One-Party Consent States
One-Party Consent States
Ranking - Law
Most states follow a one-party rule for participant recordings, but a 12-state all-party group still makes consent rules much stricter in places like California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and Washington.
Quick Answer
One-Party Consent States
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1
One-party consent states number 38. Texas, New York, and Vermont are in the group where a participant may record without telling the others.
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2
All-party consent states number 12. California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington are in that red group.
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3
Vermont is the outlier in the current source set. Vermont has no state recording statute, so the federal one-party rule is the baseline there.
Map
One-Party Consent States Map
| State | Consent Type |
|---|---|
| Alabama | One-Party |
| Alaska | One-Party |
| Arizona | One-Party |
| Arkansas | One-Party |
| California | All-Party |
| Colorado | One-Party |
| Connecticut | All-Party |
| Delaware | One-Party |
| Florida | All-Party |
| Georgia | One-Party |
| Hawaii | One-Party |
| Idaho | One-Party |
| Illinois | All-Party |
| Indiana | One-Party |
| Iowa | One-Party |
| Kansas | One-Party |
| Kentucky | One-Party |
| Louisiana | One-Party |
| Maine | One-Party |
| Maryland | All-Party |
| Massachusetts | All-Party |
| Michigan | All-Party |
| Minnesota | One-Party |
| Mississippi | One-Party |
| Missouri | One-Party |
| Montana | All-Party |
| Nebraska | One-Party |
| Nevada | All-Party |
| New Hampshire | All-Party |
| New Jersey | One-Party |
| New Mexico | One-Party |
| New York | One-Party |
| North Carolina | One-Party |
| North Dakota | One-Party |
| Ohio | One-Party |
| Oklahoma | One-Party |
| Oregon | One-Party |
| Pennsylvania | All-Party |
| Rhode Island | One-Party |
| South Carolina | One-Party |
| South Dakota | One-Party |
| Tennessee | One-Party |
| Texas | One-Party |
| Utah | One-Party |
| Vermont | One-Party |
| Virginia | One-Party |
| Washington | All-Party |
| West Virginia | One-Party |
| Wisconsin | One-Party |
| Wyoming | One-Party |
38 states are green on this map. Texas, New York, and Vermont are in the one-party group, while California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, and Washington are in the 12-state red group.
One-Party Consent States Table
50 entries
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|
State
|
Consent Type
|
Penalty Severity
|
Notes
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Alabama
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Alaska
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Arizona
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Arkansas
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
California
|
All-Party | Misdemeanor or felony | |
|
Colorado
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Connecticut
|
All-Party | Civil or felony | |
|
Delaware
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Florida
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
Georgia
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Hawaii
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Idaho
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Illinois
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
Indiana
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Iowa
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Kansas
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Kentucky
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Louisiana
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Maine
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Maryland
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
Massachusetts
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
Michigan
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
Minnesota
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Mississippi
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Missouri
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Montana
|
All-Party | Misdemeanor | |
|
Nebraska
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Nevada
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
New Hampshire
|
All-Party | Felony or misdemeanor | |
|
New Jersey
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
New Mexico
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
New York
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
North Carolina
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
North Dakota
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Ohio
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Oklahoma
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Oregon
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Pennsylvania
|
All-Party | Felony | |
|
Rhode Island
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
South Carolina
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
South Dakota
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Tennessee
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Texas
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Utah
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Vermont
|
One-Party | Federal baseline only | |
|
Virginia
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Washington
|
All-Party | Gross misdemeanor | |
|
West Virginia
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Wisconsin
|
One-Party | None if one party consents | |
|
Wyoming
|
One-Party | None if one party consents |
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Download as PDF
Print-ready table — One-Party Consent States
One-Party Consent States
38 states are in the one-party group on this map. Texas, New York, Georgia, Ohio, Virginia, and Wyoming are all green.
Vermont is the main edge case inside the green group. Vermont has no state recording statute, so the federal one-party rule is the baseline there.
All-Party Consent States
12 states are red on this binary map. California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington make up that group.
Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, and Pennsylvania all pair the red rule with felony exposure in the current source set. Washington differs from those states because its statute uses gross misdemeanor.
Secret Recording Laws by State Exceptions
Connecticut and Nevada are the clearest mixed-rule states in the current guide. Connecticut is one-party for in-person conversations but all-party for telephone calls, and Nevada is narrower in the same way for phone calls.
Missouri and Oregon stay green on this binary map, but both have narrower in-person rules in the current state guides. Hawaii and Maine also add all-party limits in especially private places.
Quick Answers
Which states are one-party consent states?
Which states are two-party consent states for recording?
Is it illegal to record someone without permission in Texas?
Is it illegal to record someone without permission in California?
What is the secret recording law in Connecticut?
What is the secret recording law in Vermont?
Methodology
This binary map follows the 38-state and 12-state split used in the current Reporters Committee First Amendment Handbook. Row notes use the current Reporters Recording Guide and the provided 50-state chart to flag mixed rules in states such as Connecticut, Missouri, Nevada, and Oregon.
Sources
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. First Amendment Handbook
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide
- California Legislative Information. Penal Code Section 632
- Florida Legislature. Statute 934.03
- Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/14-2
- Illinois General Assembly. 720 ILCS 5/14-4
- Maryland General Assembly. Courts and Judicial Proceedings 10-402
- Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.73.030
- Washington State Legislature. RCW 9.73.080
- New York State Senate. Penal Law 250.05
- Texas Constitution and Statutes. Penal Code 16.02
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