Recording job interviews in South Africa: RICA's party rule and POPIA's notice and retention duties

In South Africa, a recruiter may record an interview they take part in: section 4 of the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act (RICA) lets any person other than a law enforcement officer intercept a communication they are a party to, unless they do it to commit an offence. A recording or transcript of a candidate is still personal information under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), so the employer or agency needs a lawful ground, must make the candidate aware of the recording before collecting it, must keep it no longer than necessary and must answer access requests. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds South Africa to our country series alongside Canada, Australia, the UK and Germany. Like Canada, South Africa pairs a participant-friendly interception rule with a full data protection law, and POPIA has a cross-border transfer rule that matters if your transcripts end up in a system outside the country.

The South African rules at a glance

Can one participant record a call in South Africa?

Yes. Section 2 of RICA sets the general rule that no person may intentionally intercept, or attempt or authorise someone else to intercept, "at any place in the Republic, any communication in the course of its occurrence or transmission," and section 49 makes that an offence. The exceptions that matter for recruiters are:

• Section 4(1), party to the communication. "Any person, other than a law enforcement officer, may intercept any communication if he or she is a party to the communication, unless such communication is intercepted by such person for purposes of committing an offence."
• Section 5(1), consent of a party. Any person other than a law enforcement officer may intercept a communication "if one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent in writing to such interception," again unless it is for committing an offence.
• Section 6, business interception. A business may intercept indirect communications over its own telecommunication system in the course of its business, with the system controller's consent, for listed purposes such as establishing facts, and only if the system controller has made all reasonable efforts to inform users in advance that their communications may be intercepted, or the user consents.

So a recruiter recording their own interview relies on section 4. Section 5 is the one to note if someone who is not on the call does the capturing: it requires a party's prior consent in writing. How these sections apply to a third-party recording or note-taking service acting for a participant is a question for South African counsel; the cautious approach is to have the participant's own instruction to the service in writing and to tell the candidate.

What does POPIA require for the recording and transcript?

POPIA applies to processing by a responsible party domiciled in South Africa, or one not domiciled there that uses automated or non-automated means in the country (section 3). Its conditions for lawful processing apply to an interview recording as to any other record:

• A lawful ground (section 11). Processing is allowed if, among other grounds, the person consents, it is necessary to carry out actions for the conclusion of a contract to which they are party, or it is necessary for the legitimate interests of the responsible party. The responsible party bears the burden of proving consent, and consent may be withdrawn at any time.
• Notice before collection (section 18). The responsible party must take reasonably practicable steps to make sure the person is aware of what is collected, the responsible party's name and address, the purpose, whether supplying it is voluntary, any intended transfer abroad, the recipients, and the rights of access, correction and objection and to complain to the Information Regulator. When information is collected directly from the person, that must happen before it is collected.
• Retention (section 14). Records "must not be retained any longer than is necessary for achieving the purpose" unless retention is required or authorised by law, reasonably required for lawful purposes related to the responsible party's functions, required by a contract, or consented to.
• Access (section 23). A person who proves their identity can ask whether you hold information about them, free of charge, and request the record or a description of it within a reasonable time; requests follow the procedure of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (section 25). See candidate data access requests.

What if a tool scores candidates automatically?

Section 71 of POPIA says a person may not be subject to a decision with legal consequences, or that affects them to a substantial degree, based solely on automated processing intended to profile them, including their performance at work, reliability or conduct. There are exceptions, for example for decisions in connection with concluding a contract where appropriate measures protect the person's legitimate interests. A tool that only transcribes is not making decisions; one that scores or rejects candidates may be, so keep a person making the hiring decision.

What if you interview a candidate in South Africa from the US?

RICA's party rule will usually cover a recruiter on the call, but the US side has its own rules, which depend on the state you are in; see is it legal to record a job interview. On data protection, POPIA clearly applies to an employer or agency domiciled in South Africa; whether section 3 reaches a foreign company that only talks to a candidate there over a video platform is a question for counsel. If you are a South African responsible party sending transcripts to a system abroad, section 72 allows the transfer only if, for example, the recipient is bound by a law, binding corporate rules or agreement giving adequate protection, the person consents, or the transfer is necessary for a contract with them or for pre-contractual measures taken at their request.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, with notice under section 18 and a retention period under section 14. Tell the candidate which tool is used, whether audio is kept and where the transcript is stored, and include any transfer abroad in the notice. Interview Signal, for example, joins no call as a bot, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, sends audio to a speech-to-text provider in short chunks during the call without keeping it, and stores transcripts on the recruiter's computer; the transcript is still personal information under POPIA.

A consent line for interviews in South Africa

Before we start: I'd like to [record / transcribe with software] this
interview so I can focus on you and capture your answers accurately.
[Company] uses the [recording / transcript] only for this recruitment,
keeps it for [period] and then deletes it. Our privacy notice explains
who sees it and how to ask for a copy. Are you happy for me to go
ahead? You can say no or ask me to pause at any time, and it won't
affect your application.

Adapt the language to the candidate's preference. More wording options are in our interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in South Africa

• Only interviews you are party to are recorded; any third-party capture backed by a party's written consent.
• Candidate made aware, before recording, of what is collected, why, who receives it and their rights (section 18).
• Lawful ground under section 11 documented; consent provable if you rely on it.
• Retention period set and recordings deleted when no longer necessary (section 14).
• Transfers of transcripts abroad checked against section 72.
• No hiring decision based solely on an automated score (section 71).
• Access requests handled through your PAIA process.

For other countries outside Europe, see the UAE, Canada and Australia.