Which states are two-party consent states?

As of 2026 the states commonly treated as all-party ('two-party') consent for private conversations are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Several of these draw distinctions between phone and in-person conversations or between criminal and civil liability, so the exact count varies by how you read the statutes.

How many states require two-party consent?

Roughly 11 to 13, depending on how you count. The other 38 or so states, plus federal law, use one-party consent, meaning only one participant (which can be you) needs to agree to the recording.

What happens if the two people on a call are in different states?

Interstate calls are the riskiest case. Courts have applied the law of the stricter state, so if either party is in a two-party consent state, you should get everyone's consent. The safe rule is: when a conversation crosses state lines, assume all-party consent applies and ask.

Does two-party consent apply to in-person conversations too?

Yes, but the details vary. Some states like Oregon require all-party consent for in-person conversations while using one-party consent for phone calls. Massachusetts bans secret recording of any conversation outright. Always check whether your state's statute distinguishes electronic communications from oral, in-person ones.

How do I record legally in a two-party consent state?

Get clear consent from everyone before recording — a spoken announcement like 'this call is being recorded' at the start, with participants continuing to talk, is the standard practice and is treated as consent. Then keep the recording under your control. A local-first tool like Hapi records on your Mac without uploading audio anywhere, so the recording never leaves your device.

2026 · 08 · 10

Two-Party Consent States: Where You Must Get Permission to Record (2026)

A state-by-state guide to two-party (all-party) consent recording laws in the US — which states require everyone's permission, how interstate calls work, and how to record legally.

4 min read·Privacy

Most of the US uses one-party consent for recording conversations — if you are part of the conversation, you can record it. But a group of states flips that rule: they require all-party consent, commonly called "two-party consent." In these states, recording a private conversation without everyone's permission can be a criminal offense.

This is the companion guide to our pillar on whether it's legal to record a conversation without permission. Here we go state by state.

This is general information, not legal advice. Recording statutes change, courts reinterpret them, and outcomes depend on specific facts. For anything with legal stakes, consult a licensed attorney in the relevant state.

What "Two-Party Consent" Actually Means

"Two-party consent" is a slight misnomer. The rule is really all-party consent: every participant in the conversation must agree before it is recorded, whether there are two people or ten. Consent can be explicit ("yes, go ahead") or implied — for example, continuing to talk after a clear "this call is being recorded" announcement.

The rule protects private conversations where participants have a reasonable expectation of privacy. It generally does not cover conversations in public where you could be overheard anyway, or communications where no privacy is expected.

The State-by-State Breakdown

State	Standard	Key nuance
California	All-party	Penal Code § 632; applies to "confidential communications"
Connecticut	Mixed	All-party for civil liability; criminal statute is one-party for participants
Delaware	All-party	Statutes conflict; courts have leaned all-party
Florida	All-party	§ 934.03; applies where privacy is expected
Illinois	All-party	Eavesdropping Act rewritten after being struck down; now all-party
Maryland	All-party	Wiretap statute at issue in high-profile political recording cases
Massachusetts	All-party (strictest)	Bans secret recording outright, even by a participant
Montana	All-party	Requires notice to all parties
Nevada	Mixed	Case law treats phone calls as all-party; in-person debated
New Hampshire	All-party	Broad wiretap/eavesdropping statute
Oregon	Mixed	All-party for in-person conversations; one-party for phone calls
Pennsylvania	All-party	§ 5703; strict enforcement
Washington	All-party	Consent can be a recorded announcement at the start

Michigan is frequently listed as ambiguous — its statute reads all-party, but a court has interpreted it to allow a participant to record. Treat it as all-party to be safe.

Every state not listed here, plus federal law, uses one-party consent.

The Interstate Trap

The single most common mistake is assuming your own state's law is the only one that matters. It isn't.

When a call crosses state lines — you are in a one-party state, the other person is in a two-party state — courts have applied the stricter state's law. That means the two-party rule can reach you even if you are sitting in a one-party state.

The reliable rule: if a conversation might cross state lines, assume all-party consent applies and ask. For a phone call, that is a one-second announcement. For a video meeting with participants in multiple states, it means getting a clear "yes" before you record.

How to Record Legally in a Two-Party State

Announce it. A spoken "I'm recording this call/meeting" at the start, with everyone continuing to participate, is the standard and is treated as consent.
Get an explicit yes for sensitive conversations. For legal, medical, HR, or financial calls, don't rely on implied consent — ask directly and note the agreement.
Keep the recording under your control. Consent covers the act of recording; it does nothing to protect the audio afterward if it is uploaded to a cloud service.

That last point is where local-first tools matter. Hapi records and transcribes meetings entirely on your Mac — the audio never leaves your device, there is no cloud upload, and no third-party processor ever stores your conversations. In a two-party consent state, that combination is ideal: you get consent for the recording, and the recording itself never touches anyone else's servers, so there is nothing to leak, subpoena, or audit. See how local speech to text works, or the full picture on Hapi.

Summary

If you record conversations that might involve someone in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, or Washington, plan for all-party consent. Ask first, and keep the recording on your own device. For the full legal background — federal law, penalties, and the one-party states — read the pillar guide on recording a conversation without permission.