Montana 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
Montana law uses the same rule for recording in-person conversations and phone calls.
- In person: Depends: All parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency.
- Phone calls: Depends: All parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency.
In-person conversations: Depends: All parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency
Under Montana law, a person commits an offense by knowingly or purposely recording or causing to be recorded a conversation using a hidden electronic or mechanical device that reproduces a human conversation without the knowledge of all parties, with exceptions for public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, persons given warning of the recording, and health care facilities or government agencies recording health care emergency calls.
(c) records or causes to be recorded a conversation by use of a hidden electronic or mechanical device that reproduces a human conversation without the knowledge of all parties to the conversation;
Phone calls: Depends: All parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency
A person commits the offense of violating privacy in communications by knowingly or purposely recording or causing to be recorded a conversation using a hidden electronic or mechanical device that reproduces human conversation without the knowledge of all parties to the conversation, except as otherwise provided by law.
The same statute text quoted above applies (Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(1)(c)).
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 parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency. 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 parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency. 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 parties must know of the recording when it is made with a hidden device; exceptions include persons given warning, public officials or employees performing official duties, persons speaking at public meetings, and health care emergency calls to a health care facility or agency. 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 Montana 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