Interview Consent Form: Template and What to Include

Dana spent two hours with a retired shipyard welder for a magazine feature. Three weeks later he called her editor. He had never agreed to his street being named, he said, and he wanted one story about his foreman left out. Dana had the recording. She did not have anything that said what he had agreed to. (Dana is a composite, not a real person.)

An interview consent form fixes that before it starts. It records what the person agreed to: being interviewed, being recorded, how their words will be used, whether their name appears, and how to pull out. This guide gives you the eight clauses to include, a copy-ready template, a short verbal script for the start of the recording, and a table of which clauses each kind of interview needs.

This is not legal advice. Your outlet, university, ethics board or archive may have its own form, and that form wins. Use this one where none exists, or to check that yours covers the basics.

Want the consent and the interview in one place, with a transcript? Try ParrotNotes free and record the consent as the first minute of the interview.

What is an interview consent form?

An interview consent form is a short document in which the person being interviewed agrees to take part, to be recorded, and to the uses you've described. It sets the scope: what they said yes to, who asked, and for what purpose.

It is often confused with a release form. Many projects need both.

If you need the release side for photos, video or a published interview, our free media release form template builds one. The Oral History Association notes that many oral historians ask for the legal release "after it is completed" (see its best practices), while consent comes first.

What to include in an interview consent form

Each clause answers a question the interviewee might ask later. Keep each to two or three plain sentences. The EU's GDPR, for example, asks that a consent request be "clearly distinguishable from the other matters ... using clear and plain language" (Article 7), and that is good practice anywhere.

1. Who you are and why you're asking. Your name, outlet or institution, the project, and roughly how long the interview will take.
2. Recording. Audio, video, or notes only. Say what device and whether a transcript will be made.
3. Use and publication. Where the material may appear: article, broadcast, podcast episode, thesis, archive, social clips. Name each one rather than writing "any media."
4. Identification and anonymity. Full name, first name only, a description ("a nurse in Ohio"), or a pseudonym. Let them choose.
5. Review. Whether they can check quotes or a transcript before publication, and if not, say so plainly.
6. Voluntary participation and withdrawal. They can skip any question, stop at any time, and withdraw. Give a cut-off date after which material already published can't be pulled back.
7. Storage and access. Where the recording and transcript are kept, who can access them, and for how long.
8. Signature and contact. Their signature and date, yours, and an email or phone number for questions.

For research interviews, the U.S. Common Rule adds required elements, covered in the table further down.

Interview consent form template

Copy this into a document, replace the brackets, and delete any line that doesn't apply.

Interview Consent Form

Project: [Title of article, episode, study or collection] Interviewer: [Name], [outlet, school or organization], [email or phone] Interviewee: [Name] Date and place: [Date], [in person / phone / video]

1. About this interview. I am interviewing you for [project] about [topic]. It should take about [30–60] minutes. [One sentence on why you were asked.]

2. Recording. I would like to record this interview as: ☐ Audio ☐ Video ☐ Written notes only A transcript ☐ will ☐ will not be made from the recording.

3. How your words may be used. Your interview may appear in: ☐ [The article / episode / report named above] ☐ Social media clips promoting it ☐ An archive or library collection ☐ Teaching or conference presentations ☐ Other: [______]

4. How you will be identified. ☐ Full name ☐ First name only ☐ A description: [] ☐ A pseudonym: []

5. Review. ☐ You may review your quotes before publication. ☐ Quotes are not shared before publication, but I will confirm facts with you.

6. Taking part is your choice. You can skip any question, pause, or stop the interview at any time. You can withdraw by contacting me before [date]. After that date, material that is already published cannot be withdrawn.

7. Storage. The recording and transcript will be stored [where], seen only by [who], and kept [until / for how long].

8. Agreement. I have read this form, my questions have been answered, and I agree to take part on the terms ticked above.

Interviewee signature: __________ Date: ______ Interviewer signature: __________ Date: ______

Questions later? Contact [name, email or phone].

Give the interviewee a copy. A photo of the signed page on their phone counts.

Verbal consent script for the start of a recording

Written consent isn't always practical: a phone interview, a quick vox pop, a source who won't sign anything. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press calls recording "the subject's verbal consent" a best practice in its Reporter's Recording Guide. Even with a signed form, saying it on tape puts the agreement inside the recording itself.

Start recording, then read this. It takes about a minute.

"It's [date], and I'm [your name] from [outlet or project]. I'm here with [their name]. I'm recording this conversation for [project], about [topic]. The recording may be used in [uses]. You'll be identified as [name / first name / description / pseudonym]. You can skip any question, stop at any point, or tell me something is off the record before you say it. Do I have your permission to record and to use the interview this way?"

Wait for a clear "yes"; a nod doesn't show up on audio. If they want changes ("first name only," "no mention of my employer"), repeat the change back so it's on the recording too.

Whether you need everyone's consent to record at all depends on where you and the other person are. The RCFP counts "about 11 states" that primarily require all-party consent. Our guide to one-party consent states lists them, and how to record an interview covers the setup.

Which clauses your interview needs

The eight clauses fit most interviews, but each field leans on different ones.

Journalism. Many reporters rely on verbal consent rather than paperwork. The SPJ asks for "heightened sensitivity" with sources "inexperienced or unable to give consent," which is where a written form helps most. Our piece on the journalism code of ethics covers the wider rules.

Research. In the U.S., the Common Rule (45 CFR 46, administered by HHS's Office for Human Research Protections) lists required elements in section 46.116. They include the purpose and "expected duration," "reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts," how confidentiality will be kept, whom to contact, and a statement that "participation is voluntary" and the person may stop "at any time." The form must also begin with "a concise and focused presentation of the key information." Use your institution's approved template; this one is a checklist, not a substitute.

Oral history. The OHA's best practices call for "obtaining and documenting the informed consent of the narrator" and telling narrators "when and how the interview will be recorded." Narrators may restrict access and, in some cases, "choose a pseudonym." See also our guide to oral history transcription.

Podcast and video. Say plainly that short clips may be cut for promotion, and add a release for voice and image. A documentary interview usually needs both before the camera rolls.

Common mistakes with interview consent forms

Luis records interviews for a community podcast. His form said "the recording may be used in any media." A guest later objected to a 20-second clip on a social feed. The form technically covered it, but the guest felt misled, and Luis lost the next three guests the guest had promised to introduce. (Luis is a composite, not a real person.)

The mistakes that cause most disputes:

• "Any media, forever." Broad wording reads as a trap. Name the uses.
• No withdrawal date. "Withdraw at any time" can't apply to a printed magazine. Give a date.
• Anonymity promised loosely. If you promise a pseudonym, check the details that could still identify someone: job title, town, a distinctive story.
• Consent on paper, nothing on tape. If the form goes missing, the recording should still show the agreement.
• Form and recording stored apart. Six months later, nobody can match the restriction to the file.

That last one is the easiest to fix. Download ParrotNotes and the consent you read on tape sits in the same note as the interview, transcribed.

After the interview: keep consent with the recording

A consent form is only useful if you can find it when someone asks. A simple routine:

1. Start every recording with the verbal script. The first minute of the transcript is your consent record.
2. Photograph the signed form and store it with the recording, named the same way.
3. Write the restrictions at the top of your notes. "First name only. No employer. Withdraw by March 1."
4. Check before you publish. Read the restrictions again before you file, cut or archive.

ParrotNotes records in person on the phone you carry, with no bot. Recording works offline, so a basement workshop is fine; the transcript arrives once you're connected.

Every recording gets an AI summary, even on the Free plan (100 minutes a month and 5 AI-powered recordings). When you need the exact words of a restriction, ask questions about the recording ("What did she agree to about her name?") instead of scrubbing through audio. Pro is $19.99 a month, or $14.99 a month billed annually, with 3,000 minutes a month and transcription in 99+ languages.

For the interview itself, our guide on how to conduct an interview covers questions and follow-ups.

Get consent first, then get the story

An interview consent form takes five minutes and saves the call Dana got. Name the uses, offer the identification choices, give a withdrawal date, and say it all again on tape. Then keep the form and the recording together.

Ready to make the verbal consent part of every interview you record? Try ParrotNotes free on your next interview.