One-Party Consent States: Recording Laws in All 50 States

One-party consent states let you record a phone call or conversation as long as one person taking part agrees, and that person can be you. Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia follow this rule. Nine states, including California, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania, require the consent of everyone in the conversation, and five more have split or unsettled rules.

Federal law is one-party as well, so the state where the recording happens usually decides whether you need everyone’s permission. The table shows the rule for phone calls and for private in-person conversations in all 50 states and DC; the sections below explain the 14 states that do not follow the simple one-party rule.

State	Phone calls	In-person private conversations
Alabama	One party	One party
Alaska	One party	One party
Arizona	One party	One party
Arkansas	One party	One party
California	All parties	All parties
Colorado	One party	One party
Connecticut	All parties (civil law)	One party
Delaware	Conflicting statutes	Conflicting statutes
District of Columbia	One party	One party
Florida	All parties	All parties
Georgia	One party	One party
Hawaii	One party	One party; all parties for devices in a private place
Idaho	One party	One party
Illinois	All parties	All parties
Indiana	One party	One party
Iowa	One party	One party
Kansas	One party	One party
Kentucky	One party	One party
Louisiana	One party	One party
Maine	One party	One party
Maryland	All parties	All parties
Massachusetts	All parties (secret recording)	All parties (secret recording)
Michigan	Unsettled; participants may record	Unsettled; participants may record
Minnesota	One party	One party
Mississippi	One party	One party
Missouri	One party	One party
Montana	All parties	All parties (hidden devices)
Nebraska	One party	One party
Nevada	All parties	One party
New Hampshire	All parties	All parties
New Jersey	One party	One party
New Mexico	One party	One party
New York	One party	One party
North Carolina	One party	One party
North Dakota	One party	One party
Ohio	One party	One party
Oklahoma	One party	One party
Oregon	One party	All parties must be informed
Pennsylvania	All parties	All parties
Rhode Island	One party	One party
South Carolina	One party	One party
South Dakota	One party	One party
Tennessee	One party	One party
Texas	One party	One party
Utah	One party	One party
Vermont	No state statute	No state statute
Virginia	One party	One party
Washington	All parties	All parties
West Virginia	One party	One party
Wisconsin	One party	One party
Wyoming	One party	One party

What One-Party Consent Means Under Federal Law

The baseline is the federal Wiretap Act. Under 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d), a person who is not acting for the government may record a call or conversation if they are a party to it, or if one of the parties has given prior consent. The exception disappears if the recording is made to commit a crime or a tort, such as blackmail.

One-party consent has limits that are easy to miss:

• You must be a participant, or have a participant’s consent. Secretly recording a conversation you are not part of, such as leaving a phone recording in an empty room, is illegal unless a participant agreed
• Purpose still matters: a recording made to commit a crime or tort is not protected
• State law can be stricter, and when it is, the state rule applies on top of the federal one

Most state laws protect conversations where people expect privacy. A speech at a public meeting or a shouted exchange on a crowded street is generally not a private conversation, which is why the all-party states below still allow recording in many public settings.

The 9 States That Require Everyone’s Consent

These states require the consent of all parties for both phone calls and private in-person conversations. In most of them, consent does not have to be written: telling everyone at the start of the call that it is being recorded, and continuing only if nobody objects, is the standard way to comply.

1. California

Statute: Penal Code 632 · Penalty: fine up to $2,500 and up to a year in jail

California bars recording a “confidential communication” without the consent of all parties, defined as one carried on in circumstances suggesting a party wants it confined to the people taking part. Under Penal Code section 632, a first violation carries a fine of up to $2,500 per violation, up to a year in county jail, or both.

California’s rule also reaches calls from outside the state. In Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006), the California Supreme Court applied it to an Atlanta brokerage that recorded calls with California clients, even though Georgia law allowed the recordings.

2. Florida

Statute: Fla. Stat. 934.03 · Penalty: third-degree felony

Florida allows interception only when all parties to the communication have given prior consent, and a violation is a third-degree felony. The statute covers phone calls, electronic communications and oral conversations where the speakers expect privacy.

3. Illinois

Statute: 720 ILCS 5/14-2 · Penalty: felony

Illinois requires the consent of all parties to record a private conversation, meaning one in which at least one participant reasonably intended it to be private. Recording is a felony, with tougher penalties when the person recorded is a police officer, lawyer or judge carrying out official duties.

4. Maryland

Statute: Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-402 · Penalty: up to 5 years and a $10,000 fine

Maryland makes interception lawful only when all parties have given prior consent. A criminal conviction carries up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000, and the person recorded can also sue for actual and punitive damages.

5. Massachusetts

Statute: G.L. c. 272, sec. 99 · Key word: secret

Massachusetts bans secret recording, so the question is whether everyone knew, not whether everyone said yes. The state’s Supreme Judicial Court confirmed in 2021 that affirmative consent is unnecessary when all parties are aware the conversation is being recorded.

In 2020 the federal First Circuit held that the law cannot be used to stop people from secretly recording police officers doing their jobs in public places.

6. Montana

Statute: Mont. Code 45-8-213 · Key word: hidden device

Montana prohibits recording a conversation with a hidden electronic or mechanical device without the knowledge of all parties. The law exempts recordings of public officials and employees doing their jobs, people speaking at public meetings, and recordings where one party has given a warning that the conversation is being recorded.

7. New Hampshire

Statute: RSA 570-A:2 · Penalty: felony for recording without consent

New Hampshire requires the consent of all parties before a call or private conversation is recorded, and recording without it can be charged as a felony. It is one of the stricter states, applying the rule to telephone calls and in-person conversations alike.

8. Pennsylvania

Statute: 18 Pa.C.S. 5704(4) · Penalty: felony, up to 7 years and $15,000

Pennsylvania requires that all parties give prior consent, and illegal recording is a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Its courts have found consent implied when the other person knew, or reasonably should have known, the call was being recorded.

9. Washington

Statute: RCW 9.73.030 · Consent by announcement: yes

Washington bars recording a private communication without first obtaining the consent of all participants. Under RCW 9.73.030, consent is obtained when one party announces to everyone, in any reasonably effective manner, that the conversation is about to be recorded, and the announcement itself has to be captured on the recording.

Connecticut, Nevada and Oregon Split Calls From Conversations

Three states apply one rule to phone calls and a different one to people talking face to face.

10. Connecticut: All-Party for Calls, One-Party in Person

Connecticut’s civil statute makes anyone who records a phone call liable for damages unless all parties consent in writing or on the recording, or a warning tone or announcement is used. Its criminal eavesdropping law needs only one participant’s consent for in-person conversations.

11. Nevada: All-Party for Calls, One-Party in Person

Nevada requires the consent of all parties to record telephone calls under NRS 200.620, and the Nevada Supreme Court in Lane v. Allstate held that the statute’s emergency exception is mainly for law enforcement. For in-person conversations, NRS 200.650 needs only one party’s authorization.

12. Oregon: One-Party for Calls, Everyone Informed in Person

Oregon reverses Nevada’s pattern. A call can be recorded with one participant’s consent, but an in-person conversation can be recorded only if all participants are specifically informed that it is being recorded.

Delaware and Michigan Remain Unsettled

13. Delaware: Two Statutes That Disagree

Delaware’s wiretapping law permits recording with the consent of one party, while its privacy law requires the consent of all parties. A federal court has held that a participant may record without the others’ consent, but with both statutes carrying penalties, getting everyone’s agreement is the cautious course.

14. Michigan: An All-Party Statute With a Participant Exception

Michigan’s eavesdropping statute requires the consent of all parties, but the Michigan Court of Appeals held in Sullivan v. Gray (1982) that a participant does not need anyone else’s consent to record their own conversation. Federal courts have followed that reading, though the Michigan Supreme Court has not ruled on it.

Vermont sits apart from both groups. It has no state statute on recording conversations at all, so the federal one-party rule is the baseline there. Hawaii is one-party for calls and conversations, but installing a recording device in a private place needs the consent of everyone entitled to privacy there.

Recording a Call Across State Lines

When the people on a call are in different states, assume the stricter state’s law applies. The Kearney case shows why: a recording that was legal where it was made still broke California law because the person on the other end was in California.

The simplest safe practice works everywhere:

• Announce the recording at the start of the call, before anything substantive is said
• Capture the announcement on the recording itself, which Washington requires
• Let anyone who objects end the call; continuing after notice is how implied consent is usually shown
• Keep the recording private unless you are sure sharing it is lawful, since some statutes also penalize disclosure

Recording at Work, on Video Calls and in the Car

The same rules cover workplace conversations. Secretly recording a meeting with a manager in an all-party state can be a crime even when the recording captures something useful, and it can give an employer a separate reason to discipline you. Whether a dismissal itself is lawful is a different question, covered in our guide to employment at will by state.

Video-meeting apps usually show participants a notice when recording starts, and in Washington an announcement made to everyone counts as consent under the statute. The notice does not change anything for a third person listening in off camera, whichever of the free VoIP services you are using.

Silent video falls outside most wiretap statutes, which are written around sound. Cabin audio does not, so a dash cam recording passengers’ conversations raises the same consent question, and some models in our dash cam comparison let you mute the microphone by voice command.

This is a summary of statutes and court decisions, not legal advice, and recording laws change. If a recording matters to a lawsuit, a custody case or a job, ask a lawyer licensed in the state involved before you rely on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which states are two-party consent states?

California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington require everyone’s consent for calls and private conversations. Connecticut and Nevada require it for phone calls, Oregon for in-person conversations, and Delaware and Michigan are unsettled.

Is Texas a one-party consent state?

Yes. Under Texas Penal Code section 16.02, a person who is a party to an in-person, telephone or electronic conversation, or who has one party’s consent, can lawfully record it. Recording a conversation you are not part of without consent is a felony there.

Can I record a phone call without telling the other person?

In a one-party consent state, yes, if you are on the call and are not recording to commit a crime or tort. If the other person is in an all-party state such as California or Florida, tell them first, because that state’s law may apply to the call.

Does “this call may be recorded” count as consent?

Usually, if you stay on the line. Washington’s statute treats an announcement to all parties as consent, Connecticut accepts a recorded warning, and Pennsylvania courts have found consent implied when a caller knew or should have known about the recording.

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