Recording law · United States
Can I record a call in Illinois?
Not in private without everyone agreeing. Illinois requires the consent of all parties to record a private conversation.
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 Illinois a one-party or all-party consent state?
All-party consent. Everyone in the conversation has to agree before it is recorded.
- A private conversation is one where a party reasonably expects it to stay private. Business video calls usually qualify.
- The current statute dates from 2014, after the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the earlier, broader version.
- Illinois also regulates voiceprints. Software that identifies people by their voice needs informed written consent under the Biometric Information Privacy Act. Recordist does no voiceprint identification.
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 law
- 720 ILCS 5/14-1 and 5/14-2 (eavesdropping)
- 740 ILCS 14 (Biometric Information Privacy Act)
Eavesdropping is a felony, and the person recorded can bring a civil claim. Biometric violations carry statutory damages of their own.
When the others are somewhere else
If a participant may be in Illinois, announce the recording, and get written consent before you use any tool that identifies people by their voice. 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 Illinois?
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 Illinois, tell them and get their agreement first.