2023 Delaware Code › Title 16 - Health and Safety › Chapter 47. UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT › Subchapter VI. Enforcement and Administrative Provisions › § 4782. Administrative inspections and warrants.

§ 4782. Administrative inspections and warrants.
(a) Issuance and execution of administrative inspection warrants shall be as follows:
(1) Any person authorized to issue search warrants in this State may, within the person's jurisdiction and upon proper oath or affirmation showing probable cause, issue warrants for the purpose of conducting administrative inspections authorized by this chapter or rules hereunder and seizures of property appropriate to the inspections. For purposes of the issuance of administrative inspection warrants, probable cause exists upon showing a valid public interest in the effective enforcement of this chapter or rules hereunder, sufficient to justify administrative inspection of the area, premises, building or conveyance in the circumstances specified in the application for the warrant.
(2) A warrant shall issue only upon an affidavit of a designated officer or employee having knowledge of the facts alleged, sworn to before the judge or justice of the peace and establishing the grounds for issuing the warrant. If the judge or justice of the peace is satisfied that grounds for the application exist or that there is probable cause to believe they exist, the judge shall issue a warrant identifying the area, premises, building or conveyance to be inspected, the purpose of the inspection and, if appropriate, the type of property to be inspected, if any. The warrant shall:
a. State the grounds for its issuance, and the name of each person whose affidavit has been taken in support thereof;
b. Be directed to a person authorized by § 4781 to execute it;
c. Command the person to whom it is directed to inspect the area, premises, building or conveyance identified for the purpose specified and, if appropriate, direct the seizure of the property specified;
d. Identify the item or types of property to be seized, if any; and
e. Direct that it be served during normal business hours and designate the judge or justice of the peace to whom it shall be returned.
(3) A warrant issued pursuant to this section must be executed and returned within 10 days of its date unless, upon a showing of a need for additional time, the court orders otherwise. If property is seized pursuant to a warrant, a copy shall be given to the person from whom or from whose premises the property is taken, together with a receipt for the property taken. The return of the warrant shall be made promptly, accompanied by a written inventory of any property taken. The inventory shall be made in the presence of the person executing the warrant and of the person from whose possession or premises the property was taken, if present, or in the presence of at least 1 credible person other than the person executing the warrant. A copy of the inventory shall be delivered to the person from whom or from whose premises the property was taken and to the applicant for the warrant.
(4) The judge or justice of the peace who has issued a warrant shall attach thereto a copy of the return and all papers returnable in connection therewith and file them with the Prothonotary in the county in which the inspection was made.
(b) The Secretary may make administrative inspections of controlled premises in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) For purposes of this section only, “controlled premises” means:
a. Places where persons registered or exempted from registration requirements under this chapter are required to keep records; and
b. Places including factories, warehouses, establishments and conveyances in which persons registered or exempted from registration requirements under this chapter are permitted to hold, manufacture, compound, process, sell, deliver or otherwise dispose of any controlled substance.
(2) When authorized by an administrative inspection warrant issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, an officer or employee designated by the Secretary, upon presenting the warrant and appropriate credentials to the owner, operator or agent in charge, may enter controlled premises for the purpose of conducting an administrative inspection.
(3) When authorized by an administrative inspection warrant, an officer or employee designated by the Secretary may:
a. Inspect and copy records required by this chapter to be kept;
b. Inspect, within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, controlled premises and all pertinent equipment, finished and unfinished material, containers and labeling found therein, and, except as provided in paragraph (b)(5) of this section, all other things therein, including records, files, papers, processes, controls and facilities bearing on violation of this chapter; and
c. Inventory any stock of any controlled substance therein and obtain samples thereof.
(4) This section does not prevent the inspection without a warrant of books and records pursuant to an administrative subpoena, nor does it prevent entries and administrative inspections, including seizures of property, without a warrant:
a. If the owner, operator or agent in charge of the controlled premises consents;
b. In situations presenting imminent danger to health or safety;
c. In situations involving inspection of conveyances if there is reasonable cause to believe that the mobility of the conveyance makes it impracticable to obtain a warrant;
d. In any other exceptional or emergency circumstance where time or opportunity to apply for a warrant is lacking; or,
e. In all other situations in which a warrant is not constitutionally required.
(5) An inspection authorized by this section shall not extend to financial data, sales data, other than shipment data, or pricing data unless the owner, operator or agent in charge of the controlled premises consents in writing.
16 Del. C. 1953, §  4767;  58 Del. Laws, c. 424, §  1;  62 Del. Laws, c. 250, §  4;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;