Any person who willfully refuses to permit an inspection lawfully authorized by warrant issued pursuant to this title is guilty of a misdemeanor.
§ 1822.57.Willfully Refusing to Permit Inspection
Title 13. Inspection Warrants · Enacted 1968 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1822.57 makes it a misdemeanor for anyone to willfully refuse to permit an inspection that a warrant issued under this title lawfully authorizes.
Full Text of § 1822.57
Plain-English Summary
An inspection warrant would mean little without a consequence for ignoring it, and this section supplies that consequence. Anyone who willfully refuses to permit an inspection lawfully authorized by a warrant issued under this title is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The willfulness requirement matters: a good-faith misunderstanding about the warrant's scope isn't the same as a deliberate refusal to allow an inspection the warrant plainly authorizes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if someone refuses to allow an inspection under a valid warrant?
Willfully refusing to permit an inspection lawfully authorized by a warrant under this title is a misdemeanor.
Does an honest misunderstanding about the warrant's scope count as a violation?
The section requires a willful refusal, so a genuine mistake about what the warrant covers is different from a deliberate refusal to permit the inspection.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1968, Ch. 1097.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: refusing inspection warrant misdemeanor californiapenalty for refusing inspection warrant