Call Recording Laws by State

Which states are two-party (all-party) consent states?

11 states require every party’s consent, or a clear notice, before a phone call is recorded: California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. “Two-party” is the older name; the statutes say all parties, so a three-way call needs all three.

• California

  Cal. Penal Code §§ 632, 632.7

• Connecticut

  Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570d

• Florida

  Fla. Stat. § 934.03(2)(d)

• Illinois

  720 ILCS 5/14-2(a)(2)

• Maryland

  Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402(c)(3)

• Massachusetts

  Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 99

• Montana

  Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(1)(c)

• Nevada

  Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.620

• New Hampshire

  N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 570-A:2

• Pennsylvania

  18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5704(4)

• Washington

  Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.030

Why some lists say 11, 12 or 13

The disagreement comes from 2 states whose own laws point both ways, Delaware and Michigan, and from a few states with a different rule for in-person conversations than for calls. This page counts a state as all-party only when the statute or the state’s highest court says so for phone calls, and marks Delaware and Michigan as conflicting. For a business, the practical answer is the same: play a notice.

One-party consent states

In 37 states and the District of Columbia, a person on the call can record it without telling anyone else, as long as the recording is not made to commit a crime or tort. Most of these statutes copy the federal wording; Vermont has no statute, so federal law sets the rule there.

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• Colorado
• District of Columbia
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nebraska
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

One-party consent decides whether you may record. It does not decide whether the caller is in one of the 11 all-party states, which is why businesses in one-party states still announce recording.

Recording calls across state lines

There is no single federal rule for which state’s law applies when the business and the caller are in different states. Courts decide it case by case, and they have not always agreed.

Because the answer can turn on which court hears the case, the safe practice is to follow the stricter of the two states. Most businesses cannot know where a caller is, since a mobile number keeps its area code when people move or travel, so the simplest way to follow the stricter rule is to announce recording on every call.

How businesses and AI receptionists handle consent

The common approach is a short notice at the very start of the call, before the caller shares anything, with the recording already running so the notice is captured. Several all-party statutes and courts treat a clear notice, followed by the caller staying on the line, as enough:

• Washington treats consent as obtained once one party announces the recording to everyone in a reasonably effective way, and requires the announcement itself to be recorded (Wash. Rev. Code § 9.73.030(3)).
• Connecticut allows recording that is preceded by a verbal notice recorded at the beginning of the call (Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570d).
• Montana exempts people given warning of the recording (Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(2)).
• California’s Supreme Court said in Kearney that a business which adequately advises all parties at the outset of the call would not violate Cal. Penal Code § 632.
• Pennsylvania has a narrow exception for telephone customer-service and marketing businesses that record on one party’s consent for training or quality control only (18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 5704(15)).

Not every state spells this out, and the rules above describe a notice given on the call itself, so say it on the call, in plain words. When you call a client back, ask and wait for a yes. If a caller objects, offer to continue without recording or to have a person call back.

1. 01

   Put the notice in your greeting

   The first thing every caller hears is the easiest place for one sentence about recording. Write the greeting and the notice together so the wording matches.

   Write a voicemail greeting →

2. 02

   Check how your AI receptionist opens the call

   If an AI receptionist answers and the call is recorded, its opening line is your notice. Make it say so before the caller gives any details.

   See the AI receptionist →

3. 03

   Cover after-hours calls the same way

   An after-hours service answering from another state is still on the same call. The notice should play on those calls too.

   After-hours answering →