Recording law · United States
Can I record a call in California?
Not without everyone agreeing. California requires the consent of all parties to record a confidential communication, and that includes phone and video calls.
All-party consent Everyone in the conversation has to agree before it is recorded.
General information, not legal advice. Last reviewed October 2026. Laws change and facts differ; check before you rely on any line here, and ask a lawyer licensed where you record for anything that matters.
Is California a one-party or all-party consent state?
All-party consent. Everyone in the conversation has to agree before it is recorded.
- Section 632 protects a confidential communication: one carried on in circumstances that reasonably indicate a party wants it kept to the people taking part. A public gathering, or a setting where people may reasonably expect to be overheard or recorded, is not covered. A one-to-one or small work call usually qualifies.
- Someone every party knows is recording is outside the offence (§ 632(b)). Consent does not need a signature: telling everyone at the start that the call is being recorded, and carrying on when nobody objects, is the common way to make sure they know.
- The rule covers the person who records. It does not matter that the recording stays on your own devices.
- A person whose call was recorded without consent can sue under § 637.2 for statutory damages.
Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)) allows a participant to record unless the recording is made to commit a crime or a tort. State law can ask for more.
The penalties and the exceptions
- A first violation of § 632 carries a fine of up to $2,500 per violation, imprisonment, or both. After an earlier conviction under this or a related section, the fine can reach $10,000 per violation.
- Under § 637.2 the person recorded can sue for $5,000 per violation or three times their actual damages, whichever is greater. They do not have to show any actual damage, and they can ask a court to stop the recording.
- A recording made in breach of § 632 generally cannot be used as evidence in a civil, administrative or other proceeding, except in a case about the recording itself (§ 632(d)). That rule does not apply in a criminal trial: the California Supreme Court held that the Right to Truth-in-Evidence in the state constitution overrides it there (People v. Guzman, 2019).
- Section 633.5 lets a party record to obtain evidence they reasonably believe relates to another party's extortion, kidnapping, bribery, a felony involving violence against the person (including human trafficking), certain harassing calls or domestic violence. It is a narrow exception, not a general one.
The law
- California Penal Code § 632 (confidential communications)
- California Penal Code § 632.7 (calls involving a mobile or cordless phone)
- California Penal Code § 633.5 (recording to obtain evidence of certain crimes)
- California Penal Code § 637.2 (civil action)
A violation is a crime punishable by a fine, imprisonment or both, and the person recorded can bring a civil claim for statutory damages per violation.
The official texts these lines were checked against, in October 2026:
- Penal Code § 632, California Legislative Information
- Penal Code § 632.7
- Penal Code § 633.5
- Penal Code § 637.2
When the others are somewhere else
California courts have applied the rule to calls between a Californian and someone in a one-party state (Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney, 2006). If anyone on the call may be in California, treat the call as a California call. Video meetings are treated like phone calls, and the strictest rule that applies to anyone on the call is the one to follow.
Do I have to tell people I'm recording a call in California?
Yes, and everyone has to agree. Say it at the start, before anything else, wait for agreement, and say it again when someone joins late.
“Quick note before we start: I’m recording and transcribing this meeting on my own machine for my notes. It isn’t shared with anyone unless I send it to you. Let me know if you’d rather I didn’t.”
How Recordist fits
- One-party consent covers only conversations you take part in. Recordist records whatever your microphone picks up and whatever plays through your computer's sound output, so it can also record a call or a room you aren't part of, and that needs the consent the law sets for it. No bot joins the call.
- By default it asks before it records a call. A detected call is recorded only after you click Record, unless you add that app to Record without asking for in Settings → Detection or allow agents to start recordings in Settings → Integrations; both are off by default. The confirm card shows a one-line reminder that consent is your responsibility, so keep the sentence above to hand.
- The notice is still yours to give. Software cannot give consent for the other people. In California, tell them and get their agreement first.
More questions
Can I record a work call in California if the recording stays with me?
Only with everyone's consent. Section 632 is about making the recording, not where it is kept, so a recording that never leaves your hands needs the same consent as any other.
What happens if someone records a California call without consent?
It can be a crime under § 632, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 per violation, imprisonment, or both. The person recorded can also sue for $5,000 per violation or three times their actual damages, whichever is greater (§ 637.2).
Does California's rule cover calls made on a mobile phone?
Yes. Section 632.7 covers calls where at least one end is a mobile or cordless phone and requires the consent of all parties to record them. Unlike § 632, it does not ask whether the call was confidential.