Rights and LimitsSomeone at your doorWhen police can enter your home
When police can enter your home
What you must do, and what you can refuse
Every claim below links to the law it comes from, with the wording quoted so you can check it yourself.
You must
Refusing is a criminal offence.
Not resist or wilfully obstruct a constable who is lawfully exercising one of these powers.
Police Act 1996, s.89(2)
“any person who resists or wilfully obstructs a constable in the execution of his duty, or a person assisting a constable in the execution of his duty, shall be guilty of an offence”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
You can refuse
No penalty for saying no.
Ask to see the warrant, and to be given a copy of it, when an officer is executing a warrant at your door.
Where a warrant is being executed, the officer must identify themselves, produce the warrant, and supply a copy of it.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.16(5)
“shall identify himself to the occupier and, if not in uniform, shall produce to him documentary evidence that he is a constable—shall produce the warrant to him—shall supply him with a copy of it”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
A search warrant under this route can only be issued once a justice of the peace is satisfied there are reasonable grounds for believing an indictable offence has been committed and that the material sought is likely to be relevant evidence.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.8(1)(a) and (c)
“if on an application made by a constable a justice of the peace is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing— that an indictable offence has been committed — that the material is likely to be relevant evidence”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
Lawful to refuse — but it costs you
Not an offence, but it carries a penalty or an inference.
Refusing to open the door does not stop a lawful entry — it can be forced instead.
Once the legal conditions for one of these powers are met, refusing to cooperate does not create a new obstacle; it just changes how the officer gets in.
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s.117
“where any provision of this Act— confers a power on a constable; and—does not provide that the power may only be exercised with the consent of some person, other than a police officer, the officer may use reasonable force, if necessary, in the exercise of the power”
Read it at legislation.gov.ukquote checked 2026-08-25
There is no general power to walk in
A police officer needs a specific legal basis to enter your home. In practice there are four:
- A warrant issued by a justice of the peace (s.8 PACE 1984).
- To arrest someone for an indictable offence, if the officer reasonably believes that person is on the premises (s.17 PACE 1984).
- After an arrest, to search premises connected to it (s.18 or s.32 PACE 1984).
- A genuine emergency — saving life or limb, or preventing serious damage to property (s.17(1)(e) PACE 1984), which does not require the usual grounds for believing a person is present.
Outside those four, an officer at your door has no more right to come in than anyone else. Asking “what power are you using?” is a fair question, not an obstruction.
What a warrant has to show, and what the officer must do with it
A justice of the peace can only issue a s.8 warrant if satisfied there are reasonable grounds for believing an indictable offence has been committed and that there is relevant evidence on the premises.
When the warrant is executed, the officer has specific duties, not just to the search but to you: identify themselves, produce evidence they are a constable if not in uniform, produce the warrant itself, and hand over a copy of it. A warrant is only valid for three months from the date it is issued.
If no one who appears to be in charge of the premises is present, the officer leaves a copy of the warrant on the premises rather than simply walking away without a record.
Entering to make an arrest, without a warrant
The most commonly used route is not a warrant at all: a constable may enter and search premises to arrest someone for an indictable offence. This power is conditional — except where life or limb is at risk, it is “only exercisable if the constable has reasonable grounds for believing that the person whom he is seeking is on the premises”.
The genuine emergency ground — saving life or limb, or preventing serious damage to property — sits outside that condition. It is meant for exactly what it says, not as a general shortcut around the warrant system.
A lawful arrest doesn’t end at the front step
Once someone is under arrest, two further powers can bring police back into a home. Officers can search premises occupied or controlled by the arrested person if they have reasonable grounds to suspect evidence of the offence is there — though this needs sign-off in writing from an inspector or above unless it happens on the spot. Separately, they can search the premises where the arrest itself took place, or where the person was immediately beforehand, without that extra authorisation.
Refusing to open the door does not defeat any of these powers: where PACE confers a power on a constable that does not require someone else’s consent, the officer may use reasonable force to exercise it. The place to challenge an entry you think was unlawful is a complaint or a solicitor afterwards, not the doorstep.
Last reviewed 2026-08-25. Next review due 2027-02-25. No solicitor has reviewed this page — see [email protected] if you think something here is wrong.