What a stiff or stuck deadbolt is usually telling you, and how it gets fixed.
A deadbolt that will not turn is almost always one of three things: the door and frame are out of alignment, the bolt or strike is binding, or the lock cylinder is worn or failing. The most common by far is alignment, since doors shift with the seasons and the bolt stops lining up with the hole in the strike plate.
You can check alignment yourself. With the door open, turn the deadbolt; if it throws smoothly with the door open but binds when shut, the strike is the problem, not the lock. That is a strike or hinge adjustment, handled under lock repair. If the bolt is stiff even with the door open, the cylinder may be dry or worn.
If a known-good key barely turns and the bolt grinds, the deadbolt itself may be failing, and replacing the deadbolt is the cleaner fix than fighting it. It is also a good moment to step up to a high-security deadbolt on the main door. A key that snapped while you forced it needs extraction first, and lost keys are a good reason to rekey at the same time.
Our residential team fixes stubborn deadbolts across Raleigh and Cary. Contact us if yours is fighting you.
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If you only take one thing from this, take this: handling a lock problem on purpose, before it becomes a crisis, is almost always cheaper and calmer than handling it in a panic at the worst possible moment. A little planning, a spare key, a rekey after a move, goes a long way.