Privacy · Recording Consent
Is It Legal to Record a Call in Nevada?
Whether you can record a conversation in Nevada, 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 Nevada
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 |
|---|---|
| Telephone calls need everyone’s consent | NRS 200.620 bars intercepting a wire communication without one party’s consent plus an emergency that made a court order impractical. In Lane v. Allstate the court read that conjunctive "and" to bar one-party phone taping outright, even by a participant. |
| In-person recording needs only one participant | NRS 200.650 bars surreptitiously recording "any private conversation" unless authorized by one of the persons engaging in it. Being in the conversation yourself satisfies that. |
| Being on the call is not a phone defense | Lane rejected the argument that NRS 200.620 only bars a third party. The court held it applies to "any person" with "no exceptions for private parties," so recording your own call is still an unlawful intercept. |
| In-person rule protects a private conversation | NRS 200.650 reaches a "private conversation." NRS 200.620 has no privacy qualifier and reaches any wire communication, private or not. |
| When it is different | What it means |
|---|---|
| Emergency line recording with notice | Law-enforcement, fire-agency, and public-utility emergency lines may record, and outbound calls from those lines may be recorded if the agency informs the other party that the conversation is being recorded (NRS 200.620(4)). |
| Carriers and court orders | Carriers and providers acting to construct, maintain, or operate their service are exempt (NRS 200.620(2)), as are court-ordered intercepts under NRS 179.410 to 179.515. |
| One-participant authorization in person | For in-person private conversations, authorization by one participant is a complete answer under NRS 200.650. Good-faith reliance by a public utility on a written one-party request is also a defense (NRS 200.690(2)). |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps before you record a conversation in Nevada. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- For any phone call, get everyone’s consent
Because Lane reads NRS 200.620 as all-party, do not rely on being a participant. Ask each person on the line to agree on the record before you record.
- For in-person talks, one yes is enough
Under NRS 200.650 your own authorization covers an in-person private conversation. The phone rule and the in-person rule are genuinely opposite in Nevada.
- Treat interstate calls as all-party
If you or the other person is in Nevada, assume the strict phone rule applies regardless of where the other party sits. When in doubt, get consent from everyone.
- Talk to a Nevada attorney if you are accused
A category D felony charge or a civil suit under NRS 200.690 is serious. A licensed Nevada attorney can assess the phone-versus-in-person question, and the Attorney General’s Office handles statewide matters.
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.
→ Nevada 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 Nevada
Nevada is the one state in this group where the answer flips depending on whether you are holding a phone or sitting across a table, and it comes from the same statute chapter. For telephone calls, the Nevada Supreme Court held in Lane v. Allstate Ins. Co., 114 Nev. 1176 (1998) that NRS 200.620 requires every party’s consent, so recording your own call is still an unlawful intercept. For in-person private conversations the rule is the opposite. NRS 200.650 lets you record if just one participant, which can be you, authorizes it. The Lane court explained why the two sides differ. The legislature deliberately declined to copy the federal participant exception into NRS 200.620, and it treated nonconsensual recording of telephone conversations as a greater intrusion than recording conversations in person. That is why so many national charts still wrongly list Nevada as a simple one-party state. The honest statement is that Nevada is one-party by statutory text for in-person talks and all-party for telephone calls under binding Nevada Supreme Court construction. A violation is a category D felony carrying 1 to 4 years, and the person recorded can sue for at least $1,000 in liquidated damages plus punitive damages and fees. The sharpest practical trap is interstate calls, so treat any call touching Nevada as all-party.
Common questions
Can I record my own phone call in Nevada if I am on it?
No. Under Lane v. Allstate the Nevada Supreme Court read NRS 200.620 to require every party’s consent for telephone calls, so being a participant is not a defense on the phone side.
Why do so many websites say Nevada is a one-party state?
Because the bare text of NRS 200.620 reads like a one-party rule with an emergency add-on. Lane construed it as all-party for phone calls, and the in-person statute NRS 200.650 really is one-party, so charts that flatten it get it wrong.
Is recording an in-person conversation in Nevada legal if I am part of it?
Yes. NRS 200.650 lets you record a private in-person conversation when authorized by one of the participants, and your own participation counts.
I am in California calling someone in Las Vegas. Whose law applies?
Assume Nevada’s all-party phone rule applies to any call with a Nevada participant. There is no choice-of-law clause, so the safest course is to get everyone’s consent.
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.