Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Search order definition

What does Search order mean? A search order (formerly an Anton Piller order) is a court injunction requiring a respondent to allow the applicant’s solicitors to enter specified premises to search for, copy and preserve evidence, including electronic data, to prevent its concealment or destruction. In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, it arises from the court’s inherent jurisdiction and is recognised in CPR 25.1(1)(h) and practice directions (with NI equivalents). It is usually made without notice only where there is an extremely strong prima facie case, serious actual or potential damage, clear evidence the respondent holds relevant material and a real risk of destruction. Execution is...

Interim Search and Imaging Orders in Employee Competition and Confidentiality Disputes: Criteria, Safeguards and Procedure (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Employment expert

Practice notes

Search and imaging orders—overview

This Practice Note outlines the character of search orders and imaging orders, and the circumstances in which they may be deployed in disputes over employee competition and/or confidentiality. An in‑depth treatment of the principles and procedures for obtaining and serving these orders lies outside the remit of this Practice Note. For further guidance on these topics, see: Search and imaging orders—overview. Typically, a search order authorises the claimant employer to attend at the defendant’s premises and to look for and take possession of relevant documents or other property, including computers. Search orders were previously described as Anton Piller injunctions, after the claimant in the leading authority on this form of relief. While the claimant employer is not permitted to use physical force to gain entry to the defendant’s premises, a defendant who declines entry to execute the order risks a finding of contempt of court, which in suitable cases may be punishable by imprisonment. A search order can be granted in relation to a defendant’s home as well as business premises. A search order is among the most draconian remedies available to the courts. It is almost invariably granted without notice to the defendant in most applications of...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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