Louisiana recording consent law for interviews: one-party, with a two-year minimum for outsiders

Louisiana is a one-party consent state. Under La. R.S. 15:1303(C)(4), it is not unlawful for a private person to intercept a communication "where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent," unless the purpose is a criminal, tortious or "other injurious act." An interviewer can record or transcribe their own interview under Louisiana law. The penalty for stepping outside that rule is severe: § 15:1303(B) sets imprisonment of "not less than two years nor more than ten years at hard labor," plus a fine of up to $10,000. That makes the edge cases (recording an interview you are not in, or passing on a recording someone else made) worth getting right.

To check a pairing of Louisiana and another state, use the consent checker.

This page covers the statute's wording, the penalties and civil claim, the situations the one-party rule does not cover, interview formats, calls to Florida and beyond, and a consent line.

What the statute says

Louisiana's electronic surveillance law begins at R.S. 15:1301. Section 15:1303(A) makes it unlawful to "willfully intercept, endeavor to intercept, or procure any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, electronic or oral communication," and to willfully disclose or use the contents of a communication "knowing or having reason to know that the information was obtained through the interception" of a communication in violation of that subsection.

The participant exception is § 15:1303(C)(4):

"It shall not be unlawful under this Chapter for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, electronic, or oral communication where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception, unless such communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the constitution or laws of the United States or of the state or for the purpose of committing any other injurious act."

Like Ohio and New Jersey, Louisiana adds "any other injurious act" to the federal "criminal or tortious" purpose limit. The phrase is not defined. A record kept for a fair, job-related hiring decision is the ordinary case; anything aimed at harming the candidate is not.

The definitions in R.S. 15:1302 follow the federal model:

• Intercept means "the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device." A transcript is an acquisition of contents.
• Oral communication means one uttered by a person "exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation." That is the in-person category.
• Electronic communication covers "signs, signals, writings, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature" sent by wire, radio or similar systems, which is where video calls fall.

Penalties and the civil claim

• Criminal. Section 15:1303(B): "Any person who violates the provisions of this Section shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars and imprisoned for not less than two years nor more than ten years at hard labor." The statute sets a minimum term as well as a maximum, and the offense covers disclosure and use as well as interception.
• Civil. Under R.S. 15:1312, a person whose communication is "intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of this Chapter" can sue anyone who intercepts, discloses or uses it, or procures someone else to, and recover actual damages "but not less than liquidated damages computed at the rate of one hundred dollars a day for each day of violation or one thousand dollars, whichever is greater," plus "a reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs" and punitive damages.

For agencies, the disclosure and use provisions are the ones to watch. A recruiter who sends a client a recording made by someone who was not on the call, while having reason to know that, is within § 15:1303(A) even though they never pressed record.

Where the one-party rule does not cover a hiring team

How the rule applies to interview formats

Calls from Louisiana to other states

Louisiana's neighbors (Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi) follow a one-party rule, so regional calls rarely conflict; Texas's version is in Texas recording consent law for interviews. Along the Gulf Coast, Florida is the state to plan for. It requires that "all of the parties to the communication have given prior consent," and covers phone, electronic and in-person communications with an expectation of privacy; see Florida call recording law for recruiters.

Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)) matches Louisiana's one-party rule but does not prevent a stricter state from applying its own. In Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006), California's Supreme Court applied California's all-party law to calls a firm's Georgia employees recorded with California clients. The framework is in recording calls across state lines.

What it means for recording or transcribing an interview

1. Only participants start capture. With a two-year minimum term on the table, do not record a conversation you are not in without a participant's prior consent.
2. Transcription is interception. Apply the same consent step to text-only tools.
3. Know where every recording came from. Log who recorded, whether they were on the call, and when the candidate agreed.
4. Share summaries, not files. Disclosure is part of the offense, so default to scorecards rather than raw audio or transcripts.
5. AI scoring is separate. See AI hiring laws by state.

When the candidate records

The one-party rule protects candidates as well. A Louisiana candidate who is on the call may record it without telling you. Assume any interview could exist as a recording, keep questions consistent and job-related, and answer requests to record from a written policy, the same way for everyone.

A consent line for Louisiana interviews

"Before we start, I'd like to [record / transcribe] this interview so
my notes for the [role] position are accurate. Only [who] will see it,
and it's deleted after [period]. If you'd prefer I didn't, just say so
and I'll take notes by hand; it won't affect your application. Is that
OK with you?"

[Clear yes: start capture. No, or anything unclear: capture stays off.]

Louisiana does not require this line for a call you are on, but Florida and other all-party states do, and asking every candidate removes the location question. More versions are in the interview recording consent script.

Checklist for Louisiana hiring teams

1. Ask every candidate before capture starts.
2. Treat calls with Florida candidates as all-party.
3. Only participants set up recording or transcription.
4. Never forward or quote a recording unless you know how it was made.
5. Keep a dated written policy and review it yearly.

Louisiana is listed with the other one-party states in one-party consent states.