§PlainStatute

Privacy · Recording Consent

Is It Legal to Record a Call? The Rule in Each State

Whether your state lets you record a conversation you are part of, or requires everyone’s consent, plus the criminal penalties and the trap that catches interstate calls. Each cited to the statute.

6 of 50 states published. 3 verified against the official statute; the rest drafted from corroborating sources while the official portal is confirmed.Every state sits at or above the federal one-party floor. The question is whether your state adds an all-party requirement, and how harsh the penalty is.

Read this first: one-party vs all-party

Federal law is a one-party rule: if you are part of a conversation, you may record it. States can be stricter, and several are. Texas and New York follow the one-party rule, so a participant may record. California, Florida, and Pennsylvania are all-party states, where everyone must consent to record a private conversation. Illinois is all-party for private conversations but allows recording in public, after its old blanket rule was struck down and rewritten in 2014.

Two things make this high-stakes. First, the penalties are criminal, often felonies, reaching up to seven years in Pennsylvania. Second, the interstate trap: when a call crosses state lines, the stricter state’s rule can apply, so the safe move is to get everyone’s consent. The rules here are for audio; silent video is treated differently. Every figure links to the statute, and pages still pending verification say so.

Pick your state

Whether it is one-party or all-party, and the statute on each card.

C

CA
California
All-party consent
In this state
Statute§632

F

FL
Florida
All-party consent
In this state
Statute§934.03

I

IL
IllinoisDraft
All-party (private only)
In this state
Statute720 ILCS 5/14-2

N

NY
New York
One-party consent
In this state
Statute§250.00

P

PA
PennsylvaniaDraft
All-party consent
In this state
Statute§5703

T

TX
TexasDraft
One-party consent
In this state
Statute§16.02

What these pages are, and what they aren't

Each state page is a reference for whether you can record a conversation and the neutral steps to stay on the right side of the law. They are deliberately not advice for your specific situation: the expectation of privacy, the purpose of the recording, and interstate calls can all change the answer, so each page links to the statute and a way to reach a licensed attorney. This is legal information, not legal advice.