Recording a meeting in the US: one-party and all-party consent states
This is general information, not legal advice. State laws differ in their details and change over time; for a specific situation, talk to a lawyer. We make VoiceVault, a meeting recorder for Android.
In the US, whether you can record a meeting without asking depends mostly on where the people in it are. Federal law sets a baseline, and each state adds its own rule. Most states follow the federal approach, but a group of large states, including California, Florida and Illinois, are stricter.
The short version
- Federal law: you can record a conversation you're part of, or one where a participant agrees.
- Most states: the same, "one-party consent".
- About a dozen states: everyone's consent, at least in some situations.
- Across state lines: follow the strictest state involved.
- Everywhere: recording a conversation you're not part of, without anyone's consent, is generally illegal.
Federal law: one-party consent
The federal Wiretap Act makes it illegal to intercept wire, oral or electronic communications. Under its exception, a private person may record a conversation they are part of, or one where a participant has agreed in advance, unless the recording is made to commit a crime or a tort. That's one-party consent, and it's the baseline across the country.
All-party consent states
States can set stricter rules, and several do. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which maintains a widely used state-by-state guide, groups them like this:
| Rule | States |
|---|---|
| All-party consent, primarily | California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan*, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington |
| All-party for in-person conversations, one-party for calls | Missouri, Oregon |
| All-party for phone calls, one-party for in-person conversations | Connecticut, Nevada |
| All-party only in particularly private places | Hawaii, Maine |
| No state recording law; federal one-party rule applies | Vermont |
| One-party consent | All other states and Washington, D.C. |
* Michigan's rule applies at least to recordings made by someone outside the conversation; courts have read it differently for participants. Many all-party laws apply only to conversations where people expect privacy, and the details differ by state. Check the state's own page in the RCFP guide.
"All-party" is sometimes called "two-party" consent. It means every person in the conversation, not just two.
Meetings across state lines
Video calls and phone meetings often include people in several states. Which law applies isn't always clear, so the usual advice, including RCFP's, is to assume the stricter state's law applies. If even one person is in an all-party consent state, get everyone's consent.
Common situations
| Situation | Generally | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| In-person meeting in a one-party state, you're in it | You may record | Workplace policy; telling people is still good practice |
| In-person meeting in California, Florida or Illinois | Get everyone's consent | The rules focus on private conversations; a public talk may differ |
| Video call with people in several states | Follow the strictest state | Late joiners need to hear it too |
| Your phone keeps recording after you leave | Generally illegal in every state | Stop recording when you leave |
| A note-taking bot joins your call | It records everyone | All-party states; guests who never agreed |
AI note takers, bots and voiceprints
An AI note taker doesn't change the consent rules, but it changes who's recording and where the audio goes.
- Meeting bots. Tools that join video calls record every participant, including guests who never signed up for the tool. In 2025, a class action in federal court in California alleged that Otter.ai's meeting assistant recorded participants without their consent, under federal and California wiretap laws. Otter disputes the claims, and the case raises a question that applies to any meeting bot.
- Voiceprints. Some tools learn people's voices to recognize them in future meetings. Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act lists voiceprints as biometric identifiers and requires a written release before a business collects them. Texas and Washington also have biometric laws.
- Where the audio goes. Cloud note takers store recordings and transcripts on their servers. For client, HR or health conversations, check what your organization allows.
VoiceVault works differently: it records the meeting in the room on your Android phone and transcribes and summarizes it there, with no account and nothing uploaded to us. It doesn't join video calls. Its speaker labels come from grouping voices within a single recording on the phone; it doesn't keep voiceprints to recognize people across recordings. None of that replaces consent: in an all-party state, still ask everyone. For more, see AI notes for confidential meetings.
Every meeting, written up. Right on your phone.
VoiceVault for Android: transcripts, summaries and to-dos with no account, no servers and no subscription. 30 days free, then pay once.
A simple checklist before you record
- Say it at the start: "I'm recording so I can write up accurate notes. Is everyone OK with that?"
- Repeat it for late joiners on calls.
- Put it in the invite for external or regular meetings.
- If anyone objects, stop, and take notes by hand.
- Stop when you leave the room.
- Keep it safe, share the summary rather than the audio, and delete it when you no longer need it.
Recording in Canada? See recording a meeting in Canada.
Questions
What is a one-party consent state?
A state where you can record a conversation as long as one person in it agrees, and that person can be you. Federal law works this way, and so do most states.
Which states require everyone's consent to record?
According to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington are primarily all-party consent states. Connecticut, Missouri, Nevada and Oregon require everyone's consent for either calls or in-person conversations, and Hawaii and Maine for particularly private places.
Which law applies on a call between two states?
It isn't always clear, so the usual advice is to follow the stricter state's rule. If anyone on the call is in an all-party consent state, get everyone's consent.
Is it enough to say 'this meeting is being recorded'?
Telling everyone at the start, and continuing only if no one objects, is the common way to get consent in practice. Some situations call for clearer, written consent, such as collecting voiceprints in Illinois.
Can I record a meeting at work?
The consent laws still apply, and your employer's policy may forbid recording even where the law allows it. Ask first, or check the policy.
Do AI note takers need everyone's consent?
The same rules apply to the recording an AI tool makes. Tools that join video calls are recording everyone on the call, so in all-party consent states everyone needs to agree. A class action filed in 2025 against Otter.ai raises this question, and Otter disputes the claims.
Sources
- 18 U.S.C. § 2511, federal Wiretap Act (see (2)(d), one-party consent)
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide
- Reporters Committee: Reporter's Recording Guide, state by state
- Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, definitions (voiceprint)
- IAPP: applying anti-wiretapping laws to AI transcription services
Laws and sources were checked on 1 November 2026. The state list follows the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press guide; follow the links for each state's details.