Call recording is a common practice across the United States, but each state has rules on what exactly is allowed with a recording—and who has to be informed about it for the recording to legally take place. California has particularly strict call recording laws, in part because its privacy laws are included in its state constitution.

How Do the Rules Vary Between States?

From state to state, call recording laws vary greatly. They typically abide by either one party consent or two party consent. There are several two party consent states, including California, which effectively means that all parties on a call must be informed that a recording may take place.

You’ve probably heard the phrase “this call may be monitored or recorded,” or something very similar. This verbal warning is all a company needs to do to inform the other party of the recording. There are several reasons why companies choose to record phone calls, such as quality assurance or training, among others.

In order to give consent to a recording, all that is required is to stay on the line. What makes a call being recorded illegal in California is when consumers are not adequately informed of the recording, and therefore not given the chance to opt-out.

Most states have one party consent law—currently 38 of them, along with the District of Columbia. One party consent law is the standard at the federal level as well.

One Party vs. Two Party Consent

The main difference between these two approaches to call recording law is who on the line is aware of the call recording taking place.

One party consent simply means that only one party involved in the conversation must be aware of the recording and give permission for the recording to take place.

Two party consent states like California require all parties on the line to be informed of the recording. California also requires that if someone calls from a state with one party consent, they must still abide by California’s stricter rules.

Reasons Your Call Might Be Recorded

In addition to calls being recorded, companies also might record chat, video, and social media posts to ensure they have a complete record of all communication the business has had with the client.

In a world that values customer service skills and manners, the calls might be recorded to ensure the company representative is being honest, understanding, polite, and complete. By recording every call, the call center’s supervisor is able to play the recording for superiors or for the representative to hear what they have done right or done wrong on a call with a customer.

Any company that records its employees while they are on the phone needs to obtain consent before starting to record the employee. Most of the time, a call center supervisor will secure a signed agreement from the employee stating that they understand the calls may be recorded.

Inbound callers are consumers such as yourself who most often will hear a recorded voice warn the caller that calls may be recorded for training purposes, etc., but in some cases, only the sound of a beep will signify the start of a legal recording.

Even the beep tone must meet certain criteria and is legally recognized as a warning of a recording in even the two party consent states. The beeping must continue for .17 to .25 seconds and play again every 12 to 15 seconds during the recording of the phone call. The beep must be able to be heard by all members on the line, and the tone must be set within 1260-1540 Hertz.

California Penalties

California’s Invasion of Privacy Act provides details on the punishment someone may face if they fail to follow the law.

A first offense may result in a fine of $2,500 per violation or imprisonment of up to one year, or both the fine and the imprisonment. If a person has previous convictions regarding the violation of California’s Invasion of Privacy Act, the violator may be fined $10,000 per violation or imprisonment for the maximum of one year, or both the fine and imprisonment.

The person or business that illegally recorded the call may be ordered to pay damages of $5,000 per violation or three times the amount of actual damages incurred.

Companies that do business with customers nationally or internationally are responsible for learning the laws where they conduct business and following them accordingly. A business that customarily conducts business in a one party consent state may not offer a notice at the beginning of a call that the call is being recorded. When that business expands to two party consent states, the company is responsible for ensuring its telephone representatives and all telephonic alerts adhere to the laws.

California’s privacy law also clarifies that if someone is in public where their conversation may be overheard or recorded by people who are in the vicinity doesn’t have the same privacy protection as someone who is at home or in their car where they would have a reasonable belief the conversation would be private and not recorded.

Filing a Call Recording Lawsuit

If you live in California and you did not receive a warning about call recording after calling a toll-free number, that call may have been recorded without your consent and therefore may have violated California two party consent laws and the California Invasion of Privacy Act (CIPA).

In fact, several companies are currently under investigation for potentially violating California two party consent laws, such as Sunrun, Parcel Pending, and Snap Finance. A list of some of these companies can be found on our investigation page.

If you live in California and have had one of these companies or another company record a call without warning you, you may be able to file a lawsuit and pursue compensation. Filing a lawsuit can help enforce both state and federal call recording laws, as well as lead to a financial award.

While this particular class action lawsuit investigation applies specifically to residents of California, if you were in the state of California when you had a company record your phone call without telling you, you are protected under California’s phone recording law, regardless of your residency.