Off the Record Meaning: On Background, Not for Attribution and More

Leah had been talking to the council aide for twenty minutes when he leaned back and said, "That bit about the budget was off the record, by the way." He had said it a minute earlier.

Leah hadn't agreed to anything. She also didn't know whether she could still use it. (Leah is a composite, not a real person.)

That gap is why the off the record meaning trips up reporters and sources alike. Newsrooms, press offices and countries don't use the phrase the same way, and the related terms (on background, deep background, not for attribution) are looser still.

This guide gives you the definitions the Associated Press uses, a table of five levels side by side, where the definitions disagree, a script to agree each level before the source speaks, and a simple way to mark every level in your notes and transcript. For the full interview process, from research to the last question, see our guide on how to conduct an interview.

If you record interviews, the agreement itself ends up on the recording, which settles arguments later. Try ParrotNotes free on your next in-person interview.

What does off the record mean?

Off the record means the reporter agrees not to publish what the source is about to say. The AP's News Values and Principles (Anonymous Sources section) puts it in one line: "The information cannot be used for publication."

"Agrees" means both sides say yes. "About to" means the terms come before the words, not after.

Off the record is not the same as anonymous. Anonymous information gets published without a name. Off-the-record information, under the AP definition, doesn't get published at all, though AP adds that information given under any of these conditions "can be pursued with other sources to be placed on the record."

On the record, background, deep background: the five levels side by side

AP defines four levels. A fifth, "not for attribution," is common in American newsrooms and is defined by the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism in its guide Background, off the record and you as "A reporter agrees not to identify a source by name."

The "Usually" and "as agreed" cells are where disputes start.

Why the definitions disagree

AP says it plainly: "Not everyone understands 'off the record' or 'on background' to mean the same things." Three places where you'll hear different answers:

1. Background and not for attribution. Many reporters treat them as the same thing. Others use "not for attribution" for a quote with a job description ("a senior engineer at the plant") and "background" for information that can be paraphrased but not quoted. What matters is that you and the source mean the same one.
2. Deep background. In AP's version you can use the information but can't point to the source at all, not even as "an official."
3. Off the record itself. Some sources use "off the record" to mean "don't name me." Some reporters hear it as "don't use this at all." That mismatch is the most common way an interview goes wrong.

Other countries have their own systems. Germany's federal press association, the Bundespressekonferenz, sets three levels in § 16 of its statutes, and journalists there say "unter eins," "unter zwei" or "unter drei":

Speakers declare the level, members are bound by it, and anything said without a declaration counts as freely usable, the same default as AP's rule that reporters "should proceed with interviews on the assumption they are on the record."

How to agree the terms before the source talks

Poynter's Tom Jones, writing about a 2021 dispute in What does 'off the record' mean?, sets out the order: "A source should ask a reporter first if something can be off the record. Then the reporter can agree or refuse." He quotes New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman: "off the record is an agreement." In that case, an email headed "OFF THE RECORD" that the reporter never agreed to was published in full.

So the rules of thumb are:

• Terms come first. AP says conditions "should be negotiated at the start of the interview." Saying "that was off the record" after the fact is a request, not a rule. You decide how to handle it, and your newsroom's policy should guide you.
• Silence isn't agreement. A subject line or a passing "off the record" doesn't bind you unless you said yes.
• Agree the description, not only the level. For background and not for attribution, settle the exact words: "a city official" and "a senior aide to the mayor" point at very different numbers of people.
• Push back on group briefings. AP says reporters "should object vigorously" when a source wants to brief a group of reporters on background, and should try to move the briefing on the record.
• Ask again at the end. AP tells reporters to try "once again to move onto the record" what was said on background.

Leah's case, handled well, sounds like this: "I hadn't agreed to that, so I'll talk to my editor about it. From here on, tell me before you say something you don't want used, and we'll agree on the terms first."

Scripts for each level (say them, and get a clear yes):

• On the record: "Everything today is on the record, with your name and title. If that changes, tell me before you say it."
• Not for attribution: "I can quote you, but not by name. I'll describe you as [agreed description]. Is that right?"
• On background: "I can use what you tell me without your name. I'll describe you as [agreed description], and I'll paraphrase rather than quote. Agreed?"
• Deep background: "I can use this to guide my reporting, but I won't identify you in any way. I'll need to confirm it elsewhere before it runs."
• Off the record: "I won't publish this. I may try to confirm it with someone who'll say it on the record. Still want to go ahead?"

What to write in your notes

A month later, you won't remember which sentence was on background. Your notes have to.

In a notebook: draw a line across the page and write the level and the time where it starts ("BG 10:42"), and another line where it ends ("OTR 10:58"). Our post on the reporter notebook vs voice notes covers margin marks like these.

In a recording and transcript: say the change out loud, so it is captured: "We're now on background, 10:42." When you review the transcript, tag that passage with the level before you pull any quotes. Our guide to quoting an interview covers the checking itself.

What to record about each agreement:

• The level and the exact description agreed
• Who asked for it, and when (start time, end time)
• Whether you agreed, and the words you used
• Anything the source asked you to confirm elsewhere

Diego, a freelance reporter, records interviews on his phone. (Diego is a composite, not a real person.) At minute 31 the source said, "This next part is on background, describe me as someone at the agency." Diego repeated it back and the source said yes.

Weeks later, when the editor asked who had agreed to what, Diego found the line in the transcript in seconds, timestamp included. That is the main reason to record: the terms are on the recording, not only in two people's memories.

ParrotNotes records the interview on the phone you already carry and turns it into a transcript and summary when you stop. Every recording gets an AI summary, and on Pro it transcribes and translates 99+ languages, which helps when a source switches languages mid-answer. Download ParrotNotes and set up your next interview in a minute.

If a source asks you to pause for an off-the-record part, say the time out loud, stop, and restart with "back on the record."

Recording and consent: a separate question

Attribution and recording are two different agreements. A source can be fully on the record and still not want to be recorded, or happy to be recorded and only willing to talk on background.

Get both answers, and get the recording consent on the recording. US states differ on whether one party or every party must consent; our guide to one-party consent states has the state-by-state rules. For longer projects, a written interview consent form can set out both the recording terms and how the person will be identified.

When to agree to anonymity at all

The SPJ Code of Ethics says to "Reserve anonymity or confidentiality as a last resort for sources with information of substantial public interest" and to "Consider motives before agreeing not to identify a source." Our walk-through of the journalism code of ethics covers the rest of the code.

AP sets three tests before anonymous material runs: it is "information and not opinion or speculation" and vital to the story, it is "not available except under the conditions of anonymity," and the source is "reliable" with "direct knowledge." AP also requires the story to say why the source asked for anonymity, and notes that "simply quoting 'a source' is not allowed."

A quick check before you agree:

• Would this person say it on the record if I asked once more?
• Is it fact, not opinion?
• Can I describe the source well enough for a reader to judge them?
• Can I confirm it with a second source?

Conclusion

The off the record meaning is simple in AP's words: it cannot be used for publication. The hard part is everything around it: making sure both sides mean the same level, agreeing before the words are spoken, and keeping a record of what was agreed.

Set the terms at the start, repeat them back, mark them in your notes, and ask once more at the end to move things on the record.

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