Do You Have to Tell People You Are Recording? (2026 State-by-State Guide)

It depends where you are. In about 38 states plus Washington DC, and under federal law, you only need your own consent to record a conversation you are part of, so you do not legally have to tell the other people (this is called one-party consent). In about 11 to 12 states, everyone on the conversation must agree first (all-party consent, often loosely called two-party consent), so you do have to tell people and get their agreement. Because a single call can mix people from different states, the rule that keeps you safe everywhere is the same: tell people you are recording and get their consent.

The 30-second answer

Whether you must tell people comes down to which consent model applies to the people on your conversation:

• One-party consent (federal default and ~38 states + DC). Only one person has to agree, and that person can be you. If you are a participant, you can usually record without telling the others. Disclosure is still smart, but not legally required.
• All-party consent (~11-12 states). Everyone must agree before you record. Here you legally must tell people and get their consent first.

The catch is that you often cannot be sure which states everyone is sitting in, especially on a phone or video call. So the practical answer collapses to one habit that is legal under both models: disclose the recording and get a clear yes. It costs about ten seconds and it is also what builds trust.

38 + DC

states where you only need your own consent (one-party)

11

states where everyone must consent (all-party / two-party)

3

disputed states best treated as all-party

One-party vs all-party (two-party) consent, in plain English

Almost the entire question is figuring out which of these two models applies to the people in your conversation.

One-party consent

• Only one participant must agree to the recording.
• That one party can be you, so you may usually record a conversation you are part of without telling the others.
• This is the federal default under 18 U.S.C. 2511 and the rule in about 38 states plus DC.
• You still cannot record a conversation you are not part of (that is illegal wiretapping everywhere).
• Telling people is still smart for trust, even when not legally required.

All-party (two-party) consent

• Every participant must agree before recording begins, not just two.
• If even one person has not consented, recording a private conversation can be unlawful.
• Applies in a strict minority of states, several of them large (California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington).
• Consent can be express (a clear yes) or, in some states, implied by continuing to talk after a clear notice.
• When in doubt about anyone's location, follow this standard and tell everyone.

Find your state instantly: all 50 states plus DC

This is the part you came for. The table below lists every U.S. state plus Washington DC, alphabetically, so you can jump straight to yours. Use Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on Mac) and type your state name to land on it in one second.

Read the Rule column first. If it says one-party, you usually do not have to tell people (though you still should). If it says all-party, you legally must tell everyone and get consent. Disputed states have conflicting statutes or court rulings and are safest treated as all-party. The federal floor (18 U.S.C. 2511) is one-party, but a stricter state law still controls any conversation that touches that state.

State / jurisdiction	Have to tell people?	Rule (2026)	Key statute / note
Federal	No (if you are a party)	One-party	18 U.S.C. 2511; floor for interstate calls, states may be stricter
Alabama	No	One-party	Ala. Code 13A-11-30
Alaska	No	One-party	One-party participant exception
Arizona	No	One-party	Ariz. Rev. Stat. 13-3005
Arkansas	No	One-party	Ark. Code 5-60-120
California	Yes	All-party	Cal. Penal Code 632; statutory damages per violation
Colorado	No	One-party	Colo. Rev. Stat. 18-9-303
Connecticut	Yes	All-party	Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-570d; stricter for in-person, criminal one-party
Delaware	Treat as yes	Disputed	Wiretap statute one-party, privacy statute reads all-party; treat as all-party
Florida	Yes	All-party	Fla. Stat. 934.03; private conversations
Georgia	No	One-party	Ga. Code 16-11-66
Hawaii	No	One-party	Haw. Rev. Stat. 803-42
Idaho	No	One-party	Idaho Code 18-6702
Illinois	Yes	All-party	720 ILCS 5/14-2; eavesdropping statute, strict enforcement
Indiana	No	One-party	Ind. Code 35-33.5
Iowa	No	One-party	Iowa Code 808B.2
Kansas	No	One-party	Kan. Stat. 21-6101
Kentucky	No	One-party	Ky. Rev. Stat. 526.010
Louisiana	No	One-party	La. Rev. Stat. 15:1303
Maine	No	One-party	15 M.R.S. 709-712
Maryland	Yes	All-party	Md. Code Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-402; the Linda Tripp case state
Massachusetts	Yes	All-party	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272 99; among the strictest, bans secret recording broadly
Michigan	Treat as yes	Disputed	Statute reads all-party, case law lets a participant record; treat as all-party
Minnesota	No	One-party	Minn. Stat. 626A.02
Mississippi	No	One-party	Miss. Code 41-29-531
Missouri	No	One-party	Mo. Rev. Stat. 542.402
Montana	Yes	All-party	Mont. Code 45-8-213; requires notice to all parties
Nebraska	No	One-party	Neb. Rev. Stat. 86-290
Nevada	Treat as yes	Disputed	Statute one-party, NV Supreme Court read phone calls as all-party; treat as all-party
New Hampshire	Yes	All-party	N.H. Rev. Stat. 570-A:2; criminal exposure for non-consensual recording
New Jersey	No	One-party	N.J. Stat. 2A:156A-4
New Mexico	No	One-party	N.M. Stat. 30-12-1
New York	No	One-party	N.Y. Penal Law 250.00; S5077 (2025) added a civil right of action
North Carolina	No	One-party	N.C. Gen. Stat. 15A-287
North Dakota	No	One-party	N.D. Cent. Code 12.1-15-02
Ohio	No	One-party	Ohio Rev. Code 2933.52
Oklahoma	No	One-party	Okla. Stat. tit. 13 176.4
Oregon	Yes (in-person)	All-party (in-person)	Or. Rev. Stat. 165.540; one-party for some phone calls, treat as all-party
Pennsylvania	Yes	All-party	18 Pa. C.S. 5703-5704; Wiretap Act, notable case law
Rhode Island	No	One-party	R.I. Gen. Laws 11-35-21
South Carolina	No	One-party	S.C. Code 17-30-30
South Dakota	No	One-party	S.D. Codified Laws 23A-35A-20
Tennessee	No	One-party	Tenn. Code 39-13-601
Texas	No	One-party	Tex. Penal Code 16.02
Utah	No	One-party	Utah Code 77-23a-4
Vermont	No (defaults to federal)	One-party	No state wiretap statute; courts apply federal one-party rule
Virginia	No	One-party	Va. Code 19.2-62
Washington	Yes	All-party	Wash. Rev. Code 9.73.030; consent of all parties
Washington DC	No	One-party	D.C. Code 23-542
West Virginia	No	One-party	W. Va. Code 62-1D-3
Wisconsin	No	One-party	Wis. Stat. 968.31
Wyoming	No	One-party	Wyo. Stat. 7-3-702

The interstate rule: when people are in different states

This is the edge case that trips people up most, because it can flip your answer even if your own state is one-party. If the people on a call are in different states, you generally have to satisfy the stricter state's law.

Say you are in Texas (one-party) and you call someone in California (all-party). Texas alone would let you record without telling them, but California's all-party rule is in play because the other person is there, so the safe and legal move is to get everyone's consent. Some courts and statutes apply the law of the state where the recording device is, others where the person being recorded is, and the rules are not perfectly settled, which is the whole reason the conservative answer is to follow the strictest applicable rule.

Practically, you almost never know exactly where the other person is physically sitting, especially on a mobile phone or a video call. So treat any cross-state conversation as all-party: announce the recording and get a clear yes. That one habit removes the entire which-state-controls puzzle.

What changed recently (2025-2026)

Recording law moves, and a stale guide is a dangerous guide. The big-picture rule (one-party federal floor, all-party minority) has held steady, but a few shifts are worth knowing in 2026:

• New York added a civil right of action (S5077, 2025). New York is still a one-party-consent state, but the legislature created a clearer path for someone unlawfully recorded to sue for damages. The takeaway is not that disclosure is now required between participants, it is that the downside of an unlawful recording (recording a conversation you are not part of) got sharper.
• Federal courts keep expanding the right to record police. Multiple circuits have reaffirmed a First Amendment right to openly record on-duty officers in public, and some states passed laws barring officers from ordering bystanders to stop recording. Consent statutes do not block this kind of open public recording.
• AI notetaker disclosure is the new frontier. Several states and regulators are scrutinizing always-on AI assistants and recording bots, and some platforms now show recording banners by default. None of these banners legally replace consent in an all-party state. Treat platform notices as a courtesy, not as the thing that satisfies the law.
• The disputed states stayed disputed. Delaware, Michigan, and Nevada still have the same statute-versus-case-law tension. Nothing in 2025-2026 resolved them, so keep treating them as all-party.

The pattern across all of these is the same: enforcement and civil exposure are trending up, never down. That makes the disclose-and-confirm habit a better bet every year, not a worse one.

Does it matter whether it is a phone call, in person, or video?

The legal models above apply across formats, but the practical details and the statutes differ. Here is how the duty to tell people plays out across the situations people actually search for.

Situation	Do you have to tell people?	What to know
Phone call	Depends; follow the stricter state on the line	Cross-state calls are the classic trap. Assume all-party if you do not know where the other person is.
In-person conversation	Depends on the state where it happens	All-party states generally bar secretly recording a private in-person conversation. Public places with no expectation of privacy are different.
Video call (Zoom, Meet, Teams)	Often yes, because participants are usually in many states	Treated like any private conversation. Mixed-state calls push you toward all-party. The platform chime is a courtesy, not consent.
Workplace recording	Often yes, plus company policy	Even where the law allows it, your employer can ban it. A legal recording can still get you disciplined or fired.
Public officials / police (in public)	Generally no consent needed to record openly	The First Amendment broadly protects recording on-duty police in public. Do not interfere; secret or private contexts differ.
Public spaces generally	Usually no, for audio with no privacy expectation	A conversation in a crowded public place often has no reasonable expectation of privacy. Video has separate voyeurism rules.

Audio vs video is a separate question

There is an extra wrinkle worth knowing: the consent rules above are mostly about audio (wiretapping and eavesdropping statutes). Silent video recording is often governed by separate voyeurism and surveillance laws that turn on whether the person had a reasonable expectation of privacy, not on one-party vs all-party. A video call that captures voices triggers the audio consent rules; a silent security camera in a public lobby is a different legal lane. When your recording has sound, default to the consent rules in this guide.

Recording at work

Workplace recording deserves its own flag because two layers apply. First, the state consent law (one-party vs all-party). Second, your employer's policy, which can prohibit recording even where the law allows it. A recording can be perfectly legal and still get you fired for breaking company rules. One narrow protection: under the National Labor Relations Act, the NLRB has at times protected employees recording to document unsafe conditions or discuss wages and working conditions, but this is fact-specific and contested. The safe play at work is to check the consent law, check the policy, and disclose.

The penalties for getting it wrong

This is the part most "it depends" answers skip, and it is the reason the rule matters. Recording someone without the consent the law requires can carry both criminal and civil consequences.

Penalty type	What you can face	Notes
Federal criminal	Fines and up to 5 years in prison	Federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. 2511, for illegal interception
Federal civil	Actual damages, statutory damages, attorney fees	The recorded person can sue you
State criminal	Misdemeanor to felony, varies by state	California, Florida, Illinois, and others impose their own criminal liability
State civil damages	Statutory damages per violation	In all-party states this can stack across each person on a long call
Evidence thrown out	Recording ruled inadmissible	A secret recording can be both a crime and useless for its purpose
Employment / contract	Discipline, firing, breach claims	Even a legal recording can violate a policy, NDA, or contract

Should you tell people even when you are not legally required to?

Yes. In a one-party state where the law lets you stay quiet, there are still strong reasons to disclose:

• Trust. Discovering later that they were recorded without knowing makes people feel deceived, even when it was technically legal. That damage outlives the meeting.
• Workplace policy. Your employer may require disclosure regardless of the law, and a lawful recording can still get you in trouble internally.
• Better conversations. When people know a record is being kept, they often speak more clearly and stay on topic.
• Cleaner sharing later. If you plan to share the transcript or summary, disclosing upfront avoids awkward questions about how the recording came to exist.

Legality is the floor, not the goal.

How to tell people you are recording

Good disclosure is short, upfront, and gives a genuine chance to object. The pattern is the same everywhere.

1. 1

   Say it before substance

   Announce the recording at the very start, before anyone shares anything meaningful.

2. 2

   State the what and why

   "I am recording this meeting and using a notetaker to capture an accurate transcript and summary."

3. 3

   Say how it will be used

   Who will see the notes, where they are stored, and how long you keep them.

4. 4

   Invite objections

   "Let me know if you would prefer I not record, or want anything kept off the record."

5. 5

   Pause briefly

   Give people a real moment to respond before you continue. Continuing to talk after a clear notice can itself count as consent in many states.

For recurring meetings, add a line to the calendar invite too, so the disclosure is never a surprise on the call.

Consent scripts you can paste in

You do not need legal language, just a clear, friendly sentence. Pick one.

• Short verbal (start of call): "Quick heads-up, I am recording this meeting and using a notetaker to capture the transcript and notes. Everyone okay with that? Great, thank you."
• Formal verbal (sensitive or external meeting): "Before we begin, I would like to record this meeting for accurate notes. It will be stored securely and shared only with the people on this call. Does anyone object? Hearing none, I will start recording now."
• Calendar invite line: "Note: this meeting will be recorded for notes and shared with attendees. Let me know in advance if you have any concerns."
• Chat message (virtual meeting): "FYI, I am recording today's call for notes. Please say so now if you would prefer I not record."

Does the AI notetaker count as telling people?

A common question is whether the notetaker itself does your disclosing. It depends on the type:

• Bot notetakers add a visible participant to the meeting, often labeled as a notetaker or recorder. That presence signals recording, but it can feel intrusive (clients see a stranger join), some organizations block external bots, and it is not a substitute for a clear spoken disclosure.
• Botless notetakers like Scribbl do not add a participant. Nothing surprising appears in the call, which puts the disclosure back where it belongs, with you, as a plain sentence at the top of the meeting.

Either way, do not rely on a tool to do your disclosing for you. A human sentence at the start is always the cleanest approach. To see how capture works behind the scenes, see how does an AI notetaker work.

A quick decision framework

Use this to pick your move in seconds.

• You are a participant and everyone is clearly in one-party states. You may record without telling them, but a quick heads-up is still good practice.
• Anyone might be in an all-party or disputed state, or another country. Tell everyone and get a clear yes before you start.
• You are not sure where people are (the usual situation on a phone or video call). Default to all-party: disclose and confirm consent.
• The conversation covers health, finance, legal, or other sensitive data. Disclose, confirm consent, and check whether extra obligations (such as HIPAA or sector rules) apply.
• You are recording at work. Check the consent law first, then your employer's policy, because a lawful recording can still break company rules.
• You are recording on-duty police or officials in public. You can generally record openly without consent, but do not interfere and do not assume the same for private conversations.
• You are not a participant in the conversation at all. Do not record. Recording a conversation you are not part of is illegal wiretapping nearly everywhere.

The one rule that always works

If you only remember one thing: when you are unsure whether you must tell people, assume you must. Disclose the recording, get consent, and proceed. It is legally safe under both consent models, it is courteous, and it costs you nothing but ten seconds at the top of the call. For the broader legality question (including virtual-meeting rules and a fuller penalties breakdown) see is it legal to record a meeting, and for the mechanics of capturing a meeting cleanly see how to record a meeting without a bot.

FAQ

Do you have to tell people you are recording?

It depends where you and the other people are. In about 38 states plus Washington DC and under federal law, you only need your own consent (one-party consent), so you can usually record a conversation you are part of without telling anyone. In about 11 to 12 states, everyone must consent (all-party, often called two-party, consent), so you must tell people and get their agreement first. Because a single call can mix states, the safe rule everywhere is to disclose and get consent. This is not legal advice.

What is the difference between one-party and all-party (two-party) consent?

Under one-party consent, only one person in the conversation has to agree to the recording, and that person can be you, so you can usually record without asking. Under all-party consent (commonly called two-party consent), every participant must agree before you record, not just two. The word two-party is misleading: it really means all parties, so a five-person call needs all five to consent. When people span multiple states, follow the stricter all-party rule to be safe.

Which states require all-party (two-party) consent in 2026?

The states usually treated as all-party consent are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Delaware, Michigan, and Nevada are disputed because of conflicting statutes or court rulings, so treat them as all-party to be safe. That puts the all-party count at roughly 11 to 14 depending on the source. The other states plus DC follow one-party consent. Laws change, so check your current state statute.

Do I have to tell people I am recording a phone call?

On a phone call, you must follow the law of every state on the line, and the stricter state generally controls. If you are in a one-party state but the person you called is in an all-party state like California, you should get everyone's consent. Because you often cannot know where the other person physically is, the safe practice on any phone call is to announce the recording and get a clear yes before you continue.

What happens if you record someone without telling them?

In a one-party state where you are a participant, it is usually legal but can still violate workplace policy or an NDA. In an all-party state, recording a private conversation without everyone's consent can be a crime carrying fines and even jail time, plus civil damages the recorded person can sue for, and the recording is often inadmissible as evidence. Under federal law (18 U.S.C. 2511) illegal interception can carry up to five years in prison. The cost of guessing wrong is high and the cost of disclosure is one sentence.

Do you have to tell someone you are recording a video call on Zoom, Meet, or Teams?

Often yes. A video call is treated like any other private conversation, so the same consent rules apply, and these calls routinely mix people from multiple states. The recording chime or banner that Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams show is a courtesy notice, not legal consent, and it does not by itself satisfy an all-party requirement. Announce the recording out loud and confirm everyone is fine with it before you start.

Can you record the police or a public official?

Recording on-duty police and public officials in public is broadly protected by the First Amendment, and federal courts have repeatedly upheld it, so consent laws generally do not bar openly recording police doing their jobs in public. You cannot interfere with their duties, and the rules differ for private conversations or secret recording. This is a fast-moving area, so check your jurisdiction.

Is it illegal to record a conversation without consent?

It depends on where you are and whether you are part of the conversation. In a one-party-consent state, recording a conversation you are part of is legal even if the others do not know. In an all-party state, recording a private conversation without everyone's consent can be a crime. Recording a conversation you are not part of (secret eavesdropping) is illegal almost everywhere under federal and state wiretap law. When unsure, get consent.

What is the difference between audio and video recording laws?

The one-party versus all-party consent rules in this guide mostly govern audio, under wiretapping and eavesdropping statutes. Silent video is usually governed by separate voyeurism and surveillance laws that turn on a reasonable expectation of privacy rather than consent. A video call that captures voices triggers the audio consent rules. A silent camera in a public lobby is a different legal lane. If your recording has sound, follow the consent rules.

Can you record a conversation in a public place without telling people?

Often yes for audio, because a conversation in a crowded public place may have no reasonable expectation of privacy, but it is not automatic. A quiet, clearly private conversation in public can still be protected, and all-party states are stricter. Silent video in public has separate rules. The safe approach is still to disclose when you can.

Does continuing to talk after a recording notice count as consent?

In many states, yes. If you give a clear notice that you are recording and the other person keeps talking, that can count as implied consent. This is one reason a spoken disclosure at the start of a call is so effective: it can satisfy an all-party requirement even without a formal yes. It is not guaranteed in every state, so a clear verbal yes is still the safest.

Can I record a phone call across state lines or with someone in another country?

Across state lines, follow the stricter state's law, which usually means getting everyone's consent. Internationally it is more complex, because the other country may have its own (often stricter) rules and privacy regimes like the EU's GDPR can apply. Since you rarely know exactly where the other person is, the safe rule for any cross-border call is to announce the recording and get a clear yes before continuing.

Can a secret recording be used as evidence in court?

Often not. If a recording was made illegally, such as a secret recording in an all-party state, courts frequently rule it inadmissible, so it cannot serve the purpose you made it for, and you may face criminal and civil liability on top of that. A lawful, consented recording is far more likely to be usable. If you are recording for a legal dispute, get consent and talk to a lawyer.

Does an AI notetaker tell people it is recording for you?

It depends on the tool. Bot-based notetakers add a visible participant to the call, which signals that something is recording but can feel intrusive and is not a substitute for a clear spoken disclosure. Botless tools like Scribbl do not add a participant and nothing is announced, so you make a simple verbal disclosure yourself and stay in control of the conversation. Either way, a human sentence at the start is the cleanest, safest approach.

Is this legal advice?

No. This is a general overview to help you ask the right questions and find the right statute, not legal advice. Recording and notification laws vary by country, state, and situation, and they change. For your specific case, follow your local laws and consult a qualified lawyer.

The short version

Whether you have to tell people you are recording depends on where everyone is: in about 38 states plus DC (and under federal law) you only need your own consent, while in about 11 to 12 all-party states everyone must agree first. Phone calls and video calls across state lines push you toward the stricter rule, and getting it wrong can mean criminal charges, civil damages, and a recording that is inadmissible anyway. So the rule that works everywhere is simple: disclose the recording and get consent. Pair that with a tool you control: Scribbl is botless, so nothing surprising joins your call, the disclosure stays a single sentence from you, and your meeting connects to the AI you already use (ChatGPT or Claude) so the work gets done. Free plan, no credit card. Follow your local laws, and when the stakes are real, talk to a lawyer.