It has been soooooooo long since I had a need to do this but again it is time.

Anyone square on the legalities of recording phone calls?

It seems to me from what I can remember that there may be a stipulation in law that diffrentiates between incoming and outgoing calls.

Help anyone?

im not sure, but i thought to use a recoreded call aginst someone you had to tell them your were taping. that seems pretty dumb, maybe im wrong

It's perfectly legal to record a phone call as long as you inform the other party at the beginning of the call.

Sometimes, when you call a business, a recording of "This call may be recorded for training purposes" is heard before you talk with a real person.  The recording clears the business in case they wish to record you.

USPC40

-------------------------------------------------
[b][blue]NRA Life Member[/blue][/b] - [url]www.nra.org[/url]
[b][blue]GOA Life Member[/blue][/b] - [url]www.gunowners.org[/url]
[b][blue]SAF Member[/blue][/b] - [url]www.saf.org[/url]
[b][blue]SAS Supporter[/blue][/b] - [url]www.sas-aim.org[/url]

[img]www.ar15.com/members/albums/USPC40/alabamaflag.gif[/img]

We can do what we want in our home but we can't use it as evidence if the person being recorded is not aware and has not given prior consent.

The federal statute regarding recording telephone conversations is that ONE of the parties to the conversation must be aware of the recording, in other words you can record your own telephone conversation with another person, or you can consent to have someone else record your telephone conversation with another person.

Under the federal statute if neither party to a telephone conversation is aware of the recording nor consents to the recording, then it is a crime.

Most states have no provisions, or a provision similar to the feds, but some, such as MARYLAND have laws that prevent any clandestine recording of a telephone conversation by anyone, including a party to the conversation itself.

Just ask Linda Tripp about the law in Maryland![:D]

Check with your local law enforcement officials.
They will be more than helpful to assist you in this matter.

Eric The(Yeah,Right)Hun[>]:)]

Eric The(often helpful)Hun:

Thanks man. That is kinda what I thought.

In otherwords I am fine if I record my outgoing/incoming calls from my home as I am personally aware that they are being recorded.

I will check with our local DA as he lives next door.

Yup there you go. In every firm I have worked at we've always had a recorded line. There is a greeting that said they are being recorded before coming on-line with our trading desks. We also have this beeping sound every 30secs. If we call people for the first time we tell em that they are on a recorded line. We neve gave them the option of not being recorded though

State laws are not considered in a court of law where fcc rules may apply......it is/may be regarded as counsel/client privelege as to usefullness in court.......you have the right to record ANY telephone conversation within the privacy of your home, however, once that recording is removed from your premisis, it is subject to federal criterea if engaged in any legal matter.........[:)].........(guess it boils down to how good of a lawyer you can afford)........[dracula]

It mostly depends on your state.

Texas is a one-party consent state. As long as one party knows the conversation is being recorded, it is legal, and you do not have to tell the other party.

My employer records all phone conversations. They tell you when you are hired that they record all conversations.

If you were to record a conversation without the consent of either parties, it would not just be a civil liability in Texas. For example, you set up a recorder on your home telephone to catch your wife talking to her boyfriend. That would fall under the "Unlawful Interception of Communications" law in this state, and it is a felony.

That is just Texas law, but it is probably similar to most other states. Talk to a local criminal prosecutor's office and get their opinion.

Arkansas law states that a conversation can be recorded without a court issued warrant as long as one of the parties involved has knowledge of it. So taping phone conversations here is legal.