CPL § 705.30

Nondisclosure of existence of pen register or a trap and trace device · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 705.30 Nondisclosure of existence of pen register or a trap and trace

device.

An order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a pen register or a trap and trace device shall direct that:

1. the order be sealed until otherwise ordered by the court; and

2. the person owning or leasing the line to which the pen register or a trap and trace device is attached, or who has been ordered by the court to provide assistance to the applicant, not disclose the existence of the pen register or trap and trace device or the existence of the investigation to the listed subscriber, or to any other person, unless or until otherwise ordered by the court.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/CPL/705.30

In plain English

A pen-register or trap-and-trace order must keep both the order and the investigation secret unless the court orders otherwise.

(1) The order must remain sealed until the court says otherwise. ★
(2) The line's owner or lessee, and anyone ordered to assist, must not disclose the device or investigation to the subscriber or anyone else unless the court permits it.

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.