What are the call recording laws in each state?

One-party consent means only one person on the call must agree to the recording. That person is usually the business initiating the recording. Two-party consent (also called all-party consent) means every participant must be notified and consent before recording begins.

11 states require all-party consent for call recording, per state wiretapping statutes. Recording a call in any of these states without notifying all participants violates state law, regardless of federal rules.

The commonly cited figure of 12 states reflects the 11 statutory all-party consent states plus Pennsylvania, whose wiretapping law (18 Pa. C.S. 5703) courts have applied broadly to require consent from all parties in many circumstances.

In all-party consent states, yes. Recording a call without notifying all participants is a criminal violation of state wiretapping law. In one-party consent states, it is legal as long as one participant (the business) consents by initiating the recording.

In the 39 states plus D.C. that follow one-party consent, you can record without notifying the other party, provided you are a participant in the call. Third-party recording without any participant's consent is illegal everywhere under federal law.

Penalties operate at two levels: federal and state.

In all-party consent states, yes. You must notify callers before recording begins. A verbal disclosure at the start of the call ("This call may be recorded for quality and training purposes") satisfies the requirement in every all-party state.

Business call recordings are legal in all 50 states, provided the applicable consent rules are followed. There is no state that prohibits call recording outright. The legal question is always about consent, not recording itself.

39 states plus the District of Columbia follow one-party consent rules for call recording. In these jurisdictions, a business can record any call it participates in without notifying the other party.

Yes. Recording phone calls is legal in all 50 states. The legality depends entirely on whether the required consent was obtained before recording began, not on recording itself.