Ever wish you had a rewind button for life — like when someone gives you directions, and you immediately forget them? Recording calls can be the next best thing. Whether you’re talking to customers or on conference calls, recording the call can be a lifesaver for referencing details, record-keeping purposes, or training your team on how to better respond to customers. But one question remains: Is it legal to record phone calls?
In this post, we’ll go into the details of how different states handle call recording, how to record calls, and tips for recording calls legally.
Is it legal to record phone calls?
Yes, you can legally record phone calls. While it isn’t illegal to record phone calls under US federal law, it’s considered a best practice to let people know the call is being recorded. Occasionally, phone call recording can be referred to as “wiretapping,” but that term is used more for phone calls recorded for legal, criminal, or government purposes.
With plenty of available apps to help you record calls, recording calls is easier than ever.
Call recording laws in US states
Most states in the US have one-party consent for recording calls. This means only one person needs to agree to the call being recorded (which is usually the person who makes the call).
However, two-party consent (also known as all-party consent) is required for several states. What this means is that everyone involved in the call must explicitly agree to be recorded during a telephone conversation. The states that require two-party consent are:
- California
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Illinois
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Montana
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
State laws vary for phone call recordings. Consult an attorney if you need guidance on laws for each state. In general, if you want to record calls with people located in more than one state, play it safe and get the consent of everyone involved.
One-party consent vs two-party consent
Depending on the state you’re in, one-party or two-party consent is needed. With one-party consent, only one party needs to consent to record the call. This means the person making the call can record as soon as they dial out. With two-party consent, both parties on the call must give consent.
Recording conversations across state lines
Are you making a call from Texas (one-party consent) to someone in Florida (two-party consent)? Generally speaking, laws favor the state where the call originated. In this case, only one-party consent may be needed because the call is coming from Texas. If the call originated in Florida, two-party consent would be needed.
As we said earlier, it’s best to just get consent from all parties when recording phone calls.
Call recording laws in Canada
Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) allows for “all-parties consent” when recording phone calls. This means everyone on the call needs to consent.
How does all-parties consent work? If you want to record a call in Canada, you must do the following:
- Let everyone on the call know that you intend to record the call
- Explain what the call recording will be used for
- Ensure each person consents before recording the call
You can learn more about Canada’s laws for recording calls by viewing the Privacy Commissioner’s Guidelines for Recording Customer Calls.
Penalties for violating recording laws
If you violate phone call recording laws, you could face criminal charges (misdemeanors or felonies), civil lawsuits, or both. Depending on the severity of the violation, you could also face jail time.
Work with attorneys to make sure you’re following federal and state consent laws. For example, if your business needs to record calls on a daily basis for customer service, attorneys can help you navigate the laws to make sure you’re compliant.
Tips for recording calls
Recording calls is easier than ever. While it’s easy to click a button and record, here are some tips to keep in mind when recording:
Let all parties know the call is being recorded
It’s best to let everyone on the call know it’s being recorded. This way, anyone who objects can voice they don’t want to be recorded. If that’s the case, you can let them know what the call recording is being used for so they understand the recording is legal.
Not sure how to let people know they’re being recorded? Here are a few samples you can use to let them know or to ask for their permission:
- “This call is being recorded for training and quality assurance purposes.”
- “Do you mind if we record this call so we can use it for training purposes?”
- “Is it ok if we record this call? If you’d like, we can send you the audio file after the call.”
- “We’d like to record this call for general recording-keeping purposes. Is that ok with you?”
Add a recording disclaimer to your phone menu greeting
Simplify getting two-party consent by including a disclaimer in your phone menu greeting. This automated message informs callers that their conversation may be recorded, ensuring transparency and saving time.
For example, with OpenPhone’s phone menu settings, you can set up an automated greeting such as:
- “Thank you for calling [Company Name]. Please note this call may be recorded to help us improve our services. If you do not consent to the recording, you may disconnect at this time.”
This ensures callers are informed from the start. Additionally, providing an option to hang up if they don’t consent shows respect for their privacy and avoids legal risks.
Explain how the call recording will be used
Have you ever called a company’s customer service line and received an automated disclaimer about how the call recording will be used for training and quality assurance? Companies do this to streamline the process and because it tells their customers why the call needs to be recorded and won’t be used for nefarious purposes.
Letting customers know why their call is being recorded can alleviate concerns they might have.
Don’t lie about recording
Even with one-party consent, you can still be charged for recording someone without them knowing. If you have reasons to hide that you’re recording the call, you should work with an attorney to discuss other means of recording.
Speak clearly
One benefit to call recordings is being able to listen again to what was said. And if there are audio issues, let the customer know so you both can ensure the best possible interaction (and recording).
Identify people on multi-person calls
At some point during the call, everyone involved should identify themselves with their name. They don’t have to state their full name, but getting their first name makes it helpful for call transcriptions.
Use mute when several people are on a call
There can be a lot of background noise on calls. When a multi-party call begins, let everyone know they should mute themselves to help reduce background noise. When it’s time for them to speak, they can unmute.
Use call transcripts
Looking for an easier way to reference specific parts of any call recordings? Use call transcripts to help you review calls faster and more accurately — no more playing back an entire recording to see what a customer said on each call.
OpenPhone automatically generates a complete transcript of your calls, broken down by speaker and timestamp. You can search for call details like specific phrases and keywords in the transcript and jump to the relevant section of the call.
Learn more about how call transcripts work in OpenPhone.
And if you want to easily identify specific calls, OpenPhone provides AI call tagging. This lets you create labels that are then used to automatically tag calls after they have ended, such as “Billing issue” or “Frustrated customer.”
Which phone calls should be recorded?
It might be tempting to record every single call, but not every phone call needs to be recorded. Here are some recommended call types to record.
Meetings with clients
Recording client meetings is a great way to track your projects and hold people accountable for deadlines and updates. You can use client call recordings to make project updates or share them with your teammates who weren’t able to join the meeting.
Conference calls
With many people involved in conference calls, recording the call is beneficial because you can transcribe it to share with your team or others. For example, Fortune 500 companies give quarterly updates via conference calls to investors and government agencies, which are transcribed and made publicly available.
Interviews with subject matter experts
Journalists use call recordings all the time when interviewing people. This allows them to review what was said on the call, check quotes, and have the call transcribed so they can turn it into written content. This also protects them from libel lawsuits.
Without call recordings, journalists could be sued for misquoting the interviewee. By having proof of what the interviewee said, journalists remained protected. Similarly, business owners who interview experts for article content should record those calls to ensure accuracy, protect themselves from misquotations, and streamline content creation.
Customer service calls
Recordings of calls with customers can help your team provide better support and learn how to work better with customers. You can use customer call recordings during team training sessions to let your team know how to professionally answer the phone when customers call and other best practices.
Sales calls
Just like customer service calls, sales call recordings can help improve your sales team. You can use these recordings to coach your team on how to improve their calls or use them as examples of good sales calls.
Customer interviews/discovery calls
As your business gets more customers, you’ll want to know what’s working and what can be improved. By recording calls with your current customers, you can learn how to improve the customer experience.
Record phone calls in one click with OpenPhone call recording
Need an easy way to record phone calls? Start recording phone calls with just one click using the OpenPhone web or mobile app.
Record a phone call in OpenPhone
- Record your calls by touching the Rec button in the web or mobile app dialer.
- Start and stop recording any time — as many times as you need — during the call. This way, you can record the entire call or just a snippet or two.
- All recorded audio will be available on the conversation screen after you finish recording. Go back and listen whenever you need to.
- Download the call recording(s) to your phone or computer.
- If you have a shared phone number for your team, call recordings will be available to everyone with access to that number.
Get started with a free trial of OpenPhone today.
FAQs
New York is a one-party consent state, meaning only one person on the call (including you) needs to consent to the recording. If others on the call are in a two-party consent state, their laws may also apply.
Consent can be obtained verbally, in writing, or implicitly, such as when a caller continues after hearing a recording disclaimer.
In some states, it’s not illegal if at least one party (including you) consents, but recording without required consent in a two-party consent state can be unlawful and result in penalties.