Privacy · Recording Consent
Is It Legal to Record a Call in Hawaii?
Whether you can record a conversation in Hawaii, 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 Hawaii
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 or prior consent | Section 803-42(b)(3)(A) is a party-status safe harbor for private actors. Recording is lawful when you are a party to the communication, or when one party gave prior consent. |
| Phone, in-person, and electronic covered | The chapter governs "wire, oral, or electronic communication" throughout, so telephone, in-person, and electronic communications are all covered. |
| Written as a private-actor safe harbor | The one-party rule is framed as an exemption for a person "not acting under color of law." Government recording runs through the separate court-order machinery in §§ 803-44 to 803-46. |
| Criminal or tortious purpose defeats it | The safe harbor is lost if the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of Hawaii. |
| When it is different | What it means |
|---|---|
| Party or prior consent | Being a party, or a party's prior consent, takes a private actor's recording outside the offense under § 803-42(b)(3)(A). |
| Publicly audible sounds | The device-installation provision in § 803-42(b)(3)(B) turns on a "private place," so using a device outside a private place to pick up sounds that would ordinarily be audible outside is not the intrusion the statute targets. |
| Silent video | Section 803-42 governs wire, oral, and electronic communications. Visual surveillance in private places is addressed separately through HRS § 711-1111, not this section. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps before you record a conversation in Hawaii. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Confirm you are a party
If you take part in the Hawaii call or conversation, you are a party and your consent is enough. You do not have to tell the others.
- Keep your purpose lawful
The party-consent safe harbor disappears if you record to commit a criminal or tortious act under federal or Hawaii law. Recording for an unlawful purpose is not protected.
- Know the strong civil remedy
If you were recorded illegally, § 803-48 allows statutory damages of the greater of $100 a day or $10,000, well above the $1,000 floor most states use. Preserve your evidence.
- Talk to a Hawaii attorney if you are accused
Illegal interception is a class C felony. A licensed Hawaii attorney can assess the party and purpose questions. The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General 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.
→ Hawaii Department of the Attorney GeneralThis 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 Hawaii
Hawaii pairs an ordinary one-party consent rule with an extraordinary civil remedy. On the consent question, HRS § 803-42(b)(3)(A) makes it lawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a communication when the person is a party or when one party gave prior consent, so recording your own call is fine. What sets Hawaii apart is the money: § 803-48 lets a person recorded illegally recover statutory damages of the greater of $100 a day or $10,000, ten times the $1,000 floor most states use, plus punitive damages and attorney fees. Structurally, Hawaii writes its one-party rule as a safe harbor for private actors "not acting under color of law," so government recording runs through the separate court-order machinery in §§ 803-44 to 803-46 rather than the consent exemption. Hawaii also folds pen registers, trap-and-trace devices, and GPS mobile tracking devices into the same section as eavesdropping, so § 803-42 governs location tracking as well as listening. The safe harbor has limits. It disappears if the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act, though that carve-out reaches only violations of federal or Hawaii law, narrower than Delaware's reach into other states' laws. Silent video is handled outside this section, through the violation-of-privacy statute HRS § 711-1111.
Common questions
Can I record my own phone call in Hawaii without telling the other person?
Yes. Hawaii is a one-party state, and § 803-42(b)(3)(A) makes recording lawful when you are a party to the communication. As a participant you supply the needed consent, so notice is not required.
How much can I sue for if someone recorded me illegally in Hawaii?
Under § 803-48 you may recover the greater of actual damages plus the violator's profits, or statutory damages of the greater of $100 a day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and a reasonable attorney's fee. The $10,000 minimum is unusually high.
Is it legal to put a GPS tracker on someone's car in Hawaii?
Section 803-42 folds mobile tracking devices into the eavesdropping chapter, allowing installation by or with the consent of the owner of the property on which the device is installed. Tracking a car you do not own without consent is risky.
Can I record a conversation happening inside a house from outside it?
Section 803-42(b)(3)(B) targets using a device outside a private place to intercept sounds that would not ordinarily be audible outside. Straining to capture sounds inside a home that you could not otherwise hear is the conduct the statute treats as an intrusion.
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.