Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (c. 25) – Section 115 – Requirements that must be met by warrants

Sections

Section 115Requirements that must be met by warrants

(1) A warrant under this Part must contain a provision stating whether it is a targeted equipment interference warrant or a targeted examination warrant.

(2) A warrant under this Part must be addressed—

(a)
in the case of a warrant issued under section 102 or 103, to the head of the intelligence service by whom or on whose behalf the application for the warrant was made;
(b)
in the case of a warrant issued under section 104, to the Chief of Defence Intelligence;
(c)
in the case of a warrant issued under section 106 by a law enforcement chief (or by an appropriate delegate in relation to a law enforcement chief), to a person who—
- (i)
  is an appropriate law enforcement officer in relation to the law enforcement chief, and
- (ii)
  is named or described in the warrant.

(3) In the case of a targeted equipment interference warrant which relates to a matter described in the first column of the Table below, the warrant must include the details specified in the second column.

Matter	Details to be included in the warrant
Equipment belonging to, used by or in the possession of a particular person or organisation	The name of the person or organisation or a description of the person or organisation
Equipment belonging to, used by or in the possession of persons who form a group which shares a common purpose or who carry on, or may carry on, a particular activity	A description of the purpose or activity and the name of, or a description of, as many of the persons as it is reasonably practicable to name or describe
Equipment used by or in the possession of more than one person or organisation, where the interference is for the purpose of a single investigation or operation	A description of the nature of the investigation or operation and the name of, or a description of, as many of the persons or organisations as it is reasonably practicable to name or describe
Equipment in a particular location	A description of the location
Equipment in more than one location, where the interference is for the purpose of a single investigation or operation	A description of the nature of the investigation or operation and a description of as many of the locations as it is reasonably practicable to describe
Equipment which is being, or may be, used for the purposes of a particular activity or activities of a particular description	A description of the particular activity or activities
Equipment which is being, or may be, used to test, maintain or develop capabilities relating to interference with equipment	A description of the nature of the testing, maintenance or development of capabilities
Equipment which is being, or may be, used for the training of persons who carry out, or are likely to carry out, interference with equipment	A description of the nature of the training

(4) A targeted equipment interference warrant must also describe—

(a)
the type of equipment which is to be interfered with, and
(b)
the conduct which the person to whom the warrant is addressed is authorised to take.

(5) In the case of a targeted examination warrant which relates to a matter described in the first column of the Table below, the warrant must include the details specified in the second column.

Matter	Details to be included in the warrant
A particular person or organisation	The name of the person or organisation or a description of the person or organisation
A group of persons who share a common purpose or who carry on or may carry on a particular activity	A description of the purpose or activity and the name of, or a description of, as many of the persons as it is reasonably practicable to name or describe
More than one person or organisation, where the interference is for the purpose of a single investigation or operation	A description of the nature of the investigation or operation and the name of, or a description of, as many of the persons or organisations as it is reasonably practicable to name or describe
The testing, maintenance or development of capabilities relating to the selection of protected material for examination	A description of the nature of the testing, maintenance or development of capabilities
The training of persons who carry out, or are likely to carry out, the selection of protected material for examination	A description of the nature of the training

Annotations

Commencement Information

I1 S. 115 in force at 31.5.2018 for specified purposes by S.I. 2018/652, reg. 4(m)
I2 S. 115 in force at 28.11.2018 in so far as not already in force by S.I. 2018/1246, reg. 2(e)

https://ipa.digiphile.law/article/article-115.html

Text as at 7 October 2026.

This is an unofficial convenience version of the Investigatory Powers Act 2016. It is presented “as is” without guarantee of accuracy, completeness or reliability. See the source text for the official version. This site was last updated in October 2026.