Is it legal to record a phone call in the US? Consent, AI, and state laws

Yes, a business can record its phone calls in the US. But it isn't as simple as playing "this call may be recorded" and forgetting about it.

Federal law only needs one person on the call to agree. Several states need everyone on the call to agree, and your callers could be in any of them. Before you record, you also need to know why you're recording, what you'll keep, and for how long.

And if an AI answers, there's one more thing: the caller should know from the start that they're talking to an AI.

This guide explains each part without legal jargon, with examples you can adapt to your business.

The short answer: federal law lets you record a call you're part of. About a dozen states, including California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Washington, require everyone on the call to agree. So tell every caller at the start that the call is being recorded. If an AI answers, it should say it's an AI in its first sentence. And make it easy to reach a person.

Recording a call isn't the same as intercepting it

The starting point is simple. Under the federal Wiretap Act, you can record a call you're part of, or one where a person on the call has agreed to it. The exception is recording to commit a crime or another wrongful act.

That's different from secretly listening to or recording other people's calls. Intercepting a call you're not part of, without anyone's consent, is a federal crime. It can carry up to five years in prison, and the people recorded can sue.

There's another difference that matters: being allowed to record doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with the audio.

Situation	Practical answer
You record a call you're on to keep a record of what was said	Federal law allows it. In states that require everyone's consent, the other person has to know.
Your business records customer calls	It can, but tell callers at the start. Some of them will be calling from states that require everyone's consent.
Someone listens in on or records other people's calls without their consent	That isn't recording your own call. It can be a federal crime.
You post the audio on social media or share it without a good reason	A lawful recording doesn't give you permission to publish it. Privacy laws can still apply.

For a business, the useful question isn't just "can I record?" It's "why am I recording, what will I do with the audio, and how will I tell callers?"

Do you need permission to record a call?

It depends on where the people on the call are.

Federal law and most states follow a one-party consent rule: if you're on the call, your own consent is enough.

About a dozen states require all-party consent for phone calls, which means everyone on the call has to agree. They include California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. In Connecticut, recording a call you're on without everyone's consent isn't a crime, but the other people on it can sue. Some of them only ban secret recording, so a clear announcement goes a long way.

When a call crosses state lines, the stricter law can apply. In 2006, the California Supreme Court held that California law applies to a national brokerage firm whose Atlanta office recorded calls with California clients without telling them (Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney). It spared the firm damages for past calls, but warned out-of-state businesses that the rule applies from then on. The same court said that a business that clearly tells everyone at the start of the call that it's recording does not break that law.

California also lets anyone recorded unlawfully sue for $5,000 per violation, without having to prove they were harmed. If your callers can be in more than one state, the practical rule is to tell every caller at the start of the call.

Before you turn on recording, write down the answers to these five questions:

Why are you recording the call?
How will you tell callers?
Who will have access to the audio or the transcript?
How long will you keep it?
What will you do if a caller doesn't want to be recorded?

In most all-party states, a caller who hears a clear notice and stays on the line is treated as agreeing. But the notice has to come at the very start, before the conversation you record. And in Washington, the announcement itself has to be part of the recording, so start recording before the notice plays.

What to say before you record a call

The caller should know what's happening before you start collecting their information. You don't need to read a two-minute privacy policy. In fact, a long recorded message almost guarantees that nobody listens.

A good opening notice makes these four things clear:

Which business is answering.
That the call is recorded, and transcribed if it is.
What you'll use the recording for.
Where the caller can read your privacy policy.

If your business is covered by a state privacy law, you may need to say more. California's, for example, applies to businesses with more than $26.6 million in annual revenue, among other thresholds. Those businesses have to tell people, before or when they collect their information, what they collect, why, and how long they keep it. About two dozen states now have consumer privacy laws, each with its own thresholds, and many smaller businesses fall below them.

A simple notice for a call answered by a person

Thanks for calling Northside Dental. This call is being recorded so we can help with your request and keep a record of it. You can find our privacy policy on our website.

Adapt the reason to what you actually do. If you record to confirm an order, say so. If you record to handle a complaint, say so. Don't use "for quality and training purposes" as a catch-all if you then use the audio for something else.

Why "may be recorded" is a weak choice

This call may be recorded.

It's the most common line in the US, and in many states a caller who hears it and stays on the line is treated as agreeing. But it doesn't say who's recording, why, or where to learn more. And if you record every call, "may" isn't accurate. Say it plainly: "This call is being recorded."

What an AI should say when it answers the phone

No single federal law requires an AI answering your calls to say it's an AI. The FCC's 2024 ruling on AI-generated voices covers calls that are placed, like robocalls, not calls that are answered. But several states have their own rules:

Maine bans using an AI chatbot, including a voice one, in a way that could make a reasonable consumer think they're talking to a person. The business has to clearly say it's not a person.
Utah requires a business using generative AI to say so when a consumer asks. In licensed professions, the business has to say it at the start of the call in sensitive conversations, such as ones involving health or financial information.
Texas requires health care providers that use AI in a patient's care or treatment to tell the patient.
California has a rule for clinics and doctors' offices that use generative AI to talk to patients about their clinical information. They have to say so at the start and the end of the call, and explain how to reach a person. Booking appointments and billing aren't included.

On top of that, the FTC can act against practices that deceive consumers. Misleading someone about whether they're talking to a person can be one of them. This is changing fast, so check the rules in your state and in the states where your callers are.

On a voice call, don't count on it being obvious. The safest and most natural approach is to say it in the first greeting. There's no official wording, but one idea has to come through clearly: the caller is talking to an AI. Utah's law, for example, protects businesses whose AI says at the start, and throughout the conversation, that it's "an artificial intelligence assistant." If a caller asks whether they're talking to a person, the AI should say it isn't.

There's a second reason to be clear. In California, several lawsuits have argued that AI tools that transcribe calls or meetings live are a hidden third party listening in. Courts have let some of those claims go forward, and one of the main complaints was that callers weren't told. Announcing the AI and the recording in the first sentence is the simplest way to reduce that risk.

An AI greeting

Thanks for calling Northside Dental. I'm Skylar, the practice's AI assistant. This call is being recorded and transcribed so we can help with your request. If you'd rather talk to a person, just say so.

An AI greeting with a privacy notice

Thanks for calling Northside Dental. I'm Skylar, the practice's AI assistant. This call is being recorded and transcribed so we can help with your request. You can find our privacy policy on our website. If you'd rather talk to a person, just say so.

Can an AI handle every call without a person?

It can handle the first part of the call: answer questions, take a message, book an appointment, or transfer the call to the right person. The problem comes when it's the only way to resolve a complaint or a service issue.

No federal law requires most businesses to offer a person on customer service calls. California passed a law in 2026, but it only covers businesses with more than $500 million in annual revenue. Starting in 2027, they'll have to let customers ask for a person. They'll also have to try to connect them within 15 minutes, or give them a callback time within one business day.

Even where the law doesn't require it, the practical approach is easy to follow:

Let the AI handle the calls it can handle well.
Let callers ask for a person in plain words, without guessing a magic phrase.
Always transfer sensitive cases, complaints, and anything with serious consequences.
If nobody's available, take a message and tell the caller when you'll call back.

What information you can ask for over the phone

Ask for what you need to handle the request. Don't ask out of habit, for convenience, or "just in case."

The US has no single federal rule on this, but the direction is clear. State privacy laws require covered businesses to collect only what's reasonably necessary, and card and health rules point the same way. In plain terms, ask for only what you need.

Reason for the call	Information that usually makes sense	Information to avoid if you don't need it
Booking an appointment	Name, phone number, and preferred day and time	Social Security number, home address, or medical details you don't need to book
Asking for a quote	Name, contact details, and the basics of the job	Financial or personal information that doesn't change the quote
Checking on an order	Order number and a reasonable identity check	Every detail about the customer on every call
Billing	The details you need to send the invoice	Card or bank details in the recording or the transcript
Reporting a problem	Account number, service address, and a description of the problem	Passwords, one-time codes, or other people's information

Some information needs extra care. Health information and biometric data, such as voiceprints, have special protection under federal and state laws. Using a caller's voice to identify them, for example, can require consent first in Illinois and Texas.

A medical or dental office may need health information to treat a patient. That doesn't mean it should ask for the full medical history to book an appointment. If you're a provider covered by HIPAA, its "minimum necessary" standard asks you to use and share only as much health information as the purpose requires. Keep what's needed to book separate from what a clinician should assess.

Information an AI phone assistant shouldn't ask for

As a general rule, don't set up an assistant to ask for:

Full passwords.
Codes sent by text or by an authenticator app.
A card's security code (CVV).
A full card number. If the call is recorded, it ends up in the audio and the transcript.
Social Security numbers, other government ID numbers, or bank account numbers.
Medical, financial, or employment details you don't need for the request.

If you need to take payment over the phone, have your team send a secure payment link, or transfer the call to a system built for it. That way, card details don't end up in the audio, the transcript, or your customer records. Card industry rules (PCI DSS) don't allow a card's security code to be kept in any recording once the payment is authorized.

How long can you keep recordings?

There's no single US rule for how long businesses must or may keep call recordings.

Base how long you keep a recording on why you made it. If you record to handle an appointment and the audio isn't needed once it's confirmed, there's no reason to keep it for years. If the recording proves an agreement or a complaint, you may need it for as long as a claim could come up. Some businesses, such as securities brokers, have their own retention rules.

What matters is that the period isn't open-ended and that you can explain it. California's privacy law, for example, doesn't let covered businesses keep personal information longer than reasonably necessary for the purpose they disclosed. When the period ends, delete the audio, the transcript, and any copies you no longer need.

Frequently asked questions

Can I record a call without telling the other person if I'm on it?

Under federal law and in most states, yes. In the states that require everyone's consent, no, and when a call crosses state lines, the stricter law may apply. For a business that takes calls from the public, telling callers is the right choice.

Do callers have to press a button to agree?

Usually not. In most states, a clear notice at the start of the call, followed by the caller staying on the line, is treated as consent. If a caller says they don't want to be recorded, have another way to help them, such as a callback from your team.

Can I just say "this call may be recorded"?

It's widely used and often treated as enough notice, but it's vague. If you record every call, say "this call is being recorded," and add why and where to find your privacy policy.

Does an AI voice have to say it's an AI?

No single federal rule covers calls you answer. But Maine requires it when callers could be misled, and Utah requires it when a caller asks and in some licensed professions. The FTC can also act against businesses that deceive consumers. Saying "AI assistant" in the first sentence, and confirming it whenever a caller asks, is the simplest place to start.

Do I always have to offer a person?

Not under most US laws. Starting in 2027, California will require it, but only for very large businesses. California clinics that use generative AI to discuss clinical information must also explain how to reach a person. Even so, a clear way to reach someone is good practice.

Can I keep only the transcript and delete the audio?

Yes, if the transcript covers your purpose. But federal and California wiretap laws are about capturing what's said, not just the audio, so give the same notice when you transcribe. A transcript is still personal information: protect it, set a retention period, and delete it when you no longer need it.

Official sources

This article is general information, not legal advice. The right answer depends on your state, your callers' states, your industry, why you record, and how your service works. Laws in this area change often.