Privacy · Recording Consent
Is It Legal to Record a Call in Vermont?
Whether you can record a conversation in Vermont, 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 Vermont
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 |
|---|---|
| There is no Vermont recording statute | Vermont is the only state that never enacted a wiretapping or eavesdropping law. The one-party label is borrowed from the federal floor, 18 U.S.C. §2511(2)(d), which permits a participant to record. |
| Federal law covers the communications | Because there is no state statute, the federal Wiretap Act governs wire, oral, and electronic communications in Vermont. A participant, or someone with one party’s consent, may record under it. |
| A constitutional overlay protects the home | Under Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution, the State may not conduct warrantless secret electronic recording of a conversation inside a person’s home. State v. Blow and State v. Geraw suppress evidence gathered that way. |
| The line is drawn by place | Blow and Geraw protect the kitchen table, while State v. Brooks, decided the same day as Blow, held a conversation in a public parking lot carries no Article 11 protection. Location, not subjective expectation, controls. |
| When it is different | What it means |
|---|---|
| Federal one-party consent | A party to the communication, or anyone with one party’s prior consent, may record under federal law, subject to the criminal-or-tortious-purpose carve-out in 18 U.S.C. §2511(2)(d). |
| The Article 11 rule binds the State, not neighbors | The constitutional protection constrains government actors and requires a warrant for in-home electronic monitoring. No Vermont case has extended it to private citizens, so that reach is genuinely unsettled. |
| Intimate-area recording is a separate crime | Recording of intimate areas or sexual activity is covered by Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, §2605 (voyeurism). Ordinary silent video is not otherwise regulated. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps before you record a conversation in Vermont. This is legal information, not legal advice.
- Treat Vermont as one-party by default
With no state statute, the federal one-party rule governs, so a participant may record. Do not assume Vermont is unregulated, because federal law and the Article 11 cases still apply.
- Be extra careful recording inside a home
The Article 11 cases show how seriously Vermont treats in-home conversations. Even though those cases bind the State, the safest course near the home is to get consent.
- Get consent on cross-state calls
If the other participant is in an all-party state such as Massachusetts, that state’s law can reach you. Asking everyone first removes the exposure.
- Talk to a Vermont attorney if you are involved
Because the rules come from federal law and state constitutional cases rather than a statute, a licensed Vermont attorney is especially valuable. The Vermont Attorney General handles consumer and civil-rights 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.
→ Vermont 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 Vermont
Vermont is the only U.S. state with no wiretapping or eavesdropping statute. Every other state modeled one on the federal Wiretap Act, and Vermont simply never did, which is why national charts that list it as a "one-party consent state" are misleading in two directions. The one-party label is borrowed from the federal floor, 18 U.S.C. §2511(2)(d), not from any Vermont law. And that label actually understates the protection Vermonters have, because the rule they live under comes from a 1991 to 2002 trilogy of Vermont Supreme Court cases interpreting Article 11 of the state constitution. In State v. Blow the court held that warrantless electronic participant monitoring conducted in a home offends the core values of Article 11, and in State v. Geraw it applied that to known officers invited to a defendant’s kitchen table. State v. Brooks, decided the same day as Blow, reached the opposite result for a conversation in a public parking lot, so the Vermont line is drawn by place rather than by the speaker’s subjective expectation. The catch is that these cases constrain the State and produce suppression of evidence, not damages, and no Vermont case has extended the rule to private neighbors. So Vermont is simultaneously the least regulated state by statute and one of the more protective by constitution, at least for conversations in the home against the government. This is the field in the region most likely to change, because bills to fill the statutory gap surface periodically.
Common questions
Is it legal to record a conversation in Vermont?
There is no Vermont recording statute, so the federal one-party rule applies. A participant may record a conversation they are part of under 18 U.S.C. §2511(2)(d).
If Vermont has no law, can the police secretly record me in my house?
No. Under State v. Geraw and State v. Blow, Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution requires a warrant for warrantless in-home electronic monitoring by the State.
Does the Article 11 rule stop my neighbor, or only the police?
No Vermont case has extended it to private parties, so that reach is genuinely unsettled. The cases so far all involve government actors and produce suppression of evidence.
Can I sue someone in Vermont for recording me?
Not under a state wiretap statute, because there is not one. Your routes are the federal claim under 18 U.S.C. §2520 and common-law invasion of privacy.
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.