One-Party Consent States: What Reporters and Reps Need to Know Before Recording

A freelance reporter meets a source at a café in Portland, Oregon. She sets her phone on the table, taps record and says nothing about it. Oregon lets her record her own phone calls without telling anyone. The café interview is different: Oregon requires that everyone in an in-person conversation be told it's being recorded.

(She's a composite.) Most people have heard of one party consent states. Fewer know the rule can change with the room, the phone line and the state on the other end of the call.

This guide lists every state, with a table for all 50 states and DC that splits in-person and phone rules. Then it covers the tricky states, calls across state lines, and a four-question check to run before you record.

This isn't legal advice, and laws change. The table was checked against the statutes and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on September 29, 2026. When a story or deal depends on a recording, ask your editor, counsel or a lawyer in the state.

What one-party consent means

Federal law sets the floor. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), it isn't unlawful for a private person "to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent."

In plain terms: if you're in the conversation, your own consent counts. It covers in-person talk, phone calls and video calls.

Two limits are built in:

• You have to be a party, or have a party's consent. Leaving a phone running in a meeting you've left is eavesdropping, not one-party recording.
• The purpose can't be criminal or tortious. The same sentence of the statute excludes recordings made "for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act."

States can add to the federal rule, and you have to meet the stricter one.

One-party consent states vs all-party consent states

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) tracks every state in its Reporter's Recording Guide. Its introduction groups them like this:

• All-party consent, primarily (11 states): California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (at least for recordings by someone outside the conversation), Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.
• Split by conversation type (4 states): Missouri and Oregon are stricter for in-person conversations and one-party for phone calls. Connecticut and Nevada are the reverse.
• Stricter in private places (2 states): Hawaii and Maine are one-party, with extra rules for recording in private places.
• No state recording law: Vermont, where the federal one-party rule applies.

Everyone else, 32 states plus the District of Columbia, follows one-party consent. All-party states are also called "two-party consent states." Same thing: every person in the conversation, not just two.

Recording in person on the phone you already carry? ParrotNotes turns the conversation into a transcript and summary, with your consent line right at the top.

One-party consent states table: all 50 states and DC

"One-party" means a participant may record. "All-party" means everyone must consent. "Notice" means everyone must be told. Check the statute before relying on a row.

Sources: statute texts and the RCFP state pages, cross-checked with the Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer state chart. In most states, in-person rules only protect conversations where people reasonably expect privacy, so a speech at a public rally is a different case from a talk in someone's office.

The states that trip people up

California. Penal Code § 632 bars recording a "confidential communication" without the consent of all parties. Section 632.7 covers calls involving cell or cordless phones, which in practice means almost every call.

Illinois. The eavesdropping law, rewritten in 2014, targets recording a private conversation "in a surreptitious manner." Recording openly, with everyone aware, is the safe path.

Massachusetts. The wiretap statute, ch. 272 § 99, is aimed at secret recording. A visible phone and a clear "I'm recording" matter here.

Washington. RCW 9.73.030 needs all parties' consent for private conversations, but it counts consent as given when you announce the recording "in any reasonably effective manner," as long as the announcement itself is on the recording.

Michigan. The eavesdropping law (§ 750.539c) reads as all-party. But the Michigan Court of Appeals held in Sullivan v. Gray (1982) that a participant may record, and a 2021 federal court agreed. RCFP notes the Michigan Supreme Court hasn't settled it. Ask first.

Delaware. Two laws disagree. The wiretap law (tit. 11, § 2402) allows one-party recording, while the privacy law (tit. 11, § 1335) requires all parties' consent. RCFP advises following the stricter one.

Oregon. ORS 165.540 lets a participant record phone calls. In-person conversations need all participants "specifically informed" that they're being recorded. That's notice, not permission.

In January 2025, the Ninth Circuit, sitting en banc, upheld this rule in Project Veritas v. Schmidt. Open meetings, speeches and press conferences are exceptions.

Connecticut. Criminal law is one-party. But § 52-570d lets anyone recorded on a phone call without all parties' consent sue for damages. Consent can be written, verbal on the recording, or a recorded warning at the start.

Nevada. One-party for in-person conversations (NRS 200.650). All-party for phone calls (NRS 200.620), which the Nevada Supreme Court applied in Lane v. Allstate (1998).

Missouri. The phone rule is clearly one-party: § 542.402.2(3) allows a party to record a "wire communication." The statute is silent on in-person conversations in that exception, and RCFP reads Missouri as all-party for private in-person talk. Many other guides list Missouri as one-party. Treat in-person recording there as ask-first.

Hawaii and Maine. Both are one-party, with stricter rules for private places such as changing rooms (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 711-1111; Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 17-A, § 511).

Vermont. No recording statute. The federal one-party rule applies.

Louisiana (new in 2026). Louisiana's wiretap law (R.S. 15:1303) remains one-party.

But Act 965 of 2026, in effect since August 1, 2026, says a participant may not use a "wearable eyeglass recording device" to record a direct in-person conversation unless all participants are told.

It's a civil law with exceptions, including your own home, your own workplace and your own vehicle. A phone on the table isn't covered. Smart glasses are.

Recording across state lines: calls, video calls and travel

When a call links a one-party state and an all-party state, there's no single answer on which law applies. That's why RCFP advises reporters to "err on the side of caution and assume that the stricter state law will apply."

Courts have backed that caution. In Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006), the California Supreme Court applied California's all-party rule to a Georgia company that recorded calls with clients in California. Georgia is one-party, but California's law still reached the calls.

Three working rules:

• Phone and video calls: find out where each person is, not where their area code says. If anyone is in an all-party state, ask everyone.
• Video calls: they're electronic communications, so the same stricter-state rule applies.
• In person: the law of the state where the conversation happens applies. A rep based in Texas meeting a buyer in Seattle is under Washington law for that meeting.

Picture Marcus, a sales engineer from Dallas, on a plant visit in Portland. Texas lets him record. Oregon wants everyone told.

He opens with one sentence, the plant manager nods, and the transcript starts with that yes. (Marcus is a composite.) Our sales call recording software guide has the full before, during and after checklist for meetings like his.

The four-question check before you hit record

Run these in order. If any answer is "not sure," ask for consent. Asking is legal in every state.

1. Am I a party to this conversation? If not, stop. That's eavesdropping almost everywhere.
2. Where is everyone right now? List each state. For a call, that's each person's location today.
3. Is any of those states all-party, split or unsettled for this type of conversation? Check the in-person or phone column above, not just the state name.
4. Could anyone reasonably expect privacy here? An office, a car or a phone call: yes. A public speech or open meeting: usually no. If yes, and question 3 flagged a state, get consent on the recording.

Two consent scripts to say on the recording

For reporters: "I'm recording this so I quote you accurately. Is that OK with you?" Wait for a clear yes, then say the date and their name.

For reps: "Mind if I record so I don't miss a spec? I'll send you the summary afterward." The offer of a summary turns a legal step into a favor.

Our guide to how to record an interview covers where to put the phone and how to test the room. Once the yes is on tape, ParrotNotes gives you the transcript and summary, with the consent at the top if anyone asks later.

What to do with the recording afterward

The law doesn't stop at the record button. Federal law and many state laws also restrict using or sharing an unlawful recording. A few habits help:

• Keep the consent in the file. Don't trim the first 20 seconds. That exchange is your record.
• Quote from the transcript, then check the audio. Our guide to quoting an interview covers when to clean up a quote and when not to.
• Label files by date, person and place, so you know later which state's law applied.
• When someone says no, respect it. Take notes by hand, then dictate your own debrief after. A voice note of only your voice needs no one else's consent. For more on that fallback, see reporter notebook vs voice notes.

Priya, a podcast producer in Chicago, interviews a guest in Miami over video. Illinois and Florida are both all-party states. She asks on the recording, the guest agrees, and the edit keeps that exchange in the raw file. (Priya is a composite.)

Already have a file? The free audio to text tool turns it into a transcript, and our roundup of the best interview recording apps compares tools for longer projects.

Record with consent, then let the transcript do the rest

One-party consent is the federal floor and the rule in most states, but 11 states primarily require everyone's consent and several more split the rule. The quick version:

• Check the in-person and phone columns for every state involved.
• For calls across state lines, follow the stricter law.
• Ask on the recording. It's legal everywhere and it's your best evidence.
• Recheck before a sensitive recording. Louisiana changed its law in 2026, and others may too.

This isn't legal advice. When a recording matters, confirm the current statute or ask a lawyer. And when you've got the yes on tape, download ParrotNotes free to turn the conversation into a searchable transcript and summary.