Under what condition is knock-and-announce not required when executing a search warrant?

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Knock-and-announce has an important exception. While officers usually must knock and announce their presence before entering with a search warrant, they may skip that step if they have a reasonable belief that announcing would be dangerous, futile, or would inhibit the investigation. This is about balancing safety and effectiveness: if announcing could put officers or residents at risk, or would allow suspects to destroy evidence or flee, the no-announce entry is permitted. Probable cause by itself doesn’t remove the requirement, and consent from the occupant would take the search outside the warrant framework, not just sidestep the knock-and-announce rule. An expired warrant, on the other hand, isn’t authority for a search at all.