Privacy · Recording Consent
Is It Legal to Record a Call in Delaware?
Whether you can record a conversation in Delaware, whether everyone must consent, the exceptions, the criminal penalty, and the trap that catches interstate calls. Cited to the statute.
The rules and exceptions in Delaware
Whose consent you need, when the rule does not apply, and the penalty for getting it wrong.
| The rule in this state | What it means |
|---|---|
| Party consent under the wiretap chapter | Section 2402(c)(4) makes it lawful for a person to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication where the person is a party, or where a party gave prior consent, so long as the purpose is not criminal or tortious. |
| A second statute reads all-party | Section 1335(a)(4) makes it an offense to intercept "without the consent of all parties" a message by telephone or "other means of communicating privately, including private conversation." Read literally it is an all-party rule, and it has not been repealed. |
| Phone, in-person, and electronic covered | Chapter 24 covers "wire, oral or electronic communication," so phone, in-person, and electronic communications are all within the wiretap chapter that carries the party-consent safe harbor. |
| Extraterritorial criminal-purpose limit | The party-consent safe harbor is lost if the recording is made for a purpose that is criminal or tortious under the laws of the United States, "this State or any other state," which is broader than the federal model. |
| When it is different | What it means |
|---|---|
| Party or prior consent | Under § 2402(c)(4), being a party or having a party's prior consent takes the recording outside the wiretap offense, unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. |
| Law enforcement and body wires | Section 2402(c)(5) through (c)(7) exempt enumerated law enforcement oral interceptions, emergency communications centers, and body wires worn by or at the direction of law enforcement where the wearer is a party. |
| Publicly accessible communications | Section 2402(c)(8) exempts electronic communications readily accessible to the general public, public-safety and police or fire radio, amateur bands, and marine and aeronautical systems. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps before you record a conversation in Delaware. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Get consent for private conversations
Because Delaware's two statutes conflict, the safest course is to obtain consent before recording a private conversation, even though the wiretap chapter treats being a party as enough.
- Never plant a device on premises you do not control
Breaking and entering to place or remove eavesdropping equipment is a class C felony carrying up to fifteen years, far harsher than the interception itself.
- Watch the criminal-purpose limit
The party-consent safe harbor disappears if you record for a purpose that is criminal or tortious under any state's law, not just Delaware's. Keep your purpose lawful.
- Talk to a Delaware attorney if you are accused
The interaction between § 2402 and § 1335 is genuinely unsettled. A licensed Delaware attorney can assess your exposure. The Delaware Department of Justice can point you to resources.
Illegal recording can be a felony. If you have been recorded without consent, or are accused of it, this resource can connect you with a licensed attorney.
→ Delaware Department of JusticeThis is general legal information, not legal advice. The expectation of privacy, the purpose of a recording, and interstate calls can change the answer, so confirm your situation with a licensed attorney.
What people get wrong about recording in Delaware
Delaware has two statutes that answer the same question differently, and it never fixed them. The comprehensive wiretap chapter, 11 Del. C. § 2402(c)(4), expressly declares it lawful to intercept a communication "where the person is a party," a clean one-party rule. But an older privacy statute, 11 Del. C. § 1335(a)(4), still makes it an offense to intercept "without the consent of all parties" a message by telephone or other means of communicating privately, including private conversation. The later, more specific, and far more detailed wiretap chapter is the one practitioners and courts rely on, and it is the chapter that carries the civil remedy and the court-order procedure, which is why Delaware is generally listed as one-party. Yet § 1335(a)(4) has not been repealed and remains enforceable text, so Delaware should not be presented as unambiguously one-party without naming it. Delaware also punishes the physical act of planting a bug far more harshly than the recording: breaking and entering to place eavesdropping equipment is a class C felony carrying up to fifteen years, versus five years for the interception itself. And § 1335 sweeps in conduct most wiretap statutes ignore entirely, including putting a GPS tracker on someone else's car, which is a class A misdemeanor unless you are law enforcement acting lawfully or a parent tracking your own minor child.
Common questions
Is Delaware a one-party or all-party consent state, and why do two statutes disagree?
Can I record my own phone call in Delaware, and could I still be charged under § 1335?
The wiretap chapter makes recording your own call lawful. Because § 1335(a)(4) still reads all-party and remains on the books, the conservative practice is to get consent for a private conversation to avoid any argument under that statute.
How much can I recover if someone illegally recorded me in Delaware?
Under § 2409(a) you may recover actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages of $100 a day or $1,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and a reasonable attorney's fee and litigation costs.
Is it legal to put a GPS tracker on a spouse's or employee's car in Delaware?
Generally no. Section 1335(a)(8) bans installing an electronic tracking device on a motor vehicle without the owner's consent, a class A misdemeanor, with exceptions only for lawful law enforcement use and a parent tracking a minor child.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.