When, Where and How May You Legally Record a Conversation? (on the phone or in person)

When, Where and How May You Legally Record a Conversation? 
(on the phone or in person)

There are many circumstances in which it makes sense to record a conversation; such as when negotiating a purchase or sale, modifying a contract, resolving a dispute, talking with a crazy ex or other contentious person, etc. You may have thought you need their permission to record the conversation in order for it to be legal or admissiable evidence, but in many cases, that ;s not so.

One-Party Recording Rules

First, Federal law permits recording telephone calls and in-person conversations as long as at least one of the parties consents to it.  If you are the person making the recording and you are in the conversation then obviously you meet this requirement. See Federall code, 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d). This is referred to as a "one-party consent".

There are 38 states and the District of Columbia that have adopted the "one-party consent" law and therefore permit you to record your phone calls and conversations.

The one-party consent states are:

(*) Additional conditions, from state law or court cases may apply

States in which permission is required from everyone involved before recording

Eleven states require the consent of every party on a phone call or conversation; these are:

•  California,
• Connecticut,
• Florida,
• Hawaii (in general a one-party state, but requires two-party consent is required if the recording device is installed in a private place),
• Illinois (Illinois courts have ruled that "eavesdropping" only applies to conversations that the party otherwise would not have been able to hear, thereby effectively making it a one-party consent state),
• Maryland,
• Massachusetts (only "secret" recordings are banned),
• Montana (requires notification only),
• Nevada,
• New Hampshire,
• Pennsylvania,
• Washington (however, section 3 of the Washington law states that permission is given if any of the parties announces that they will be recording the call in a reasonable manner if the recording contains that announcement).[30]

How to "notify"

If you are in one of the 11 states that requires a notification prior to recording, how do you do that? The Federal Communications Commission defines accepted forms of notification for telephone recording by telephone companies as:

• Prior verbal (oral) or written notification of all parties to the telephone conversation. (be sure to save evidence of that!)
• Verbal (oral) notification before the recording is made. This is the most commonly used type.
• An audible beep tone repeated at regular intervals during the call. For example, a "beep" once every 2 minutes.
  

How to record calls on your cell phone

There are a large number of apps for cell phones that will record calls. Like any other app, you want to see reviews in teh APple App Store or Google Play STore to get a good app. Here are some considerations:

• Does the app allow you to forward the recording to your computer and play it there?
• The format and clarity of the recording is also important.  For example, some formats make unnecessarily large recording files which can use up your phone's memory;
• Some formats can only be played back on your phone, and not forwarded to a computer.

We have tested and used "Automatic Call Recorder" on Android phones using the "WAV" file setting and it met the above requirements.

How to record a conversation in person

Your smartphone (Apple or Android) has a recording app built-in. On Android phones, look for "Voice Recorder".  On an iPhone, look for "Voice Memos"

Recording on an iPhone:

1. Launch the Voice Memos app It may be on the Home screen or in the Utilities folder.
2. Tap the red record button.
3. Tap the stop button when you are done recording. You can continue with the same recording, you can hit record again.
4. Tap Done when finished recording.
5. Type a description into the field if you wish to name your recording.
6. Tap Save.