Recording job interviews in Belgium: the new Criminal Code, the Electronic Communications Act and the APD's rules

In Belgium, the criminal law lets a participant record a conversation they take part in: Article 342 of the new Criminal Code, in force since September 1, 2026, punishes recording non-public communications "in which one does not take part" without the consent of all participants. But the Belgian Data Protection Authority (APD, or GBA in Dutch) reads Article 124 of the Electronic Communications Act as a ban in principle on recording electronic conversations unless everyone involved agrees or an exception applies, and the GDPR and the Belgian Data Protection Act of July 30, 2018 govern the recording and transcript. In practice: tell the candidate in advance and get their agreement before you record a phone or video interview. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds Belgium to our country series alongside France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK. Belgium is the one where the criminal code and the regulator point in slightly different directions, and where a new criminal code, with new article numbers, took effect this year.

The Belgian rules at a glance

What does the new Criminal Code say about recording?

Belgium's Criminal Code of 2024 replaced the old code on September 1, 2026; its start had been planned for April 8, 2026 and was postponed (FPS Justice, September 1, 2026). The eavesdropping offense, formerly Article 314bis, is now in chapter 9 on offenses against privacy (Criminal Code 2024, Justel):

• Article 342 covers "deliberately, using any device, intercepting, taking cognizance of or recording communications not accessible to the public, in which one does not take part, without the consent of all participants in those communications," installing a device with that intent, and keeping or disclosing the contents of illegally recorded communications (our translation). It carries a level 2 penalty.
• Article 344 covers using a lawfully made recording of non-public communications "with fraudulent intent or with intent to harm," outside the cases the law provides for. It also carries a level 2 penalty.
• Article 36 defines a level 2 penalty as imprisonment of six months to three years or an alternative such as electronic monitoring, a work penalty or probation.

A recruiter who conducts the interview takes part in the communication, so Article 342 does not describe recording your own call. Article 344 still matters: a lawful recording of a candidate used to harm them, for example circulated to embarrass them, can be an offense of its own.

Why does the APD say you need everyone's consent?

Because of a separate statute. Article 124 of the Law of 13 June 2005 on electronic communications says that, unless "authorized by all the persons directly or indirectly concerned," no one may intentionally take cognizance of information transmitted by electronic communication "that is not intended for them personally," identify the people involved, or store or make any use of information obtained that way (LCE art. 124; our translation).

The APD's page on professional phone conversations reads this broadly: "it is in principle prohibited to record electronic conversations, professional or private," subject to exceptions for the consent of all persons involved in the call, two technical exceptions (call-center quality control and proof of lawful commercial transactions) and authorization by a specific law (APD, professional telephone conversations; our translation). Even where an exception applies, the APD says the parties to the call must be told, before the recording, that it takes place, its precise purposes and how long it will be stored, and that employees should be informed, for example through the work rules.

The two technical exceptions are now written into Article 10/1 of the Data Protection Act of 30 July 2018, in force since January 10, 2022. Its first paragraph authorizes recording an electronic communication "in lawful commercial transactions as proof of a commercial transaction or of another professional communication," on condition that the parties are informed of the recording, its precise purposes and how long it is stored, before it starts, with deletion no later than the end of the period in which the transaction can be challenged in court. Its second paragraph covers call-center quality monitoring, with recordings kept for one month at most (our translations). Both are written for commercial and call-center settings; a job interview is not an obvious fit, so do not rely on them in place of the candidate's agreement.

The statute's text is about information "not intended for" the person, and a candidate's answers are intended for the interviewer, so lawyers may argue a participant falls outside Article 124. The regulator's published position is the one that counts in an APD complaint, though, and none of its exceptions fits a job interview. The safe course for a phone or video interview is the candidate's prior, informed agreement.

Which data protection rules apply to the recording and transcript?

The GDPR applies directly, alongside the Law of 30 July 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data, which fills in Belgium's national choices under the regulation. The APD's recruitment guidance adds the points most relevant to interviews (APD, recruitment of candidates):

• Only what selection needs. Questions may only concern the nature and conditions of the job, and only personal data strictly necessary for selecting candidates may be collected and recorded.
• Sensitive topics stay out. Health, pregnancy, political or religious views and union membership are off limits except in narrow cases, and criminal record data may be processed only in the cases listed in Article 10 of the 2018 Act; the candidate's consent is not a basis for it.
• Automated tests need a human route. For automated personality or aptitude tests, there must be a procedure for the candidate to give their view on the results, because the GDPR bars hiring decisions based solely on automated processing.
• Candidates can see their results. Candidates assessed by a selection agency can consult the personal results of the interviews, tests and practical exercises they took and contest an evaluation, alongside their general GDPR right of access to a recording or transcript.

A recording captures everything a candidate says, including things you should not ask about, so it pulls against the "strictly necessary" test. If you record, keep the recording to the selection decision and delete it on a short schedule; see our candidate data retention policy template. The APD also notes that recruitment and selection are subject to rules of conduct set in a collective labour agreement, so check the agreements that bind you.

What if you interview a candidate in Belgium from the US?

Apply the Belgian standard on the call: tell the candidate in the invitation, repeat it at the start, and get a clear yes before recording. An employer or agency established in the EU is covered by the GDPR under Article 3(1); for a US company with no EU establishment, coverage depends on Article 3(2). The US side of the call has its own state rules; see is it legal to record a job interview.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, with the same consent and notice. Name the tool in the invitation, say whether audio or only a transcript is kept, check where the provider processes the audio, and keep the decision with a person. If the tool scores or ranks candidates, the EU AI Act's rules for recruitment systems come into play; see the EU AI Act for recruiting. Interview Signal (our product), for example, captures audio from the interviewer's computer with no bot in the call, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not keep audio after transcription; the transcript is still personal data under the rules above.

A consent line for interviews in Belgium

Use the candidate's language and read it before anything is captured:

Avant de commencer : j'aimerais [enregistrer / transcrire avec un
logiciel] notre entretien, afin de pouvoir me concentrer sur vous et
noter fidèlement vos réponses. [L'enregistrement / La transcription]
servira uniquement à cette procédure de sélection et sera supprimé(e)
au plus tard [délai] après sa clôture. Êtes-vous d'accord ? Vous
pouvez refuser ou demander une pause à tout moment, sans conséquence
sur votre candidature.

Voor we beginnen: ik zou ons gesprek graag [opnemen / met software
uitschrijven], zodat ik me volledig op u kan concentreren en uw
antwoorden correct vastleg. [De opname / Het transcript] gebruiken we
enkel voor deze selectieprocedure en we verwijderen [ze / het]
uiterlijk [termijn] na afloop. Gaat u daarmee akkoord? U kunt ook
weigeren of op elk moment om een pauze vragen; dat heeft geen invloed
op uw kandidatuur.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record / transcribe with software] our
interview so I can focus on you and capture your answers accurately.
The [recording / transcript] will be used only for this selection
procedure and deleted no later than [period] after it ends. Do you agree?
You can say no or ask to pause at any time, with no effect on your
application.)

Put the same information, with the retention period, in writing in the invitation; our GDPR candidate privacy notice template has the Article 13 fields, and more wording options are in our interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in Belgium

• Candidate told before the interview, in writing, that it will be recorded or transcribed, why and for how long.
• The candidate's clear agreement obtained before recording starts, with a real option to continue without it.
• Interviewers informed, for example through the work rules, that their interviews may be recorded and for what purpose.
• Questions kept to the job; no sensitive topics captured unless an exception applies.
• Recordings used only for the selection decision, never to harm or embarrass the candidate (Article 344).
• Recordings and transcripts deleted on a short, documented schedule; access requests answered within the GDPR's deadline.

Hiring in neighboring countries? Compare France, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland.