Recording job interviews in the Netherlands: Criminal Code, GDPR and the AP's rules

In the Netherlands, recording a job interview you take part in is not a crime: the eavesdropping offences in Articles 139a and 139b of the Criminal Code apply to someone who records a conversation without being a participant and without a participant's instructions. The recording is still personal data, so the GDPR applies, and the Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, AP) expects you to tell the person in advance that the call is recorded and why, and to delete a rejected applicant's data no later than four weeks after the procedure ends unless they agree to a longer period of up to a year. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds the Netherlands to our country series alongside Germany, the UK, Canada and Australia. The Dutch answer differs from Germany's on the criminal side, where a participant may record, but the regulator has set a short, specific retention expectation for applicants, and works councils have a formal consent right.

The Dutch rules at a glance

Can a participant record a conversation in the Netherlands?

Yes, as far as the Criminal Code (Wetboek van Strafrecht) is concerned. Its three eavesdropping provisions are all aimed at outsiders:

• Article 139a punishes, with up to six months' imprisonment or a fourth-category fine, intentionally using a technical aid to listen to a conversation held in a home, closed room or yard "other than on the instructions of a participant in that conversation," or to record it "without being a participant in that conversation and other than on the instructions of such a participant" (our translation). Its second paragraph excludes recording data processed or transmitted by telecommunication, which is covered by Article 139c instead.
• Article 139b applies the same test, with a lower penalty, to conversations held elsewhere and secretly listened to or recorded.
• Article 139c punishes intentionally and unlawfully tapping or recording data "not intended for him" that is processed or transmitted by telecommunication or an automated work, with up to two years' imprisonment.

A recruiter on a phone or video interview is a participant, and the candidate's words are intended for them, so none of the three describes recording your own interview. The limits for a recruiter come from data protection law, not the Criminal Code.

What does the AP expect when calls are recorded?

The AP's guidance on monitoring means of communication covers employers recording telephone calls (AP, monitoring means of communication). It allows recording where necessary, for example to improve a call centre's service, but sets conditions that map directly onto interviews:

• Tell the other party in advance. You must inform the person your employee is calling, in advance, that the call will be recorded and what the recordings are used for.
• Tell your own staff each time. Informing employees once when they start work is not enough; they need to know when their calls are being recorded. Your interviewers are the employees here.
• Covert recording is almost never allowed. The AP lists threats, bomb threats and suspected criminal conduct as the exceptions, and says calls may not be covertly recorded to supervise, train or assess staff.

The AP's general conditions for monitoring add a legitimate interest that outweighs the people affected, necessity, information to staff, works council consent and, for large-scale or systematic monitoring, a data protection impact assessment (AP, conditions for monitoring employees).

What does the AP say about applicants' data and video?

The AP's page on applicants' personal data sets two rules that shape any interview recording (AP, personal data of applicants):

• Retention. If an applicant is not hired, "it is customary that you delete the applicant's data no later than 4 weeks after the end of the application procedure." Applicants can consent to a longer period, for example for a later vacancy, and up to one year after the procedure is reasonable.
• Video. Employers may not require applicants to send a video of themselves, because images can reveal special categories of data such as origin, a visible disability or religion. Such data may only be processed with explicit consent, and that consent is valid only if applicants can also apply another way with no negative consequences.

The AP's example is about video applications, not interviews, but the same reasoning applies to a stored video of an interview: it can reveal the same things. Recording audio only, or keeping a transcript and no recording, avoids most of the issue. The AP also notes that applicants are in a dependent position, which is why consent is hard to rely on in recruitment; see our guide to legitimate interest in recruitment for the alternative.

Does the works council have a say?

In a company with a works council (ondernemingsraad), very likely. Under Article 27(1) of the Works Councils Act the employer needs the works council's consent to adopt, change or withdraw, among other things, a regulation on hiring (appointment), dismissal or promotion policy (e), on the processing and protection of the personal data of people working in the company (k), and on facilities aimed at or suitable for observing or monitoring their attendance, behavior or performance (l). An interview recording or AI note-taking tool records your interviewers as well as candidates, so plan for item (l) at least, and agree in writing what the recordings may not be used for, such as evaluating interviewers.

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

The Dutch Criminal Code will not usually be the problem for a participant, but the US side of the call has its own rules, which depend on the state you are in; see is it legal to record a job interview. On data protection, 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 simplest course is to give candidates in the Netherlands the same advance notice, four-week deletion and access handling as anyone hiring there.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, with the same notice and retention rules. Announce the tool before the call, say whether audio or video is kept, avoid video capture where you do not need it, and check where the provider processes the audio. If the tool scores or ranks candidates, Article 22 GDPR and the EU AI Act's rules for recruitment systems come into play (the EU AI Act for recruiting). Interview Signal, for example, captures audio only, joins no call as a bot, 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 the Netherlands

Voordat we beginnen: ik wil ons gesprek graag [opnemen / met software
uitschrijven], zodat ik me helemaal op u kan richten en uw antwoorden
goed vastleg. [De opname / Het transcript] gebruiken we alleen voor
deze sollicitatieprocedure en we verwijderen het uiterlijk [termijn]
na afloop. Gaat u daarmee akkoord? U kunt ook nee zeggen of op elk
moment om een pauze vragen; dat heeft geen invloed op uw sollicitatie.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record / transcribe with software] our
conversation so I can focus on you and capture your answers properly.
We use the [recording / transcript] only for this application procedure
and delete it no later than [period] after it ends. Do you agree? You can
also say no or ask to pause at any time; it won't affect your application.)

More wording options are in our interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in the Netherlands

• Candidate told in advance, in the invitation and at the start of the call, that the interview is recorded or transcribed and why.
• Interviewers told each time their interviews are recorded; no covert recording.
• Lawful basis documented under Article 6 GDPR; consent not relied on where the candidate cannot freely refuse.
• Audio or transcript only unless video is genuinely needed.
• Rejected applicants' recordings deleted within four weeks of the procedure, or within a year with consent.
• Works council consent obtained under Article 27 WOR before the tool goes live.
• A DPIA done if the tool monitors staff systematically or scores candidates.

Interviewing elsewhere in the EU? Compare France, Ireland and Poland.