California recording consent laws
Last reviewed: . Checked against the official statute text.
General information, not legal advice. Laws change; consult an attorney about your situation.
Quick Answer
California law uses different rules for recording in-person conversations and phone calls.
- In person: Depends: All-party consent when the conversation is confidential, as defined in § 632(c).
- Phone calls: Depends: All-party consent when the call involves a cellular or cordless phone; a call between landlines is covered when it is confidential, as defined in § 632(c).
In-person conversations: Depends: All-party consent when the conversation is confidential, as defined in § 632(c)
California penalizes intentionally using an electronic amplifying or recording device to eavesdrop upon or record a confidential communication, whether carried on among the parties in the presence of one another or by telegraph, telephone, or other device except a radio, without the consent of all parties.
(a) A person who, intentionally and without the consent of all parties to a confidential communication, uses an electronic amplifying or recording device to eavesdrop upon or record the confidential communication, whether the communication is carried on among the parties in the presence of one another or by means of a telegraph, telephone, or other device, except a radio, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per violation, or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
Phone calls: Depends: All-party consent when the call involves a cellular or cordless phone; a call between landlines is covered when it is confidential, as defined in § 632(c)
Under California law, it is punishable by fine, imprisonment, or both to intercept or receive and intentionally record, or assist in intercepting or receiving and intentionally recording, a communication transmitted between two cellular radio telephones, a cellular radio telephone and a landline telephone, two cordless telephones, a cordless telephone and a landline telephone, or a cordless telephone and a cellular radio telephone without the consent of all parties to the communication.
(a) Every person who, without the consent of all of the parties to a communication, intercepts or receives and intentionally records, or assists in the interception or reception and intentional recordation of, a communication transmitted between two cellular radio telephones, a cellular radio telephone and a landline telephone, two cordless telephones, a cordless telephone and a landline telephone, or a cordless telephone and a cellular radio telephone, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
Definitions the rules rely on
“confidential communication”
Under this section, a confidential communication means any communication carried on in circumstances that reasonably indicate any party desires it to be confined to the parties, excluding communications made in a public gathering, in a legislative, judicial, executive, or administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other circumstance in which the parties may reasonably expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “confidential communication” means any communication carried on in circumstances as may reasonably indicate that any party to the communication desires it to be confined to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication made in a public gathering or in any legislative, judicial, executive, or administrative proceeding open to the public, or in any other circumstance in which the parties to the communication may reasonably expect that the communication may be overheard or recorded.
What this means in common sales settings
- In-home sales visits
- A sales conversation in a customer's home is an in-person conversation, which the in-person rule describes: Depends: All-party consent when the conversation is confidential, as defined in § 632(c). Whether a particular conversation meets that condition depends on its circumstances.
- Dealership and retail floors
- A conversation on a showroom, dealership or store floor is also an in-person conversation: Depends: All-party consent when the conversation is confidential, as defined in § 632(c). Whether a particular conversation meets that condition depends on its circumstances.
- Field sales
- A field rep's face-to-face meetings follow the in-person rule above. Calls follow the phone rule: Depends: All-party consent when the call involves a cellular or cordless phone; a call between landlines is covered when it is confidential, as defined in § 632(c). Whether a particular conversation meets that condition depends on its circumstances.
- Calls across state lines
- When a call connects people in different states, more than one state's law can be relevant. This page describes California law only; the guide's index lists the other jurisdictions it covers.
How the Itero app handles consent
The Itero mobile app for iPhone and Android asks the rep to confirm that everyone present agreed before every in-person recording, and Itero keeps a timestamped record of that consent. The app is in English. Virtual ride-alongs in the Itero app