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Call recording laws by state: one-party and two-party consent
Most US states let you record a call you take part in. About a dozen require everyone on the call to agree. Here is the list, the law behind each one, and the one habit that keeps you safe in all fifty.
Updated October 2026. This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice.
One-party vs. two-party consent
Under one-party consent, you can record a call you are part of without telling the other person. Federal law (18 U.S.C. §2511) and most states work this way. Under two-party consent, also called all-party consent, everyone on the call must agree. "Two-party" is the common name, but on a three-way call all three people have to agree.
Two-party (all-party) consent states
| State | Rule for phone calls | Law and notes |
|---|---|---|
| California | All-party | Penal Code §632 (confidential conversations) and §632.7 (cellular and cordless calls). California may apply its law to calls with someone located there. |
| Connecticut | All-party for phone calls | Civil liability for recording a phone call without everyone's consent (Gen. Stat. §52-570d); criminal law is one-party. |
| Delaware | Treat as all-party | Two statutes conflict; the cautious reading is all-party. |
| Florida | All-party | Fla. Stat. §934.03. Recording without consent can be a felony. |
| Illinois | All-party | 720 ILCS 5/14-2, for private conversations. |
| Maryland | All-party | Cts. & Jud. Proc. §10-402. |
| Massachusetts | All-party | G.L. c. 272 §99 bans secret recording; open recording with notice is the safe path. |
| Michigan | Treat as all-party | The statute reads as all-party, though courts have let a participant record. Get consent to be safe. |
| Montana | All-party | Mont. Code §45-8-213, with exceptions such as public officials. |
| Nevada | All-party for phone calls | NRS 200.620, as read by the Nevada Supreme Court; in-person conversations are one-party. |
| New Hampshire | All-party | RSA 570-A:2. |
| Oregon | One-party for calls | Phone calls are one-party, but recording an in-person conversation requires telling everyone. |
| Pennsylvania | All-party | 18 Pa.C.S. §5704. |
| Washington | All-party | RCW 9.73.030. A recorded announcement at the start of the call counts as notice. |
Hawaii is one-party for calls but bans hidden recording devices in private places. Lists online range from 11 to 13 states because of the edge cases above.
One-party consent states
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, 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, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and Washington, D.C..
Calls between two states
When you are in a one-party state and the other person is in a two-party state, follow the stricter rule. Courts have applied the caller's law, the receiver's law, or both, and California has applied its own law to recordings of people located there. Since you rarely know where a mobile number is right now, the practical answer is the same for every call: tell people first.
What counts as consent
In most all-party states, a clear announcement at the start of the call ("this call is recorded"), followed by the other person staying on the line, is generally treated as consent. That's why business lines play one. Secret recording is what the strict states punish, sometimes as a felony, and it can also make the recording useless as evidence.
The habit that works in every state
- Announce the recording before the conversation starts.
- If someone objects, stop recording or end the call.
- Say what the recording is for, keep it secure, and delete it when you no longer need it.
How Dimts handles it
Every call recorded with Dimts starts with a spoken notice before anyone talks: "This call is recorded and summarized by Dimts AI." The other person hears it on every call, in every state, so you never have to remember who is where. Calling outside the US? Read our guide to recording laws in Canada, the UK, the EU and the Gulf.
Questions
How many states are two-party consent?
About 12 states require everyone's consent to record a phone call: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Michigan is often added because its statute reads that way.
Is it legal to record phone calls in California?
Only with the consent of everyone on the call. California is an all-party consent state under Penal Code §632 and §632.7. An announcement at the start of the call is the usual way to get it.
Is Texas a one-party consent state?
Yes. In Texas you can record a call you take part in without telling the other person. If they are in an all-party state such as California or Florida, follow the stricter rule.
Is Florida a two-party consent state?
Yes. Florida requires everyone's consent, and recording a call without it can be a felony under Fla. Stat. §934.03.
Is New York one-party consent?
Yes. New York allows a participant to record a call without telling the other person.
Does a recorded announcement count as consent?
In most states, yes: if everyone hears that the call is recorded and keeps talking, that is generally treated as consent. Washington's law says so explicitly.