United States · Last updated September 7, 2026
California is an all-party consent state: under the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), every party to a confidential communication must consent before it can be recorded.
Governing law: California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA), California Penal Code §§ 631 and 632.
For sales and support teams, the safe practice is an explicit recording notice at the start of every call and a documented consent step. Recording a Californian without all-party consent exposes you to criminal and civil liability even if the call is routine.
Violations can be charged as a misdemeanor or felony with fines up to $2,500 per violation, and the recorded party can sue for the greater of $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages.
"Before we start, I want to let you know this call is being recorded. Are you okay with continuing on that basis?"
Plain-language summaries of the sections that matter for recording a call. Each one links to the official text and has its own anchor, so you can cite a specific section.
Cal. Penal Code § 632
Makes it an offense to intentionally record a confidential communication, by phone or in person, without the consent of all parties. A confidential communication is one carried on in circumstances that reasonably indicate a party wants it confined to the parties, which covers most one-to-one business calls and excludes public gatherings and proceedings open to the public. Penalty: a fine of up to $2,500 per violation, up to one year in county jail or state prison, or both. A repeat offender faces up to $10,000 per violation.
Official textCal. Penal Code § 632.7
Prohibits intercepting or recording a call without the consent of all parties when at least one side is on a cellular or cordless phone, without the confidentiality test in § 632. Because most business calls involve a mobile phone on at least one end, this is the section that usually applies to a sales call. In Smith v. LoanMe (2021) the California Supreme Court held that it applies to parties to the call, not only to third-party eavesdroppers. Penalties mirror § 632: up to $2,500 per violation, rising to $10,000 for a repeat offense.
Official textCal. Penal Code § 637.2
Gives the person recorded a private right of action for the greater of $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages. The statute states that actual damage is not a prerequisite, so a claim can be brought with no provable loss. This is the section behind most CIPA lawsuits against businesses, including the class actions over website chat and call recording.
Official textCal. Penal Code § 633.5
The narrow exception. A party may record a confidential communication to obtain evidence reasonably believed to relate to extortion, kidnapping, bribery, a felony involving violence against the person (including human trafficking), threatening calls under § 653m, or domestic violence, committed by another party. It does not cover recording a business call for your own records.
Official textWhen the other side of the call is in California, the safer course is to follow the stricter of the two rules. Each row is the verdict for a caller recording from that jurisdiction, with the script to read at the start.
| Recording from | Their rule | Safer course on the call | Script |
|---|---|---|---|
| Estonia | GDPR + notice | All-party consent | Get the script |
| Finland | GDPR + notice | All-party consent | Get the script |
| Latvia | GDPR + notice | All-party consent | Get the script |
| Lithuania | GDPR + notice | All-party consent | Get the script |
| Poland | GDPR + notice | All-party consent | Get the script |
Cross-border calls can pull in the other side's stricter rule. Check the pair in our consent checker and get the disclosure script to read at call start.
Only with the consent of all parties. California is a two-party (all-party) consent state under CIPA, so every participant in a confidential call must agree to the recording.
Yes. California is a two-party consent state, more precisely an all-party consent state. Penal Code § 632 requires the consent of every party to a confidential communication, and § 632.7 requires it for any call involving a mobile or cordless phone, whether or not the call is confidential.
Yes, if everyone on the call agrees. Say that the call is being recorded before it starts. A party who hears a clear notice and continues is treated as having consented. Recording without telling the other party is an offense under § 632 and exposes you to $5,000 per violation under § 637.2.
Recording a confidential conversation without the consent of all parties is an offense under Penal Code § 632, punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 per violation and up to a year in jail, and the person recorded can sue for $5,000 per violation or three times actual damages under § 637.2 without proving any loss. The only exception, in § 633.5, is recording to gather evidence of specific crimes such as extortion, violence or domestic violence.
Not without the other party's consent. Being a participant is not enough in California. All parties must consent, which is what makes it different from one-party states such as New York and Texas.
A clear recording notice at the start of the call, where the other party then knowingly continues, is the standard way businesses obtain implied all-party consent in California. Make the notice before anything substantive is said, and keep it in the recording.
Yes. CIPA covers confidential communications regardless of the medium, so the all-party rule applies to a video call the same way as to a phone call. A recording banner that every participant sees, plus a spoken notice at the start, is how most businesses handle it.
Assume it does whenever a Californian is on the line. Courts have applied California's stricter rule to interstate calls, so the safer course for a seller in Texas, Estonia, Finland or anywhere else calling into California is all-party consent. The cross-border checker gives the verdict and the script for any pair.
Teneks records, transcribes, and analyzes calls with recording notices, access controls, and retention settings, so your team captures every conversation while staying on the right side of the rules. See how we handle data on our security page, or read the Baltic & Nordic recording guide.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Call recording and data protection rules change and depend on your specific situation. Confirm the current rules with a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction before recording.