Ohio recording consent law for interviews: one-party, with a $10,000 floor on damages

Ohio is a one-party consent state. Under Revised Code § 2933.52(B)(4), the interception offense does not apply to a person who "is a party to the communication" or who has a party's prior consent, provided the purpose is not a criminal offense, a tortious act or "any other injurious act." An interviewer can therefore record or transcribe their own phone screen, video interview or in-person interview under Ohio law. Two things raise the stakes: a mistake is a fourth-degree felony, and the civil statute sets liquidated damages of at least $10,000. And Ohio shares borders with Pennsylvania, an all-party state, and Michigan, whose rule is disputed.

To check a specific pairing of your state and the candidate's, use the consent checker.

This page covers the statute's wording, the penalties and civil claim, where the one-party rule does not protect a hiring team, how each interview format fits, calls across the state line, and a consent line to read aloud.

What the statute says

Ohio's wiretap law sits in Revised Code §§ 2933.51 to 2933.66. Section 2933.52(A) says no person shall purposely intercept, attempt to intercept, or procure another person to intercept "a wire, oral, or electronic communication." It also prohibits using the contents of a communication while "knowing or having reason to know" they were obtained through an unlawful interception.

The exception an interviewer relies on is § 2933.52(B)(4). The section does not apply to:

"A person who is not a law enforcement officer and who intercepts a wire, oral, or electronic communication, if the person is a party to the communication or if one of the parties to the communication has given the person prior consent to the interception, and if the communication is not intercepted for the purpose of committing a criminal offense or tortious act in violation of the laws or Constitution of the United States or this state or for the purpose of committing any other injurious act"

Ohio's purpose limit is broader than the federal version. The federal statute stops at a "criminal or tortious act"; Ohio adds "any other injurious act." The statute does not define that phrase, and we found no official guidance applying it to hiring. The safe reading for an employer is simple: record only to keep an accurate record of a lawful, job-related interview.

The definitions in § 2933.51 set the reach:

• Intercept means "the aural or other acquisition of the contents" of a wire, oral or electronic communication through an interception device. Software that converts speech to text acquires the contents, so treat transcription like recording.
• Oral communication is one "uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying that expectation." That is the in-person category.
• Wire communication is an aural transfer over wire or similar connections, and electronic communication covers signs, signals, images, sounds and data sent by wire, radio or similar systems. Phone and video interviews fall in these two.

Penalties and the civil claim

• Criminal. Under § 2933.52(C), a violation is "interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, a felony of the fourth degree." Ohio's sentencing statutes set a prison term of 6 to 18 months for a fourth-degree felony (§ 2929.14(A)(4)) and a fine of up to $5,000 (§ 2929.18(A)(3)(d)).
• Civil. Section 2933.65 lets a person whose communication was "intercepted, disclosed, or intentionally used" in violation of the act sue for equitable relief, the greater of actual damages plus the violator's profits or "liquidated damages computed at a rate of two hundred dollars per day for each day of violation or liquidated damages of ten thousand dollars, whichever is greater," punitive damages where appropriate, and reasonable attorney's fees.
• Deadline. The civil action must be brought within two years after the claimant first has a reasonable opportunity to discover the violation (§ 2933.65(C)).

The $10,000 floor is the number to remember. It does not depend on proving harm, so a practice repeated across many candidates is exposure that adds up quickly, even where each recording felt routine.

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

How the rule applies to interview formats

Calls from Ohio to other states

Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)) also lets a party record, but it is a floor rather than a shield. All-party states have applied their own law to protect people on their side of a call. In Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006), California's Supreme Court applied California law to calls that a firm's Georgia employees recorded with California clients, reasoning that California's interest would be "very significantly impaired" otherwise.

For Ohio teams the nearest exposure is next door. Pennsylvania requires every party's prior consent, and recording without it is a felony there; see Pennsylvania wiretap law and job interviews. Michigan's statute says all parties, and whether it reaches a participant is unsettled, as explained in two-party consent states. A Columbus or Cleveland recruiter calling candidates in Pittsburgh, Detroit or Erie should follow the stricter rule. The general framework is in recording calls across state lines.

The reverse is simpler: a candidate in Ohio is covered by Ohio's one-party rule, but a recruiter working from home in an all-party state is bound by that state's rule on every call, including calls into Ohio.

What it means for recording or transcribing an interview

1. Make sure the person who starts capture is on the call. Ohio's exception covers parties and people with a party's prior consent, not someone listening in from outside.
2. Transcription is interception. The definition is about acquiring contents, not about keeping an audio file. A tool that keeps only text needs the same consent step.
3. Keep the purpose job-related. The "any other injurious act" limit is undefined; a record kept for a fair hiring decision is the ordinary case.
4. AI scoring is a separate question. Recording law says nothing about analyzing candidates. Check AI hiring laws by state for the candidate's location.
5. Assume the candidate may record too. A candidate in Ohio who is a party to the interview may record it without asking. Keep questions consistent and job-related.

A consent line for Ohio interviews

"Before we begin, I'd like to [record / transcribe] this interview so
my notes for the [role] position are accurate. It's used only for this
hiring process, seen by [who], and 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.]

Ohio does not require this line for a call you are on, but it satisfies the all-party states your candidates may be in, and it gives you a clean record that the candidate knew. Panel and written versions are in the interview recording consent script.

Checklist for Ohio hiring teams

1. Only participants, or people with a participant's prior consent, set up recording or transcription.
2. Ask every candidate before capture starts, whatever state they are in.
3. Treat calls with Pennsylvania candidates as all-party, and Michigan calls the same way.
4. Do not forward or quote a recording unless you know how it was made.
5. Share scorecards and summaries rather than raw recordings with clients and colleagues.
6. Write the policy down, date it, and review it yearly.

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