RULE 205. CONTENTS OF SEARCH WARRANT.

(A) Each search warrant shall be signed by the issuing authority and shall:

(1) specify the date and time of issuance;

(2) identify specifically the property to be seized;

(3) name or describe with particularity the person or place to be searched;

(4) direct that the search be executed either;

(a) within a specified period of time, not to exceed 2 days from the time of 

issuance, or;

(b) when the warrant is issued for a prospective event, only after the 

specified event has occurred;

(5) direct that the warrant be served in the daytime unless otherwise authorized 

on the warrant, provided that, for purposes of the rules of Chapter 200, Part A, 

the term "daytime" shall be used to mean the hours of 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.;

(6) designate by title the judicial officer to whom the warrant shall be returned; 

(7) certify that the issuing authority has found probable cause based upon the 

facts sworn to or affirmed before the issuing authority by written affidavit(s) 

attached to the warrant; and

(8) when applicable, certify on the face of the warrant that for good cause shown 

the affidavit(s) is sealed pursuant to Rule 211 and state the length of time the 

affidavit(s) will be sealed.

(B) A warrant under paragraph (A) may authorize the seizure of electronic storage 

media or of electronically stored information. Unless otherwise specified, the 

warrant authorizes a later review of the media or information consistent with the 

warrant. The time for executing the warrant in (A)(4)(a) refers to the seizure of the 

media or information, and not to any later off-site copying or review. 

COMMENT: Paragraphs (A)(2) and (A)(3) are intended to

proscribe general or exploratory searches by requiring that 

searches be directed only towards the specific items, 
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persons, or places set forth in the warrant. Such warrants 

should, however, be read in a common sense fashion and 

should not be invalidated by hypertechnical 

interpretations. This may mean, for instance, that when 

an exact description of a particular item is not possible, a 

generic description may suffice. See Commonwealth v. 

Matthews, [446 Pa. 65, 69-74,] 285 A.2d 510, 513-14 (Pa. 

1971).

Paragraph (A)(4) is included pursuant to the Court's 

supervisory powers over judicial procedure to supplement

Commonwealth v. McCants, [450 Pa. 245,] 299 A.2d 283 

(Pa. 1973), holding that an unreasonable delay between 

the issuance and service of a search warrant jeopardizes 

its validity. Paragraph (A)(4) sets an outer limit on 

reasonableness. A warrant could, in a particular case, 

grow stale in less than two days. If the issuing authority 

believes that only a particular period which is less than two 

days is reasonable, he or she must specify such period in 

the warrant.

Paragraph (A)(4)(b) provides for anticipatory search 

warrants. These types of warrants are defined in 

Commonwealth v. Glass, [562 Pa. 187,] 754 A.2d 655 

(Pa. 2000), as “a warrant based upon an affidavit showing 

probable cause that at some future time (but not presently) 

certain evidence of crime will be located at a specified 

place.” 

Paragraph (A)(5) supplements the requirement of Rule 

203[(C)] (E) that special reasonable cause must be shown 

to justify a nighttime search. A warrant allowing a 

nighttime search may also be served in the daytime.

Paragraph (A)(6) anticipates that the warrant will list the 

correct judicial officer to whom the warrant should be 

returned. There may be some instances in which the 

judicial officer who issues the warrant may not be the one 

to whom the warrant will be returned. For example, it is a 

common practice in many judicial districts to have an “oncall” magisterial district judge. This “on-call” judge would 

have the authority to issue search warrants anywhere in 

the judicial district but may not be assigned to the area in 
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which the search warrant would be executed. There may 

be cases when the warrant is incorrectly returned to the 

judge who originally issued the warrant. In such cases, 

the issuing judge should forward the returned search 

warrant to the correct judicial officer. Thereafter, that 

judicial officer should administer the search warrant and 

supporting documents as provided for in these rules, 

including the Rule 210 requirement to file the search 

warrant and supporting documents with the clerk of courts.

Paragraph (A)(8) implements the notice requirement in 

Rule 211(C). When the affidavit(s) is sealed pursuant to 

Rule 211, the justice or judge issuing the warrant must 

certify on the face of the warrant that there is good cause 

shown for sealing the affidavit(s) and must also state how 

long the affidavit will be sealed.

For purposes of this rule, the term “electronically

stored information” includes writings, drawings, 

graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, 

images, and other data or data compilations stored in 

any medium from which information can be obtained. 

This definition is intended to cover all current types of 

computer-based information and to encompass future 

changes and developments. 

For purposes of this rule, the term “seizure” includes 

the copying of material or information that is subject 

to the search warrant. This includes the copying of 

electronically stored information for later analysis.

For the procedures for motions for return of property, 

see Rule 588.

NOTE: Rule 2005 adopted October 17, 1973, effective 60 

days hence; amended November 9, 1984, effective January 

2, 1985; amended September 3, 1993, effective January 1, 

1994; renumbered Rule 205 and amended March 1, 2000, 

effective April 1, 2001; amended October 19, 2005, effective 

February 1, 2006; Comment revised October 22, 2013, 

effective January 1, 2014 [.] ; amended July 31, 2017, 

effective October 1, 2017.
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* * * * *

COMMITTEE EXPLANATORY REPORTS:

Report explaining the September 3, 1993 amendments published at 

21 Pa.B. 3681 (August 17, 1991).

Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and 

renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 

Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000).

Final Report explaining the October 19, 2005 amendments to 

paragraph (4) and the Comment published with the Court’s Order at 

35 Pa.B. 6088 (November 5, 2005).

Final Report explaining the October 22, 2013 revisions to the 

Comment regarding the return of the search warrant published at 

43 Pa.B. 6649 (November 9, 2013).

Final Report explaining the July 31, 2017 amendment regarding 

search warrants for electronically stored information published with 

the Court’s Order at 47 Pa.B. ( , 2017).
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RULE 209. RETURN WITH INVENTORY.

(A) The law enforcement officer executing the search warrant shall return the search 

warrant promptly after the search is completed, along with any inventory required under 

paragraph (C), to the issuing authority. 

(B) Unexecuted warrants shall be returned promptly to the issuing authority once the 

period of time authorized for execution of the warrant has expired. The affiant shall 

retain a copy of the returned unexecuted search.

(C) An inventory of items seized shall be made by the law enforcement officer serving a 

search warrant. The inventory shall be made in the presence of the person from whose 

possession or premises the property was taken, when feasible, or otherwise in the 

presence of at least one witness. The officer shall sign a statement on the inventory 

that it is a true and correct listing of all items seized, and that the signer is subject to the 

penalties and provisions of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904(b) -- Unsworn Falsification To Authorities. 

The inventory shall be returned to and filed with the issuing authority.

(D) The judicial officer to whom the return was made shall, upon request, cause a copy 

of the inventory to be delivered to the applicant for the warrant and to the person from 

whom, or from whose premises, the property was taken.

(E) When the search warrant affidavit(s) is sealed pursuant to Rule 211, the return shall 

be made to the justice or judge who issued the warrant.

COMMENT: The inventory is required to ensure that all 

items seized are accounted for in the return to the issuing 

authority. It thus differs from the receipt required by Rule 

208, which is for the personal records of those from whose 

possession or from whose premises property was taken. In 

some cases, however, the list in the receipt may be 

sufficiently detailed so as to also be sufficient for use in the 

inventory. The inventory need not be sworn to before the 

issuing authority; however, the officer is subject to statutory 

penalties for unsworn falsification.

The rule was amended in 2013 specifically to require that the 

executed warrant be returned to the issuing authority. This 

amendment reflects a procedure with a long-standing 

practice but one that had not been codified in the rules. 
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See Rule 205(A)(6) regarding the circumstances under 

which the issuing authority to whom the warrant is returned 

may differ from the one that issued the warrant.

As provided in Rule 205(A)(4), search warrants generally 

authorize execution within a period not to exceed two days. 

Paragraph (B) requires that an unexecuted warrant be 

returned to the issuing authority upon expiration of this 

period. 

Unexecuted search warrants are not public records, see 

Rule 212(B), and therefore are not to be included in the 

criminal case file nor are they to be docketed.

For the obligation of the Commonwealth to disclose exculpatory evidence, 

see Rule 573 and its Comment.

NOTE: Rule 2009 adopted October 17, 1973, effective 60 

days hence; amended April 26, 1979, effective July 1, 1979; 

amended September 3, 1993, effective January 1, 1994; 

renumbered Rule 209 and amended March 1, 2000, 

effective April 1, 2001; amended October 22, 2013, effective 

January 1, 2014 [.] ; Comment revised July 31, 2017, 

effective October 1, 2017.

* * * * * *

COMMITTEE EXPLANATORY REPORTS:

Report explaining the September 3, 1993 amendments published at 

21 Pa.B. 3681 (August 17, 1991).

Final Report explaining the March 1, 2000 reorganization and 

renumbering of the rules published with the Court’s Order at 30 

Pa.B. 1478 (March 18, 2000).

Final Report explaining the October 22, 2013 amendments related to 

the return of the search warrant published with the Court’s Order at 

43 Pa.B. 6649 (November 9, 2013).
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Final Report explaining the July 31, 2017 Comment revisions 

correcting a cross-reference to Rule 205 published with the Court’s 

Order at 47 Pa.B. ( , 2017).