Can Police Search Your Car Without a Warrant in California?

In California, police are allowed to search your vehicle without a warrant if they:

• have your consent or
• have probable cause to believe it contains evidence of a crime or
• are conducting a search incident to a lawful arrest or detainment or
• are doing an inventory of your impounded vehicle.

Vehicular search and seizure laws stem from U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which provides that you have the right to be free from “unreasonable searches and seizures.”

If the police perform an unlawful vehicle search, you can ask the judge to exclude any unlawfully obtained evidence by filing a motion to suppress under Penal Code 1538.5 PC. If the judge agrees, the D.A. may be forced to dismiss your case for lack of proof.

In this article, our California criminal defense attorneys discuss the following topics:

• 1. When can police search my car?
• 2. Do I have to show my ID?
• 3. Remedies for Unlawful Searches
• Additional Reading

1. When can police search my car?

In California, police can always search your vehicle if they have a valid warrant to do so and do not search beyond the scope set out in the warrant.¹ A warrant is valid if it:

• is signed by a judge,
• is based upon probable cause,
• describes specifically the vehicle to be searched, and
• describes specifically the property or thing that is being searched for.²

Police can lawfully search your car without a warrant in certain situations, discussed below.

1) Consent to Search

California police can search your vehicle without a warrant if they have the consent to do so from you, and:

• you are the driver of the car, or
• you have control of the vehicle.³

Consent is valid only if it is freely given. It is unlawful for the police to force or coerce you to consent in any way.⁴

Example: Wayne is pulled over by police for having a broken taillight at night. As Wayne is reaching for his license, the officer pulls out his gun, points it at Wayne, and demands that Wayne let him look in the car. Wayne complies and ends up being charged with possession of a controlled substance for having the marijuana under his seat.

Here, the charges will get dismissed because the officer search of Wayne’s car was unlawful. Wayne consented only because the officer forced him to.

2) Probable Cause to Search

In California, police may search your car if they have “probable cause” to believe it holds evidence of a crime.⁵

This is known as the “vehicle exception.” There are two main reasons for the exception, which are:

1. Since cars can be moved quickly, evidence can get lost during the time it takes to obtain a warrant; and
2. You have a reduced expectation of privacy in a car as compared to your home.⁶

Probable cause can be based upon things like:

• reliable information (such as information gained via an undercover agent) that the car holds evidence of a crime,
• the vehicle’s location in a place where crimes typically occur,
• illegal actions or items that a police officer personally observes “in plain view,” and/or
• suspicious acts by the driver of the car or any passengers in the car.⁷

Example: George and Robert, both 20, are sitting in a car parked at a home for seniors. When a police car approaches, Robert speeds away, leading the police on a high-speed chase. Once the police catch up with them, they search the car and find a loaded gun hidden under a seat. Robert is charged with possession of a loaded firearm.

The gun can be used as evidence against Robert. The suspicious behavior of the youths – leading the police on a high-speed chase when they approached – created probable cause for a search of their car. Probable cause is also supported because the police found the car in an area dedicated to senior living.

Scope of a Vehicle Search

Under the vehicle exception, California police can search the entirety of a vehicle. This includes:

• the trunk,
• the glove compartment, and
• any closed containers inside the car (such as bags, boxes, and suitcases).⁸

As to containers, note that this is only true if it is reasonable that the container can hold the contraband that the police are looking for. For example, an officer cannot search an aspirin bottle if they have probable cause that there is a rifle in the car.⁹

Note that the vehicle exception applies to both cars and trucks as well as bikes¹⁰ and mobile homes.¹¹

3) Searches Incident to Lawful Arrests

If you are an occupant of a vehicle in California, police can search the car absent a warrant if they are arresting you.¹² In this situation, though, authorities may only search:

1. your person or
2. the area within your immediate control.¹³

Example: Police arrest Rodney for driving on a suspended license. While he is handcuffed and sitting in the back of the patrol car, they search his vehicle. The police find cocaine in the trunk.

Here, Rodney cannot be convicted of a drug offense based on the cocaine. The search of his car was unlawful even though he was under arrest. This is because the police found the drugs in the trunk, which was an area of the car not under Rodney’s immediate control at the time of his arrest.

4) Weapon Searches Incident to Lawful Detentions

California police can temporarily detain you if they suspect you of a crime. If this suspicion turns into probable cause, the police would then arrest you; otherwise, you must be released.

If you are being detained in a car, police can conduct a search to protect their own safety.¹⁴ This means police may only:

1. search if they believe you are dangerous and can gain control of weapons and
2. search areas of the passenger compartment where a weapon may be hidden.¹⁵

5) Inventory Searches

California authorities can conduct a vehicle search with no warrant if they have impounded the car and are carrying out an inventory search. The purpose of inventory searches is to:

• protect the vehicle owner’s property,
• insure against claims of lost property, and
• protect police from danger.¹⁶

Example: After Steven is arrested for DUI, police order a tow truck to take his van to an impound lot. While waiting for the tow truck, an officer conducts a thorough inventory search. He ends up finding large amounts of both cocaine and cash. Steven is charged with drug possession for sale on top of his DUI charges.

Here, the cocaine and cash may be admitted into evidence against Steven. This is because they were found pursuant to a lawful inventory search.

6) Exigent Circumstances

If police see a car containing contraband or a victim, chances are the car will be long gone by the time police go to the court to get a search warrant for the car. Therefore, police may lawfully conduct warrantless searches if “exigent circumstances” call for it.

Courts find there are “exigent circumstances” whenever there is an immediate threat to public safety or a risk of losing evidence. Without this exception to the search warrant requirement, suspects could escape and vital evidence could be lost forever.¹⁷

2. Do I have to show my ID?

California is not a “stop and ID state.” However, if you are driving and pulled over, you are required to provide your driver’s license and proof of insurance if a police officer asks for it.

Since California is not a stop and ID state, you do not have to provide your identification to police if you are merely a passenger in a vehicle that has been pulled over. Without probable cause to suspect you of an infraction or crime, police do not have a valid reason to see your ID.¹⁸

3. Remedies for Unlawful Searches

If California police find incriminating evidence by searching your car – and they had no lawful warrant or justification for a warrantless search – then you can try to get the evidence excluded from your criminal trial. The mechanism for doing this is filing a motion to suppress with the court.¹⁹

During a suppression hearing, we would cross-examine the state’s witnesses, which typically include the police officers who conducted the vehicle search. By demonstrating the police’s misconduct, showing inconsistencies in their testimony, and/or revealing their biases, hopefully we would convince the judge that the evidence in question was unlawfully obtained.

If the judge agrees with our motion to suppress, they can suppress the evidence and remove it from the case. If the D.A. is then left with insufficient evidence to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the state may have no option left but to dismiss or lessen your charges.

Additional Reading

For more in-depth information about searches, refer to these scholarly articles:

• Warrantless Search Cases Are Really All the Same – Minnesota Law Review.
• Is It Reasonable? A Legal Review of Warrantless Searches of Probationers and Parolees – Criminal Justice Policy Review.
• Search Warrants, Motions to Suppress and Lost Cases: The Effects of the Exclusionary Rule in Seven Jurisdictions – Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology.
• Press One for Warrant: Reinventing the Fourth Amendment’s Search Warrant Requirement through Electronic Procedures – Vanderbilt Law Review.
• The Post-Riley Search Warrant: Search Protocols and Particularity in Cell Phone Searches – Vanderbilt Law Review.

Also see our article, Can police in California search my car without a warrant?

---

Legal References: