I also just realized that if the part that matches is the local filter part, then it works, thus, this one works correctly: $LDAPSEARCH -H $URI2 -b "o=translucent" "(|(employeeType=consultant)(carlicense=aaaa))" preferredLanguage > $SEARCHOUT 2>&1

But it will fail if it's an 'and' and both parts match (which was my original case). This one fails: $LDAPSEARCH -H $URI2 -b "o=translucent" "(|(employeeType=foo)(carlicense=right))" preferredLanguage > $SEARCHOUT 2>&1