Recording job interviews in Greece: Penal Code article 370A, the call-recording rule and the HDPA

In Greece, recording a job interview without the candidate's express consent is a serious crime, even for the interviewer: article 370A of the Penal Code punishes anyone who records their own conversation or phone call with another person "without the express consent" of that person, and since Law 5002/2022 the penalty is incarceration of up to ten years. Law 3471/2006 allows business call recording only to evidence a transaction or business communication, which the Hellenic Data Protection Authority (HDPA) reads narrowly, and Law 4624/2019 counts job candidates as employees, allowing their data to be processed only where "absolutely necessary." This is the position as of November 2026.

This page adds Greece to our country series alongside Italy, Austria and Germany. It is for recruiters, agency consultants and hiring managers who interview candidates located in Greece by video or phone, including from the US. Statutes are quoted from the Government Gazette (ΦΕΚ) and the HDPA's published texts, and guidance from the HDPA's own pages; quotations are our translations from Greek.

Greece's rules at a glance

Is it a crime to record a job interview in Greece?

Yes, without the candidate's express consent. Article 370A of the Penal Code (Law 4619/2019), headed "violation of the secrecy of telephone communication and oral conversation," was rewritten by article 10 of Law 5002/2022 (Government Gazette A' 228, December 9, 2022), which entered into force on publication. Two sentences matter for interviews:

• Phone and online calls (paragraph 1): after punishing anyone who taps or interferes with a telephony device, connection or network to learn or record a call between third parties, it adds that the same penalty applies "also when the offender records on a material medium the content of their telephone communication with another, without the express consent of the latter."
• Conversations (paragraph 2): after punishing anyone who unlawfully monitors with special technical means or records a non-public oral conversation between third parties, it adds the same rule for a person who records "the content of their conversation with another without the express consent of the latter."

Both carry incarceration (κάθειρξη) of up to ten years. Paragraph 3 applies the same penalty to anyone who "makes use of the information or of the material medium" recorded in those ways, which reaches sharing a recording with a client or colleague. Before the 2022 amendment the same conduct was already an offence, with lower penalties, in the 2019 Penal Code.

The key word is "express" (ρητή). Greece has no one-party rule: the interviewer's own participation does not authorize the recording, and an automatic "this meeting is being recorded" banner that the candidate does not answer is a weak basis for consent. Ask the question, wait for a clear yes, and note it. For the US side of the call, see two-party consent states.

Can you rely on the business call-recording rule instead?

Probably not for interviews. Article 4 of Law 3471/2006 on privacy in electronic communications prohibits "listening, interception, storage or any other kind of monitoring or surveillance" of electronic communications unless the law provides otherwise (paragraph 2), and paragraph 3 allows recording calls "in the course of lawful business practice for the purpose of providing evidence of a commercial transaction or other communication of a business nature," provided both parties consent after being told the purpose of the recording.

The HDPA's page on recording telephone calls explains that, where recording is lawful under this rule, prior information to the party who did not start the recording is enough, and can be given by a recorded message before the call. But it also says the provision allows recording a business conversation "only when it is necessary to prove that the specific conversation took place and had specific content, and not generally in every case of business communication," and that the exception "must be interpreted restrictively" (citing its decision 73/2017). An interview is not a transaction to be proven, so the safe route is the candidate's express consent, which also meets article 370A.

What do the GDPR and Law 4624/2019 require?

The GDPR applies in full to the recording and transcript: a lawful basis under Article 6, the Article 13 information when you collect the data, minimization, a retention limit, and the candidate's rights. Greece's implementing law, Law 4624/2019, adds employment-specific rules in article 27:

• Candidates are covered. For the purposes of the law, "employees" include "candidates for employment" (paragraph 8).
• Strict necessity. Employee data may be processed for the purposes of the employment contract "if it is absolutely necessary for the decision to conclude an employment contract" or for its performance (paragraph 1).
• Consent is exceptional. Where processing "exceptionally" rests on consent, whether it was freely given is judged mainly by the dependency in the employment relationship and the circumstances; consent is given in written or electronic form, must be clearly distinguished from the contract, and the person must be told the purpose and their right to withdraw (paragraph 2).

The HDPA's page on processing employee data goes further: consent should be used where "no other legal basis remains," because of the imbalance of power between employer and employee. That leaves recruiters with two layers that fit together: the candidate's express consent to the recording, which article 370A requires, and a documented Article 6 basis for the processing, usually steps before a contract or legitimate interests (see legitimate interest in recruitment), with a necessity check on whether you need audio at all or whether a transcript and notes would do.

Can candidates get the recording?

Yes. A recorded conversation is personal data of both parties, as the HDPA's call-recording page notes, so a candidate can ask for a copy under Article 15 GDPR. The HDPA's list of decisions on recorded calls includes decisions 32/2017 and 33/2017, which imposed fines for not properly satisfying requests for access to recorded conversations, and decision 102/2017 on a data subject's access to a recorded conversation and the audio file. Plan to answer within the GDPR's one-month deadline; our candidate data access requests guide has a workflow.

How long can you keep recordings and transcripts?

We found no Greek statute that fixes a period for interview recordings. Article 27(5) of Law 4624/2019 requires the controller to take measures to ensure the GDPR's Article 5 principles are kept, which includes storage limitation, so set a period tied to the hiring decision and any dispute window, keep the written notes longer than the audio if you need a record, and delete on schedule. Our retention policy template gives the structure.

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

An employer or agency established in the EU is covered by the GDPR under Article 3(1); a US company with no EU establishment is covered only where Article 3(2) applies. Article 370A protects the other party to the conversation, so get the candidate's express consent wherever you sit, and follow your own state's law for your side. If the recording or transcript goes to a US vendor, the HDPA's page on transfers to the US explains that under the Commission's July 10, 2023 adequacy decision, data can flow freely to companies that participate in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework; for others, use an Article 46 tool such as standard contractual clauses.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, with the candidate's express consent before the tool starts, notice of the tool and the vendor, a transfer basis for any vendor outside the EU, and short retention. A note-taking bot that joins the call records the conversation too, so name it when you ask. A tool that scores or ranks candidates is likely to be a high-risk system under the EU AI Act. Interview Signal, for example, captures audio on the interviewer's own computer with no bot joining the call, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not retain audio after transcription; the transcript is still personal data under the rules above.

A consent line for interviews in Greece

Πριν ξεκινήσουμε: θα ήθελα να [ηχογραφήσω τη συνομιλία μας /
χρησιμοποιήσω λογισμικό που μεταγράφει τη συνομιλία μας], ώστε να
καταγράψω με ακρίβεια τις απαντήσεις σας. Θα χρησιμοποιήσουμε
[την ηχογράφηση / τη μεταγραφή] μόνο για αυτή τη διαδικασία
επιλογής, θα τη μοιραστούμε μόνο με [τον πελάτη / τον υπεύθυνο
πρόσληψης] και θα τη διαγράψουμε [διάστημα] μετά το τέλος της.
Συμφωνείτε; Χρειάζομαι τη ρητή σας συγκατάθεση πριν ξεκινήσω.
Μπορείτε να αρνηθείτε ή να ζητήσετε διακοπή οποιαδήποτε στιγμή,
χωρίς καμία συνέπεια για την αίτησή σας.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record our conversation / use
software that transcribes our conversation] so I capture your
answers accurately. We'll use the [recording / transcript] only
for this selection process, share it only with [the client / the
hiring manager] and delete it [period] after it ends. Do you agree?
I need your express consent before I start. You can say no or ask
for a pause at any time, with no consequence for your application.)

The "express consent" line reflects article 370A; the sharing line reflects paragraph 3. Put the Article 13 details in the invitation and your candidate privacy notice. More wording is in the interview recording consent script. Interviewing across the Aegean too? See Turkey, which also requires every speaker's consent.

Checklist before you record interviews in Greece

• Candidate's express consent obtained before recording or live transcription starts, and noted; no reliance on a banner.
• Consent covers any sharing with a client or colleague who was not on the call.
• Article 6 basis documented and a necessity check done under article 27 of Law 4624/2019.
• Article 13 notice in the invitation or privacy notice.
• No reliance on the Law 3471/2006 business-recording exception for interviews.
• Access requests answered with a copy of the recording within one month.
• Retention period set, audio deleted early, notes kept only as long as needed.
• US vendors certified under the Data Privacy Framework or covered by standard contractual clauses.