Rule 3552 Verbal Authorization—Order

A judge can give verbal (spoken) permission to start recording or monitoring someone's phone calls or other private communications before any paperwork is filed. This might happen in urgent situations where there is no time to write everything up first.

However, this verbal permission comes with a condition. The person or agency that got the approval must file a written application with the court within 48 hours. If they do not file the paperwork in time, the permission to intercept communications would no longer be valid.