CPL § 690.05

Search warrants; in general; definition · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 690.05 Search warrants; in general; definition.

1. Under circumstances prescribed in this article, a local criminal court may, upon application of a police officer, a district attorney or other public servant acting in the course of his official duties, issue a search warrant.

2. A search warrant is a court order and process directing a police officer to conduct:

(a) a search of designated premises, or of a designated vehicle, or of a designated person, for the purpose of seizing designated property or kinds of property, and to deliver any property so obtained to the court which issued the warrant; or

(b) a search of a designated premises for the purpose of searching for and arresting a person who is the subject of: (i) a warrant of arrest issued pursuant to this chapter, a superior court warrant of arrest issued pursuant to this chapter, or a bench warrant for a felony issued pursuant to this chapter, where the designated premises is the dwelling of a third party who is not the subject of the arrest warrant; or

(ii) a warrant of arrest issued by any other state or federal court for an offense which would constitute a felony under the laws of this state, where the designated premises is the dwelling of a third party who is not the subject of the arrest warrant.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/690.05

In plain English

A local criminal court may issue a search warrant on an official-duty application by a police officer, district attorney, or other public servant.

(1) The application and warrant must satisfy this article.
(2)(a) A warrant may direct police to search a named place, vehicle, or person for identified property and deliver seized property to the issuing court.
(2)(b) It may direct a search of a third party’s home to find and arrest someone named in a New York arrest warrant or felony bench warrant, or an out-of-state or federal warrant for conduct that would be a New York felony. ★

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Court Officer: Criminal Procedure Law; Volume 2 — Your Career: Criminal Procedure in Plain English.