Which states require two-party (all-party) consent to record a call?
Thirteen states in our table need every party's consent for at least some phone recordings: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Three are not clean: Connecticut is all-party for civil liability but one-party for the criminal law, Delaware has conflicting statutes, and Michigan courts disagree. For those, the safe move is to treat the call as all-party.
| State | Rule for phone calls | Statute | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | all parties, confidential calls (cellular calls: all parties) | Cal. Penal Code 632 | RCFP guide |
| Connecticut | civil: all parties for phone calls; criminal: one party | Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-570d; 53a-187, -189 | RCFP guide |
| Delaware | conflicting statutes, follow the stricter (all-party) rule | Del. Code tit. 11, 1335(a)(4); 2402(c)(4) | RCFP guide |
| Florida | all parties | Fla. Stat. 934.03(2)(d) | RCFP guide |
| Illinois | all parties | 720 ILCS 5/14-1, 14-2 | RCFP guide |
| Maryland | all parties | Md. Code, Cts. and Jud. Proc. 10-402(c)(3) | RCFP guide |
| Massachusetts | all parties | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, 99(C) | RCFP guide |
| Michigan | unsettled: courts disagree whether a participant may record, follow the stricter rule | Mich. Comp. Laws 750.539c | RCFP guide |
| Montana | all parties | Mont. Code 45-8-213(1)(c) | RCFP guide |
| Nevada | all parties (applies to cellphone calls) | Nev. Rev. Stat. 200.620 | RCFP guide |
| New Hampshire | all parties | N.H. Rev. Stat. 570-A:2 | RCFP guide |
| Pennsylvania | all parties | 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. 5703, 5704(4) | RCFP guide |
| Washington | all parties (a recorded announcement counts as consent) | Wash. Rev. Code 9.73.030 | RCFP guide |
Which states are one-party consent?
These states and DC allow you to record a call you are on, or one where a party consents: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, District of Columbia, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming.
A few carry notes. Vermont has no specific recording statute, so the federal one-party rule applies. New Mexico and North Dakota statutes are written around wired lines, and a journalist guide says courts have not settled cellphones, so be careful there. Hawaii and Oregon are one-party for phone calls but have rules for recording in private places or in-person talks.
What does federal law say?
Federal law lets a party to a call, or someone with one party's consent, record it unless it is for a criminal or tortious purpose. That is the one-party rule in 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d). States can set a stricter rule, which is why the list above matters.
What is the rule of thumb for calls between states?
Follow the stricter state. Cold calls often cross state lines, and it can be unclear which state's law a court would apply. If either end is in an all-party state, get consent from everyone, or do not record. Many callers simply say at the start that the call may be recorded, which produces consent from a person who stays on the line, but whether that works in a given state is a question for your attorney.
What does this mean for cold calling teams?
Decide your recording and disclosure policy once, by the strictest state you call. Recording is how you coach, resolve disputes, and prove what was said, so most teams keep it and add a disclosure. Call Savvys plans include call recordings and human QA on every call, so you can hear the work yourself. Read DNC and TCPA rules, is cold calling legal, and questions to ask before hiring.
Sources
Sources, all checked November 2, 2026.
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporter's Recording Guide (state pages last updated between 2019 and 2025; statutes cited as listed by RCFP)
- 18 U.S.C. 2511, Cornell LII
We checked all 50 states and DC against the RCFP state pages on November 2, 2026. We did not re-read each statute at the legislature. Treat the table as a starting point.