Legality of Recording Phone Calls in New York State

For New York being a blue state, it was surprising for us to discover the rather relaxed laws around recording calls in New York State.

In New York, you can record phone calls without consent from the another party – as long as you’re considered one of the parties in the call. This is known as “one party consent.” So as long as you’re on the call, and not eeves dropping someone elses call, you can record it without letting the other party know.

New York is one of 38 states that only require one-party consent. See the full list of states requiring consent to record phone calls.

Do both parties have to be in New York for this to apply?

This is where the law gets a little fuzzy. If you’re calling to another one-party consent state, you’re fine without announcing that you’re recording. If you’re calling someone from an all-party consent state, you’ll have to dig a bit deeper. The California Supreme Court (an all-party consent state), has stated that the one-party consent caller has to adhere to the stricter laws of the California caller (Cf. Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney Inc., 39 Cal. 4th 95 (2006)).

How do I record calls?

New York doesn’t state what type of equipment is allowed to record calls. You can use a portable recorder, a microphone, or of course, our call recording system. With SecureSpeak, you just 3-way in our call recording line into any call. Anything the recording line hears gets recorded and sent to you via email as an attachment. This works for both incoming and outgoing calls, as long as your phone has the ability to 3-way in calls. Browse our call recording plans page to find a package that fits your needs.

Secure Speak is not a licensed lawyer and any statements do not constitute legal advice. Contact a lawyer for information pertaining to your specific case, and reference the New York penal code directly.

Posted 7:24 pm by securespeak & filed under Legal.