Guidelines for Recording Business Conversations

This article is for information purposes only. 

Online meetings often need recording for evaluation and training purposes. Call recording laws vary at the State and Federal levels. Federal law requires single party consent. 38 states and the District of Columbia have adopted single party consent while 12 states have adopted “two-party” (all participants) consent.

Some call recording vendors suggest varying whether to notify or not notify the other parties on a State by State basis. We believe simplifying complexity and minimizing exposure by adopting a single approach that satisfies the needs of the most restrictive States (e.g. California) by always notifying all parties that the call is being recorded.

Most experts agree that implied consent is sufficient and that businesses do not require the other parties to verbally say "I agree to be recorded." This is why, for example, staying on the line after hearing "this call may be recorded," implies consent was given.

While the final decision rests on your legal counsel and their interpretation of how your business should obtain consent, we have outlined 5 Tips to Obtain Recording Consent.