Dimts / Recording business calls legally

How to record business calls legally

The rules differ by country and, in the US, by state. One habit keeps you on the right side of almost all of them: tell everyone on the call that it's recorded, before the conversation starts.

Updated October 2026. This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Check the rules where you and the people you call are.

One-party and all-party consent

In a one-party consent place, you can record a call you take part in without telling the other person. In an all-party consent place, everyone on the call has to agree. When the two people are in different places, the stricter rule is the safe one to follow.

United States

Federal law and most states are one-party consent. A minority of states require everyone's consent; California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington are the ones most often listed, and some others have partial rules. A call between a one-party state and an all-party state is usually treated under the stricter rule.

Canada

The Criminal Code allows recording a conversation you take part in. Businesses are also covered by privacy law (PIPEDA and provincial equivalents), which expects you to tell people why you're recording and what you'll do with it.

United Kingdom

Businesses may record calls for legitimate reasons, such as keeping a record of what was agreed, but UK GDPR expects them to tell people the call is recorded and why. A notice at the start of the call is the usual way.

European Union

GDPR requires a lawful basis and a clear notice. Some countries go further: in Germany, recording a private conversation without consent is a criminal offence, and Austria is similarly strict. There, get an explicit yes before recording.

The Gulf

The UAE, Saudi Arabia and their neighbours treat recording someone without permission as a serious offence. Always get explicit agreement before recording.

The simple rule that works everywhere

1. Tell everyone the call is recorded before anyone speaks.
2. Where the law asks for it, get an explicit yes, not just silence.
3. Say what the recording is for, keep it secure, and delete it when you no longer need it.
4. Let people ask for their data to be deleted.

How Dimts does it

Every recorded call starts with a spoken notice: "This call is recorded and summarized by Dimts AI." On Gulf, German and Austrian numbers, both people press 1 to agree; if they don't, the call connects without recording. Call content is encrypted at rest, you choose how long it's kept, and anyone you've called can ask for deletion at the privacy request page.