Rule 206. Contents of Application for Search Warrant.
Each application for a search warrant shall be supported by a written affidavit signed and sworn to or affirmed before an issuing authority, which affidavit shall:
(a) state the name and department, agency, or address of the affiant;
(b) identify specifically the items, property, or person to be searched for and seized;
(c) name or describe with particularity the person or place to be searched;
(d) identify the owner, occupant, or possessor of the place to be searched;
(e) specify or describe the crime which has been or is being committed;
(f) set forth specifically the facts and circumstances which form the basis for the affiant’s conclusion that there is probable cause to believe that the items, property, or person identified are evidence or the fruit of a crime, or are contraband, or are expected to be otherwise unlawfully possessed or subject to seizure, and that these items or property are or are expected to be located on the particular person, or that these items, property, or persons are or are expected to be located at the particular place described;
(g) if a ‘‘nighttime’’ search is requested (i.e., 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.), state additional reasonable cause for seeking permission to search in nighttime;
(h) when the attorney for the Commonwealth is requesting that the affidavit(s) be sealed pursuant to Rule 211, state the facts and circumstances which are alleged to establish good cause for the sealing of the affidavit(s); and
(i) a certification that the application complies with the provisions of the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania regarding confidential information and documents.
Comment: For the contents of the search warrant, see Rule 205.
Subdivisions (b) and (f) reflect the provision of Rule 201(d) that provides that a person may be the subject of a search warrant when the person is also the subject of a bench or arrest warrant. In such circumstances, the search warrant is to effectuate the arrest by permitting the search of a premises other than the residence of the subject of the bench or arrest warrant. The search warrant does not take the place of the underlying bench or arrest warrant.
Subdivision (f) recognizes anticipatory search warrants. To satisfy the requirements of subdivision (f) when the warrant being requested is for a prospective event, the application for the search warrant also must include a statement explaining how the affiant knows that the items to be seized on a later occasion will be at the place specified. See Commonwealth v. Coleman, 830 A.2d 554 (Pa. 2003); Commonwealth v. Glass, 754 A.2d 655 (Pa. 2000).
When the attorney for the Commonwealth is requesting that the search warrant affidavit be sealed, the affidavit in support of the search warrant must set forth the facts and circumstances the attorney for the Commonwealth alleges establish that there is good cause to seal the affidavit. See also Pa.R.Crim.P. 211(B)(2). Pursuant to Rule 211(B)(1), when the attorney for the Commonwealth requests that the search warrant affidavit be sealed, the application for the search warrant must be made to a judge of the court of common pleas or to an appellate court justice or judge, who would be the issuing authority for purposes of this rule. For the procedures for sealing search warrant affidavit, see Rule 211.
See Rule 113.1 regarding the Case Records Public Access Policy of the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania and the requirements regarding filings and documents that contain confidential information.
Source The provisions of this Rule 206 amended October 19, 2005, effective February 1, 2006, 35 Pa.B. 6087; amended June 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2018, 48 Pa.B. 3575; amended May 2, 2024, effective October 1, 2024, 54 Pa.B. 2743. Immediately preceding text appears at serial pages (392742) to (392743).
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