Search Warrant at Your Warehouse or Shop: What to Do On the Spot

The first ten minutes: confirm the warrant, then let them work

In the first ten minutes, do two things: ask the team leader to show the warrant and their identification, and call your manager and your lawyer. A search warrant is issued by a court. It should name the issuing court, the case, the specific address to be searched, and the kinds of items being sought. Ask to see it properly and photograph every page, along with the team leader's ID.

Check three things as you read: does the address match this warehouse or shop exactly, does the description of items relate to what you actually sell, and does the document carry a judge's signature and court details? The point of checking is not to refuse entry. It is to create a record. If the address or item description clearly does not match, say so politely and ask that your objection be noted. Then let your lawyer deal with it afterwards rather than physically stopping anyone.

Staff panic most in this window, so give them one line in advance: "Please wait a moment, our manager is on the way, and we will cooperate." Assign one person to accompany and record the search. Everyone else stays where they are, touches no stock, and deletes nothing from their phones.

If the visitors have no written document at all and simply announce they are taking goods, you are not dealing with a warrant. Follow the verification steps in what to do when officials arrive unannounced and confirm identity and authority first. A real enforcement team will not object to you photographing documents or making a phone call before they begin.

During the search: accompany, record, and never hide anything

The single most important thing during the search is that your own person is present the whole time, and that every shelf opened and every item taken is recorded. Searches are normally conducted in the presence of witnesses, and your manager or a staff member is the natural one. Walk with the search team, stay close, do not interfere, and note on your phone which racks and boxes were opened and what was removed. If you are asked to stop filming, switch to written notes of times, locations and items rather than arguing about it.

Hold three lines no matter what. First, do not block, push, or lock doors, even if you think the search is going too far. Second, do not move, hide or destroy any goods or paperwork. This is the fastest way for an owner to go from "business under investigation" to "person obstructing an investigation." Third, do not offer money or call in favors. Any "token of appreciation" can amount to bribery, and it does nothing for the outcome.

If you are questioned, you can state who you are and what the business does. On questions about where goods came from, how they were imported, or what you knew, you can politely say you will answer once your lawyer is present. Remaining silent and asking for counsel is a general right; how to use it in your case is your lawyer's call. For the general limits of dealing with police, see what you can refuse when police want to search or question you.

Before they leave: check the seizure receipt line by line

Before anything is loaded and driven away, you need an itemized seizure receipt — and you need to have checked it yourself, line by line. The receipt should list each item by name, model or batch, quantity, and packaging condition, plus the place and time of seizure. Do not accept vague wording like "one truckload" or "several boxes." Ask for a count by carton and by product, with your person counting alongside.

If quantities or descriptions do not match, say so on the spot and ask for a correction, or ask that your objection be written on the receipt. When you are asked to sign a receipt or a written record, read it first. A signature usually confirms only that the listed items were taken, not that they are illegal. If the document contains factual statements you do not accept, you can write next to your signature that you confirm the item count only, or wait for your lawyer before signing. If in doubt, do not sign, and ask that your reason for declining be recorded.

Make sure you leave with a copy of the receipt, and photograph it. Every later step — challenging the seizure, recovering goods taken in excess, cooperating with the investigation — starts from this document. Before the team leaves, also photograph the state of the warehouse: opened cartons and disturbed shelves are your evidence if anything turns out to be missing or damaged later. Keep the photos with the receipt so the two can be compared item by item; a gap between what the receipt says and what is actually missing is exactly what your lawyer will need to see.

The same day: who to tell, what to gather, what not to do

Once the search is over, file the evidence, notify the right people, and say nothing publicly for now. Gather the warrant photos, the team leader's ID photo, the seizure receipt, your videos and notes, and a list of staff who were present. Make two copies of everything and give one set to your lawyer. Pull out the purchase records, customs entries, invoices and supplier contracts for the seized goods. Those documents are the core proof that the stock was lawfully acquired.

Notify your lawyer, your shareholders or head office, and — if the goods involve a brand license — the brand owner or supplier. If the warehouse is leased, tell the landlord that an enforcement search took place. Customers with delayed orders need only a short factual notice, not an explanation of the case. Give staff a single line for outsiders: "We are cooperating with the authorities and management is handling it." Nobody shares the footage in group chats or talks to reporters or strangers.

Things not to do yet: do not contact the officers yourself to "sort things out"; do not rush to sell off or relocate remaining stock of the same kind; do not delete inventory or sales data. In an investigation, any of these can be read as destroying evidence. If the search stems from a trademark or counterfeiting allegation, the response sequence for the accused party is in what to do after a trademark infringement claim. If the search concerns tax, customs or product registration rather than intellectual property, the same rule holds: preserve everything and let your lawyer decide how and when to explain.

Afterwards: can you get the goods back, and was the search valid?

Your remedies afterwards fall into two groups: challenging the legality of the search itself, and proving the seized goods were lawfully acquired so they are returned. Which route is open, where to file and whether there is a deadline depend on the nature of the case and the exact wording of the warrant. That is for your lawyer to decide after reviewing everything. Do not go to the enforcement office yourself to ask for the goods back.

A lawyer will typically look first at a few points. Did the actual search stay within the address and items named in the warrant? Were witnesses present? Did the officers take things beyond what the warrant described? Is the seizure receipt complete? If goods were taken beyond the warrant's scope, or if lawful stock unrelated to the case was removed, a return can be sought through the proper procedure. The photos, videos and receipt notes you made on the day become your strongest evidence at this stage.

If the search leads to a criminal complaint or an administrative penalty, the company will receive formal papers and must respond in the manner and within the time those papers require; the order of steps is set out in what to do when your company is sued. If the goods really are problematic — unclear origin or suspected infringement — your lawyer may recommend cooperating and explaining early to seek a lighter outcome. That is a strategic judgment, so avoid locking yourself into a position in the first conversation.

Being less exposed next time, and how YIXING can help

The real protection is being able to produce proof of origin for any batch within an hour, and making sure every staff member knows exactly what to do when officers arrive. On the supply side, keep purchase contracts, invoices, customs entries and brand authorizations for every batch, in digital and paper form, stored somewhere other than the warehouse itself. Be wary of goods with unclear origins or suspiciously low prices; that is precisely what counterfeiting and smuggling enforcement targets.

On the people side, post a one-page procedure card in the warehouse and shop: ask for the document and IDs, photograph them, call the manager and the lawyer, assign someone to accompany the team, touch nothing, hide nothing, pay nothing, check the receipt line by line, keep a copy. Walk new staff through it on their first day and rehearse it once a year. Keep your lawyer's contact details where everyone can reach them, including on holidays. If you are the brand owner and want to start enforcement against copies of your own products, see what to do when someone counterfeits your brand.

YIXING (SEC registration CS202009551; Bureau of Immigration accreditation CA-202624381-1) provides compliance retainer services to Chinese-owned businesses in the Philippines: document filing systems for purchase records and brand authorizations, on-site response procedures for shops and warehouses, and organizing paperwork and coordinating with licensed lawyers once formal documents arrive. We are a private consultancy with no affiliation to any government agency. We do not "smooth things over" on anyone's behalf and we do not promise outcomes. Every case is different — consult a licensed lawyer; this article is not legal advice.