Basic Laws To Record Phone Calls

Everyone, prior to using a phone recording device, should be aware of the laws that govern it. I will first separate the discussion into Personal and Business.

1. Personal Phone Calls
   

   All personal phone calls can be recorded if given the proper consent. Consent is defined to be either One-Party or All-Party depending on the state(s) the participants are calling from. A One-Party state allows any participant to record the phone conversation without consent of any other participants of the conversation. An All-Party state demands that all participants of the call give permission prior to recording. The states that comprise the All-Party consent are:
   

   California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.
   

   If more than one state is involved in the phone conversation and one of those states is an All-Party then all participants of the conversation must abide by that type of consent (All must consent to be able to record).
   

2. Business Phone Calls
   

   If business phone recording is accomplished by complying with the laws for personal phone calls (Observing One and All-Party consent laws) you would be compliant with federal laws. It is acceptable for a business to simply announce at the beginning of the conversation that recording could take place and it is assumed that if the listener continues into the phone conversation that he/she gives consent.
   

Federal laws for recording phone conversations will not be violated if individuals follow the One and All-Party state consent laws outlined above.

Our views should be regarded as our best effort to research the basics of phone recording legality but before you put yourself in a position to be tested for compliance of these laws please take the time to study your state and federal recording laws in detail.

References:
http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/recordcalls.html
http://www.rcfp.org/taping/states.html
http://www.rcfp.org/taping/quick.html
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002511—-000-.html

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