Can my house be searched if nobody is home.

There is no requirement that a resident of a home must be present when police execute a search warrant. The warrant provides police with the authority to enter the premises and further permission is not needed.If a resident of the home is present when police execute the search warrant, police must provide the resident with a copy of the warrant and a list of the items seized during the search. If no one is home, police must leave both documents at the residence.In Minnesota, where you are from, unless the warrant specifically authorizes a night-time search, the warrant must be executed between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm.  Judges should only authorize a search to be conducted after 8:00 pm if the affidavit in support of the warrant contains facts showing a  nighttime search is necessary to prevent the loss, destruction or removal of evidence, or protect the officers conducting the search or the public.Since you arrived home at night, you might examine the warrant and list of items seized to see they include the time the search was conducted, and whether a nighttime search was authorized. Jeralyn Merritt, Ask a Lawyer Panelist Since 1998.