This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and courts read them in different ways. Before you rely on anything here, check the current statute or ask a lawyer licensed in your state. Angry Owl Labs LLC isn't a law firm.
Who has to agree before a conversation is recorded
One-party 38One person in the conversation agrees. That can be you.
All-party 13Everyone in the conversation agrees.
Being verified 8Unsettled, disputed or recently changed. Check the current law.
Tap a state to jump to its row.
What to know before you record.
Rules of thumb for the US. Your state's own law is what counts, and this isn't legal advice.
Video
Generally allowed on public roads.
Recording what anyone can see from a public road is generally allowed in the US. Places where people expect privacy are different: never point a camera into homes, bathrooms, changing rooms or anywhere like them.
The road, other cars, their platesGenerally fine
Officers doing their job in publicProtected in many places; rules vary
Into homes, bathrooms, changing roomsDon't
Every modeDash cam, body cam and police stops all record video, stamped with the time and place.
Sound
The big difference.
Recording a conversation falls under consent laws, and the states split in two.
One-party
YouThem
One person in the conversation agrees. That can be you.
All-party
YouThemThem
Everyone in the conversation agrees.
In the table below
38 one-party13 all-party
38 of the 51 are one-party and 13 are all-party.
Record soundOn with every video unless you turn it off: Settings › Video › Record sound. Turn it off where everyone's consent is needed.
Recording police
In many places you may record officers doing their job in public, but the rules vary by state. Florida, for one, makes staying within 25 feet of a first responder after a warning a misdemeanor.
Tell your passengers
In a rideshare, or with anyone in the car, tell people they're being recorded, especially with sound on.
Mount it legally
Some states limit what can go on the windshield, and where. Keep the phone out of your view of the road.
Hands-free laws
Many states have hands-free rules for phones while driving. Set it up before you drive, and don't handle it on the road.
Private places
Never record into homes, bathrooms, changing rooms or anywhere people expect privacy. Several states make that a crime even where sound is one-party.
Share with care
You're responsible for how you share footage of other people. Think twice before posting, and consider blurring faces and plates.
Every state, compared.
Who has to agree before sound is recorded, in all 50 states and DC: the law it comes from, a link to its text, and what to know.
Not legal advice
General information only, and laws change. Check the current statute or ask a lawyer licensed in your state. Last reviewed
Sound-recording consent by state, with the statute, a link to its source and notes
You may record a private conversation if at least one person in it agrees. Talk with no reasonable expectation of privacy isn't protected. Secretly watching or recording while trespassing in a private place is a separate crime.
A participant may record. Recording other people's conversations without a participant's consent is a crime. The federal appeals court for Alaska recognizes a right to record police in public.
The consent of one person in the conversation, or of someone present, is enough. Recording in restrooms, bedrooms, locker rooms and similar places without consent is a felony.
In person and on the phone, you may record if you're in the conversation or one person in it agrees. Video voyeurism where people expect privacy is a felony.
Everyone must agree before you record a confidential conversation, one where people expect not to be overheard or recorded. Public gatherings and places where people can expect to be overheard are outside it. Recording officers in public isn't in itself obstruction. A bill on consent for wearable recording devices in businesses was awaiting the Governor in September 2026.
Eavesdropping covers only someone not visibly present who records without a party's consent. State law protects recording police incidents, with a civil remedy if someone interferes.
In person, one person's consent is enough. Phone calls differ: recording a private call without everyone's consent can make you liable in a civil case. Filming unaware people where they expect privacy is barred.
Unsettled: one statute requires everyone's consent, the wiretap law lets a party record, and the state's highest court hasn't decided. Listed as all-party to be safe. Installing recording devices in private places without consent is barred.
A party, or someone with a party's consent, may record, unless it's for a criminal or wrongful purpose. Recording other people's private conversations is a felony. Secret recording in bathrooms or of undressed people is barred.
Everyone must agree, but only for conversations with a reasonable expectation of privacy. Openly recording police and officials doing their jobs in public is generally protected; since January 1, 2025, staying within 25 feet of a first responder after a warning is a misdemeanor.
Sound: one person in the conversation, or someone with their consent, may record. Video is stricter: recording in a private place, out of public view, needs everyone's consent, which matters for body cam video inside homes.
A participant may record, but using any recording device in a private place needs the consent of the people entitled to privacy there, so homes and other private places effectively need everyone's consent. Listed as all-party to be cautious; most sources call Hawaii one-party. Recording police doing their duties in public is expressly allowed.
One person's consent is enough, unless it's recorded to commit a crime. Recording other people's private conversations without a party's consent is a felony, with civil damages.
Everyone must agree before you secretly record a private conversation. Open recording, and talk with no expectation of privacy such as police on duty in public, fall outside it. A party may record if they reasonably suspect a crime against them or their household.
Effectively one-party: the wiretap law covers electronic communications and needs a sender's or receiver's consent; it doesn't expressly cover in-person conversations. Unattended cameras on others' private property and video voyeurism are barred.
A party, or someone with a party's consent, may record, and someone openly present and taking part is exempt. Recording other people's conversations without consent is a crime.
The sender or receiver may consent. Capturing sounds from a private place that wouldn't normally be heard, without consent, is barred; a participant recording talk that's normally audible is lawful.
One person in the conversation may consent, and eavesdropping is a felony. Only conversations that can't be overheard by the ordinary ear are protected.
One-party, unless for a criminal or wrongful purpose. A 2026 law (from August 1, 2026) requires telling everyone before recording an in-person conversation with smart glasses; it doesn't reach phones. A 2024 law creating a 25-foot buffer around police was put on hold by a court in January 2025.
A party may record. But installing or using a recording device in a private place without the consent of the people entitled to privacy there is a crime, so get consent before recording inside homes or other private places.
Everyone must agree, for private conversations in person and for phone calls; in person, only where there's a reasonable expectation of privacy. Breaking it is a felony, with civil damages.
Secretly recording any conversation without everyone's permission is a crime, with no expectation-of-privacy limit. Open, visible recording isn't covered. Federal courts protect open recording of police, and secret recording of officials doing their jobs in public.
Disputed: the statute bars eavesdropping on a private conversation without everyone's consent. An appeals court lets a participant record, but the state's highest court has never decided, so it's listed as all-party to be safe. Recording devices in private places without consent are barred too.
One-party, unless for a criminal or wrongful purpose. Talk with no reasonable expectation of privacy isn't protected. Secretly viewing or recording where people undress is barred.
One-party, unless for a criminal or wrongful purpose. No protection where there's no reasonable expectation of privacy. Hidden cameras for lewd recording in private areas are barred.
Generally one-party, but the wiretap law is built around phone calls and reaches in-person talk only when the device transmits by radio, so live-streaming a private conversation is a grey area. Some guides describe in-person recording as all-party.
Recording with a hidden device without everyone knowing is a crime. Recording openly, or after a warning, avoids it. Speakers at public meetings and officials on duty are exceptions.
Everyone must agree where the speaker expects not to be recorded; a participant who records without it commits a misdemeanor. Open recording of police in public is protected.
The statute covers phone calls, where one party's consent is needed. A state court held that secretly recording a face-to-face conversation isn't criminal eavesdropping. Voyeurism is still barred.
One-party, unless recorded to commit a crime or other harm. Recording other people's private conversations is a felony, and a separate law covers private spaces.
In person, tell everyone before you record. Phone and video calls need only one party's consent. Open recording of police doing their duties from a lawful place is allowed, as are unconcealed devices at public meetings and events.
Everyone must agree, for conversations where people expect not to be recorded; breaking it is a felony. A victim or witness may record on reasonable suspicion of a violent crime. Open recording of police in public is protected.
One-party, unless for a criminal or wrongful purpose. Applies where there's a reasonable expectation of privacy. Recording other people's private conversations is a felony.
Everyone must agree for private conversations; an announcement to everyone, itself recorded, counts as consent. Talk with police doing public duties isn't private.
One-party, unless for a criminal or wrongful purpose. Secret recording in enclosed private spaces is barred.
No state matches that.
Read the law itself. Every state publishes its laws on its legislature's website: look up the statute named in the table there for the current text. Every state links to its own law: the legislature's code site, or the publisher the state names for its code. Vermont has no statute of its own, so it links to the federal law.