Is it legal to record a meeting? A plain-English guide

This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and vary by place, and only a qualified lawyer can advise you on your situation. With that said, here is a plain-English overview of how recording and consent rules generally work, so you know what questions to ask before you hit record.

The core idea: consent

Most recording laws come down to one question: who has to agree before a private conversation can be recorded. There are two broad approaches.

• One-party consent. Only one person in the conversation needs to agree to the recording. If you are part of the conversation, that can be you. You do not have to tell the others.
• All-party consent (often called two-party consent). Everyone in the conversation must agree. The "two-party" label is misleading: on a five-person call in an all-party state, all five must consent, not just two.

The United States

At the federal level, the baseline is one-party consent. A participant can generally record a conversation they are part of, as long as it is not for a criminal or harmful purpose. Many states follow this same one-party rule.

A minority of states require all-party consent. As of this writing, the commonly cited all-party consent states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. The rest, plus Washington DC, are generally one-party. Because state laws can be amended and courts interpret them over time, treat this list as a starting point and verify the current law for your state before relying on it.

The details also matter within a state. Some states treat phone calls and in-person conversations differently. For example, one state may require all-party consent for phone recordings but follow one-party rules for in-person conversations, and another may split it the other way between in-person and electronic communications. So "what state am I in" is not always the end of the question.

Calls that cross state lines

A common trap is a call between people in different states, for instance a one-party state and an all-party state. Which law applies can be genuinely unclear, and courts do not always agree. The safe approach is to follow the stricter rule, which usually means getting everyone's consent.

Outside the United States

Other countries have their own frameworks, and many are stricter than the US baseline, especially where broad privacy and data-protection laws apply. If any participant is in another country, do not assume US rules apply. Check the local requirements.

The practical rule that keeps you safe almost everywhere

There is a simple habit that avoids most problems: tell people you are recording and get their agreement. A short "I would like to record this so I can take notes, is that okay with everyone?" at the start does the job. It satisfies all-party consent where it is required, it is polite everywhere else, and it creates a clear record that everyone agreed. For meetings on video platforms, the built-in recording notification helps, but a verbal confirmation is still good practice.

Consent is not the only consideration

Even where recording is legal, what you do with the recording matters. Confidentiality obligations, professional rules, workplace policies, and privacy laws can all affect whether you may record, store, or share a conversation, and for how long. Sensitive settings such as legal, medical, and HR work often have their own standards on top of the general recording laws.

Where the tool fits

MeetingScribe transcribes audio you already have the right to use. It does not decide for you whether a recording was lawful. What it does help with is the storage side of the concern: because it transcribes in your browser and never uploads your audio, there is no extra cloud copy of a sensitive recording sitting on a third-party server. If confidentiality is your main worry, see our page on private transcription.

The short version

• Recording usually comes down to consent: one-party or all-party.
• US federal baseline is one-party; a minority of states require all-party.
• Cross-border or cross-state calls: follow the stricter rule.
• When in doubt, ask everyone and get a yes on the recording.
• This is general information, not legal advice. Verify the law that applies to you.