CPL § 690.55

Search warrants; disposition of seized property · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 690.55 Search warrants; disposition of seized property.

1. Upon receiving property seized pursuant to a search warrant, the court must either:

(a) Retain it in the custody of the court pending further disposition thereof pursuant to subdivision two or some other provision of law; or

(b) Direct that it be held in the custody of the person who applied for the warrant, or of the police officer who executed it, or of the governmental or official agency or department by which either such public servant is employed, upon condition that upon order of such court such property be returned thereto or delivered to another court.

2. A local criminal court which retains custody of such property must, upon request of another criminal court in which a criminal action involving or relating to such property is pending, cause it to be delivered thereto.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/690.55

In plain English

After receiving property seized under a search warrant, the court controls its custody.

(1) The court must either keep the property pending lawful disposition or direct the applicant, executing officer, or employing agency to hold it on condition that it be returned or delivered as the court orders. ★
(2) A local criminal court holding the property must send it, on request, to another criminal court where a related criminal action is pending.

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.