality pin tumblers with full security pinning, plus disc detainer and dimple locks at entry level. Skill learned: patience on subtle feedback, new tools. Two to four months in, for most hobbyists who practise daily.

Purple, brown, red, black belt

From here the qualifying locks are named, branded high-security locks (Abloy, EVVA, Medeco, Mul-T-Lock and their peers) that you will source from locksmiths and other pickers rather than from us. Our role ends at blue belt; the community takes over. Many pickers spend years here happily.

Which practice lock to buy for each belt

Belt	Buy this	Why
White	Transparent practice padlock	See the pins while you learn tension.
Yellow	Cutaway cylinder or transparent Euro cylinder	Real tolerances, still visible; then turn it away.
Orange	Security-pin lock, or a cylinder + spool pins	Learn false sets on a lock you can reset.
Green	Repinning kit with serrated pins; a better brass padlock	Build your own challenge locks.
Blue	Disc detainer practice lock, dimple set	New mechanisms need new feel.

Our bundles package white → orange (Learn) and white → blue (Progress); the belt locks collection lists every lock we sell by belt.

Rules that trip up beginners

• Raking does not count above white belt. Nor do pick guns, bumping, shimming or combing.
• Locks must be picked, not decoded. A Lishi-style 2-in-1 tool that reads the pins counts as decoding.
• Cutaways count only when picked blind (window away from you) from yellow belt up.
• Re-pinned locks count at the level of their pinning, but you must show the pins in the video.

How long does each belt take?

With fifteen minutes a day: white belt on day one, yellow in one to three weeks, orange in one to two months, green in three to four, blue in four to six. Faster if you re-pin your own locks and practise daily; slower if you buy a lock that is too hard and stall. The single best accelerator is one belt at a time — the next lock should be just harder than the last, never impossible.

Why the belt ranking works

Because it turns a vague hobby into a ladder. Each rung is a specific lock, each lock teaches one new thing, and the community checks your work. It is also why we grade every practice lock we sell against it: "medium" means nothing, "orange belt" tells you exactly what you will feel. New to the hobby? Start with how to pick a lock for beginners, and make sure picking is legal for hobby use in your country on our legality page.