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.
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.
Every state in one table
Whether it is one-party or all-party, and the statute in each row.
Type a state to jump straight to its full recording consent law guide.
One-party consent (37)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Ala. Code § 13A‑11‑30(1) |
| Alaska | Alaska Stat. § 42.20.310(a)(1) |
| Arizona | Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13‑3005(A) |
| Arkansas | Ark. Code Ann. § 5‑60‑120(a) |
| Colorado | Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18‑9‑303 |
| Delaware | Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, § 2402 |
| Georgia | O.C.G.A. §16‑11‑66 |
| Hawaii | Haw. Rev. Stat. § 803‑42(b)(3)(A) |
| Idaho | Idaho Code § 18‑6702(2)(d) |
| Indiana | Ind. Code § 35‑31.5‑2‑176 |
| Iowa | Iowa Code § 727.8 |
| Kansas | K.S.A. 21‑6101(a)(1) |
| Kentucky | KRS 526.020 |
| Louisiana | La. R.S. 15:1303(C)(4) |
| Maine | 15 M.R.S. § 710 |
| Minnesota | Minn. Stat. § 626A.02 |
| Mississippi | Miss. Code Ann. § 41‑29‑531(e) |
| Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402 |
| Nebraska | Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86‑290 |
| New Jersey | N.J.S.A. 2A:156A‑4(d) |
| New Mexico | NMSA 1978, § 30‑12‑1(C) |
| New York | N.Y. Penal Law §250.00 |
| North Carolina | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A‑287(a) |
| North Dakota | N.D.C.C. § 12.1‑15‑02 |
| Ohio | Ohio Rev. Code §2933.52 |
| Oklahoma | Okla. Stat. tit. 13, § 176.4(5) |
| Rhode Island | R.I. Gen. Laws § 11‑35‑21(c)(3) |
| South Carolina | S.C. Code Ann. §17‑30‑30(C) |
| South Dakota | SDCL 23A‑35A‑20 |
| Tennessee | Tenn. Code Ann. §39‑13‑601(b)(5) |
| Texas | Tex. Penal Code §16.02 |
| Utah | Utah Code Ann. §77‑23a‑4(7)(b) |
| Vermont | State v. Geraw, 173 Vt. 350 |
| Virginia | Va. Code Ann. §19.2‑62(B)(2) |
| West Virginia | W. Va. Code §62‑1D‑3(e) |
| Wisconsin | Wis. Stat. §968.31(2)(c) |
| Wyoming | Wyo. Stat. Ann. §7‑3‑702(b)(iv) |
All-party consent (8)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| California | Cal. Penal Code §632 |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. §934.03 |
| Maryland | Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10‑402 |
| Massachusetts | M.G.L. c. 272, § 99 |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 45‑8‑213(1)(c) |
| New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 570‑A:2 |
| Pennsylvania | 18 Pa.C.S. §5703 |
| Washington | RCW 9.73.030(1) |
All-party consent (phone) (1)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 53a‑187 |
All-party (private only) (1)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| Illinois | 720 ILCS 5/14‑2 |
One-party consent in practice (contested) (1)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539c |
All-party consent for phone, one-party in person (1)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 200.620 |
One-party for phone, notice to all in person (1)
| State | Statute |
|---|---|
| Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.540 |
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.