What Is Recording Consent for a Podcast or Source Call?
Recording consent is the agreement a participant gives for a conversation to be recorded; whether one participant's agreement is enough, or everyone's is needed, depends on federal law and on the law of each state involved.
The federal wiretap law lets a private person record a conversation they are part of, or one where a participant has agreed, as long as it is not done to commit a crime or tort (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), Cornell LII). RCFP summarizes the floor plainly: “Federal law requires the consent of at least one party before recording in-person, telephone or electronic conversations” (RCFP). States may require more. Most podcast interviews and source calls are remote, so the practical question is which rule applies when the host and guest sit in different places. The ground rules covered in on background vs off the record govern how a conversation may be used, not whether it may be recorded. This is not legal advice.
How to Get Consent to Record a Call at a Glance
| Step | Action | Expected result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find out where every participant will be | You know which states' laws could apply |
| 2 | Confirm you are a party to the call | No recording of a conversation nobody consented to |
| 3 | Make all-party consent your default | One routine that covers the strictest states |
| 4 | Send written notice before the call | The guest knows about recording and use in advance |
| 5 | Read a notice on the recording and get a spoken yes | Consent is captured in the audio itself |
| 6 | Turn on the platform's consent prompt | Each participant sees a recording notice |
| 7 | Keep the consent with the file | You can show what was said and agreed |
| 8 | Add broadcast notice if a station will air the call | The FCC notice comes at the start of the call |
Time: about 5 minutes per call once the templates exist (our estimate). Tools: your recording platform, an email template, a written script. Cost: nothing beyond tools you already use. Skill level: beginner; legal questions go to a lawyer.
What You Need Before Starting
- The name and location (state, or country) of every participant, including anyone dialing in by phone.
- A booking email or calendar invite you can add a recording notice to. The guest-facing side of booking is covered in how to pitch yourself as a podcast guest.
- A recording platform that can show a consent notice, such as Zoom (Step 6) or one of the tools in Riverside vs Zencastr.
- A lawyer to call for edge cases. RCFP says its guide “should not take the place of legal advice from a lawyer” (RCFP).
Step 1: Find Out Where Every Participant Is
Ask each guest for their location in the booking email, and again on the call if anyone joins from somewhere new. RCFP explains why it matters: courts differ on whether the law of the place where the recording is made or the place of the person recorded governs, and a person who is recorded may sue where the law is more favorable. Its advice is to “err on the side of caution and assume that the stricter state law will apply” (RCFP).
Step 2: Confirm You Are a Party to the Call
A host recording their own interview is a party to it. RCFP warns that it is “almost always illegal to record a conversation to which you are not a party” when you have no consent and could not naturally overhear it (RCFP). Do not record a call between two other people, or send a note-taking bot into a meeting you are not part of, unless a participant has agreed. The federal one-party exception also falls away if the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act; RCFP says “recordings made as part of the newsgathering process would not fall into this category” (same page).
Step 3: Default to All-Party Consent
RCFP says “about 11 states primarily have all-party consent requirements” and names them; four more require it for one kind of conversation but not the other (RCFP). The statutes behind each are below, with RCFP's per-state reading.
| State | Statute | Rule, as RCFP describes it | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Cal. Penal Code § 632 | All parties to a confidential communication | RCFP |
| Delaware | 11 Del. C. §§ 1335, 2402 | Conflicting laws; RCFP advises following the stricter all-party privacy law | RCFP |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 934.03 | All parties | RCFP |
| Illinois | 720 ILCS 5/14-2 | All parties to a private conversation | RCFP |
| Maryland | Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402 | All parties | RCFP |
| Massachusetts | Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 99 | Secret recording barred; all parties | RCFP |
| Michigan | Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539c | All parties, at least for third parties; a court has let participants record (RCFP) | RCFP |
| Montana | Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213 | All parties | RCFP |
| New Hampshire | N.H. Rev. Stat. § 570-A:2 | All parties | RCFP |
| Pennsylvania | 18 Pa.C.S. § 5703 | All parties | RCFP |
| Washington | RCW 9.73.030 | All parties; a recorded announcement can count as consent | RCFP |
| Connecticut | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570d | All parties for phone calls (civil liability); one party in person | RCFP |
| Nevada | Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 200.620, 200.650 | All parties for phone calls; one party in person | RCFP |
| Missouri | Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402 | One party for phone calls; RCFP reads in-person private talk as all-party | RCFP |
| Oregon | Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.540 | One party for phone calls; all participants must be informed for in-person talk | RCFP |
Three of these carry live disputes. In Delaware, RCFP notes “some conflict in the laws” between a one-party wiretap law and an all-party privacy law, and advises following the stricter one. In Michigan, a long-standing appeals decision let a participant record without the others' consent, but RCFP says courts disagree and “the safer approach would be to get consent.” In Oregon, a 2023 Ninth Circuit panel struck the in-person notice rule and RCFP's Oregon page still reflects that, but the full court reversed in 2025 and upheld the law (Project Veritas v. Schmidt, 125 F.4th 929), and the Supreme Court denied review on October 6, 2025 (Supreme Court docket 24-1061). Several RCFP state pages were last updated in 2019 or 2020. We found no primary-source record of another state changing its rule in 2025 or 2026, but a lawyer should confirm the current position for any state that matters to you.
Our recommendation, not a state rule: ask for every participant's consent on every call. It costs a sentence and removes the need to work out which law applies.
Step 4: Send Written Notice Before the Call
Put a short notice in the booking email and the calendar invite: the call will be recorded, how the recording will be used (for example, published as a podcast episode, with clips on the website and social channels), and that the guest will be asked to confirm at the start. Ask the guest to reply to confirm. This is our recommendation. The sources we read do not say that an email alone satisfies any state's law, so treat it as preparation for Step 5, not a replacement.
Step 5: Read the Notice on the Recording and Get a Spoken Yes
RCFP says it is generally legal to record “when the parties are warned of the recording and continue with the conversation”, and that “the consent of all parties is presumed in these instances.” It adds: “It is a best practice, however, to record the subject's verbal consent” (RCFP). Washington writes the same idea into statute: an announcement to all parties can count as consent, “PROVIDED, That if the conversation is to be recorded that said announcement shall also be recorded” (RCW 9.73.030). Connecticut's civil statute similarly accepts recorded verbal consent or a recorded warning for phone calls (RCFP).
Start the recorder, then read this before any questions. The wording is ours, not a statutory formula:
- “This call is being recorded. We plan to publish all or part of it as a podcast episode and may use clips on our website and social channels.”
- “Do you agree to be recorded and to the recording being used that way? Please say yes or no.”
- Wait for each participant to answer aloud, by name. If anyone says no, stop recording.
Step 6: Turn On the Platform's Consent Prompt
Zoom's help page says participants “are asked to provide consent” when they join a meeting already being recorded or when the host starts recording; on desktop and mobile they click OK or leave the meeting. Depending on the account, admins can show the notice to external participants only or to everyone, and can customize it. H.323/SIP room systems press # to consent or * to leave (Zoom Support). The page does not describe the experience for ordinary phone dial-in, so read the spoken script for those guests. A prompt proves a notice appeared, not that a person agreed out loud, so treat it as a second layer behind Step 5.
Step 7: Keep the Consent With the File
Our recommendations: archive the full, unedited recording with the opening consent exchange intact, even if the published episode cuts it. File the guest's written reply and their stated location with the episode record. If a guest later asks to withdraw, pause publication and get legal advice. Agreeing the use in advance also feeds the preparation in how to prepare an executive for a podcast interview. How long a published interview stays findable is covered in what happens to a podcast interview after twelve months.
Step 8: Add Broadcast Notice If a Station Will Air the Call
The FCC rule is addressed to a licensee: before recording a telephone conversation for broadcast, or airing one live, it must “inform any party to the call of the licensee's intention to broadcast the conversation”. Notice is not needed where the party is presumed aware, such as station staff or a caller to a call-in show (47 CFR § 73.1206). RCFP notes that the FCC still found a violation where a host “had waited until mid-way through the call” to say it would be broadcast (RCFP). The rule does not mention podcasts. If a radio or TV station will carry your interview, add “and may be broadcast” to the Step 5 script.
How Many States Fall Into Each Consent Category?
RCFP's introduction sorts the states that depart from, or sit outside, the federal one-party rule into four groups.
Number of states
Source: Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, “Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide”. Read October 11, 2026.
“About 11” is RCFP's wording; its list names 11 states. The split group is Connecticut and Nevada (phone calls) and Missouri and Oregon (in-person); the private-place group is Hawaii and Maine; the last row is Vermont. RCFP publishes no count of one-party states, so none is charted. Federal law applies everywhere. Not legal advice.
The chart shows that about 11 states set the strictest rule for most conversations, and that a further six apply it to some calls or places, which is why a single all-party routine is the simplest way to cover them.
How to Verify It Worked
- Audio: play the first two minutes of the file. Every participant should be heard agreeing, in their own voice.
- Tracks: if the platform records separate tracks, check each guest's track includes the notice and their answer.
- Paper trail: the written reply and location are filed with the episode.
Common Problems and Fixes
| Problem | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| A guest joins after the notice | The script was read before they arrived | Repeat the notice and get a spoken yes from the late arrival |
| A guest asks to withdraw after the call | Consent was given and then reconsidered | Pause publication and take legal advice |
| You do not know where a guest is | Location was never asked | Ask on the recording and apply the stricter-law assumption |
| A dial-in guest gets no prompt | Zoom's page documents prompts for apps and SIP systems, not phone dial-in | Read the script aloud and confirm by name |
What Not to Do
- Do not tell the guest afterward. Consequence: in an all-party state the recording may already be unlawful; RCFP says most states with recording laws allow civil suits, some with attorney's fees and triple damages. Correction: notice and a yes before the first question.
- Do not rely on a platform banner alone. Consequence: you can show a notice appeared but not that anyone agreed. Correction: add the spoken yes from Step 5.
- Do not assume your own state's rule governs. Consequence: the person recorded may sue where the law is more favorable, according to RCFP. Correction: apply the stricter-law assumption.
- Do not treat it as a minor risk. Consequence: federal violations carry a fine, up to five years in prison, or both (18 U.S.C. § 2511(4)), and RCFP says state recording laws all carry criminal penalties. Correction: make the routine mandatory for everyone who records calls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need my guest's permission to record a podcast interview?
Under federal law, one party's consent is enough, and a host on the call is a party (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)). About 11 states require every party's consent for many conversations, so asking the guest on the recording is the safer routine. This is not legal advice.
Which states require all-party consent to record a call?
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press lists about 11: California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Connecticut and Nevada require all-party consent for phone calls, Missouri and Oregon for in-person conversations, and Hawaii and Maine only in particularly private places.
Is saying "this call is being recorded" enough?
RCFP says recording is generally legal when the parties are warned and continue the conversation, and that consent is then presumed, but it calls recording the subject's verbal consent a best practice. Washington's statute requires the announcement itself to be recorded. Ask for a spoken yes. This is not legal advice.
What if my guest is in a different state from me?
RCFP advises journalists to "err on the side of caution and assume that the stricter state law will apply", because courts differ on whose law governs an interstate call. Getting every participant's consent covers both states. For a specific dispute, ask a lawyer.
Does the FCC's telephone broadcast rule apply to podcasts?
The rule, 47 CFR § 73.1206, is addressed to broadcast licensees: before recording a call for broadcast or airing it live, the licensee must tell the other party. It does not mention podcasts. If a radio or TV station will air your call, say at the start that it will or may be broadcast.
What are the penalties for recording a call without consent?
Federal law provides a fine, up to five years in prison, or both (18 U.S.C. § 2511(4)). RCFP says every state's recording law carries criminal penalties and most allow civil suits, some with attorney's fees and triple damages. For broadcasters, the FCC's base fine for airing calls without authorization is $4,000, with a maximum of $62,829 per violation (47 CFR § 1.80). This is not legal advice.
Sources and Methodology
This guide is built from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Reporter's Recording Guide (its introduction and the state pages for the states in the table, plus Hawaii and Maine), the text of 18 U.S.C. § 2511, Washington's RCW 9.73.030, the FCC's rules at 47 CFR §§ 73.1206 and 1.80, the Supreme Court docket in Project Veritas v. Schmidt and Zoom's help page on recording consent, all read on October 11, 2026. Statute citations come from RCFP's state pages; we read the full text only of the federal statute, Washington's law and the FCC rules. Several RCFP state pages were last updated in 2019 or 2020, and its introduction page carries no date. The all-party default, the notice script, the advance email and the archiving steps are our recommendations, not rules from any source. We did not test any platform's consent prompt, and we do not cover laws outside the U.S. This guide is not legal advice: recording law turns on the facts, the states involved and current case law, and a lawyer licensed in the relevant state should answer specific questions.
- trade body Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide. Federal floor, state categories and counts, implied consent, interstate calls, penalties, FCC summary. Read October 11, 2026.
- trade body Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporter's Recording Guide and state pages for California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Statute citations, Delaware conflict, Michigan and Nevada case law, Connecticut civil rule, legal-advice caveat. Read October 11, 2026.
- official U.S. Code via Legal Information Institute, 18 U.S.C. § 2511. One-party exception and its criminal or tortious purpose limit; penalties. Read October 11, 2026.
- official Washington State Legislature, RCW 9.73.030. All-party consent and recorded-announcement rule. Read October 11, 2026.
- regulator Code of Federal Regulations via Legal Information Institute, 47 CFR § 73.1206, Broadcast of telephone conversations. Licensee notice rule and presumed-awareness exceptions. Read October 11, 2026.
- regulator eCFR, 47 CFR § 1.80, Forfeiture proceedings. $4,000 base amount for broadcasting telephone conversations without authorization; $62,829 per-violation maximum for broadcast licensees after the 2025 inflation adjustment. Read October 11, 2026.
- official Supreme Court of the United States, Docket No. 24-1061, Project Veritas v. Schmidt. Petition denied October 6, 2025. Read October 11, 2026.
- platform documentation Zoom Support, Providing consent to be recorded. Consent prompt behavior, admin options, SIP keypad responses. Read October 11, 2026.