Recording job interviews in Spain: the Constitutional Court rule, the Penal Code and AEPD guidance

In Spain, a recruiter may record an interview they take part in: the Constitutional Court held in judgment 114/1984 that whoever records a conversation with another person does not, by that fact alone, breach the constitutional secrecy of communications, while recording other people's conversations does. Data protection law then decides what you may do with the recording. The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) says a candidate's answers in an interview are not consent to processing, so you need a lawful basis and must inform them, and once a candidate is not hired their data must be deleted and blocked unless they agree to a job pool or you can show a legitimate interest. This is the position as of October 2026.

This page adds Spain to our country series alongside Germany, the UK, Canada and Australia. Spain is unusual in that the participant rule comes from constitutional case law rather than a statute, and the AEPD's employment guide, updated in December 2025, speaks directly about job interviews and recruitment agencies.

The Spanish rules at a glance

Can a participant record a conversation in Spain?

Yes, as a rule. In judgment 114/1984 of November 29, 1984, the Constitutional Court considered a worker dismissed on the strength of a phone call that the other party had recorded without telling him. The Court held that recording by one of the participants "does not breach any secrecy imposed by Article 18.3" of the Constitution, and drew the line clearly: "whoever records a conversation of others" infringes the right, while "whoever records a conversation with another does not, by this fact alone," act against it (our translations).

The Court added an important qualification. Passing on what was recorded could still infringe the separate right to privacy in Article 18.1 if the content entered the other person's intimate sphere. For recruiters, that is the practical limit: recording your own interview is one thing; circulating it, or using it for something other than the hiring decision, is another.

The criminal offense in Article 197.1 of the Penal Code targets someone who, "to discover the secrets or violate the privacy of another, without their consent," intercepts their telecommunications or uses technical devices to listen to, transmit, record or reproduce sound or images, with one to four years' imprisonment and a fine. Disclosing what was obtained carries higher penalties under Article 197.3.

What does the AEPD say about job interviews?

The AEPD's guide La protección de datos en las relaciones laborales, updated in December 2025, has a section on selection and hiring. The points that matter for recorded interviews:

• Interview answers are not consent. A candidate answers many questions in an interview, "but those answers are not equivalent to consent" to processing their personal data. Data obtained that way, directly or by inference (the guide gives religious beliefs and trade union or political affiliation as examples), cannot be processed without a lawful basis: data needed for the contract, legitimate interest or consent.
• Discriminatory questions can be a serious infringement. The guide cites Article 16.1(c) of the Law on Infringements and Sanctions in the Social Order, under which requesting personal data in selection processes that amounts to discrimination in access to employment is a very serious administrative infringement. A recording preserves every question you ask.
• Agencies' roles. A recruitment or placement agency working under a contract with a hiring company acts as its processor, with Article 6.1(b) GDPR as the basis; an agency that contacts candidates before it has a specific vacancy is the controller; and a temporary work agency is the controller as the direct employer.
• Candidates not hired. When the process ends without hiring the candidate, the lawful basis disappears. Keeping data for future processes, such as a job pool, needs the candidate's consent unless the employer can show a legitimate interest; otherwise the CV must be destroyed and the data deleted and blocked.
• Automated decisions. Automated screening is acceptable to filter out candidates who lack an essential requirement, such as a required qualification, but must not produce discrimination, and the process must allow human intervention, a chance to give one's view and an explanation.

Which GDPR and LOPDGDD rules apply to the recording?

The GDPR applies in full, with Spain's Organic Law 3/2018 (LOPDGDD) on top: a lawful basis under Article 6, the Article 13 information before the interview, minimization, a retention limit, and the rights of access and erasure, with a one-month deadline to answer. Our guide to legitimate interest in recruitment covers the balancing test.

The LOPDGDD also has a provision on sound recording in the workplace. Article 89.3 allows employers to use sound recording systems at work "only when the risks to the security of facilities, property and people arising from the activity carried out at the workplace are relevant," and always within proportionality and minimal intervention. It is aimed at monitoring staff rather than interviewing candidates, but it is a reason not to let an interview tool become a way of recording your interviewers' working day or assessing them.

Does the works council need to be told about AI in hiring?

Yes, where AI or algorithms affect hiring decisions. Since August 12, 2021, Article 64.4(d) of the Workers' Statute gives the works council the right to be informed by the company of "the parameters, rules and instructions on which the algorithms or artificial intelligence systems are based" when they affect decision-making that may influence working conditions, "access to and keeping of employment, including profiling." A transcription-only tool may not reach that threshold; a tool that scores or ranks candidates is much closer to it. See also the EU AI Act for recruiting.

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

The participant rule from STC 114/1984 is unlikely to be a problem, 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 safe course is to follow the AEPD's guidance for every candidate in Spain.

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, with notice, a lawful basis and short retention. Tell the candidate which tool is used and whether audio is kept, keep the transcript to the hiring purpose, and delete it with the rest of the file when the process ends. Interview Signal, for example, 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 Spain

Antes de empezar: me gustaría [grabar / transcribir con un programa]
esta entrevista para poder centrarme en usted y recoger bien sus
respuestas. [La grabación / La transcripción] se usará solo para este
proceso de selección y se suprimirá [plazo] después de que termine.
¿Está de acuerdo? Puede decir que no o pedir una pausa en cualquier
momento; no afectará a su candidatura.

(Before we start: I'd like to [record / transcribe with software] this
interview so I can focus on you and capture your answers properly. The
[recording / transcript] will be used only for this selection process
and deleted [period] after it ends. Do you agree? You can 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 Spain

• Only conversations you take part in are recorded; recordings are not shared beyond the hiring purpose.
• Lawful basis chosen under Article 6 GDPR; participation in the interview is not treated as consent.
• Candidate informed before the interview and again at the start of the call.
• Agency's role (processor or controller) set out in the contract with the client.
• Data of candidates not hired deleted and blocked at the end of the process unless they consent to a job pool.
• Works council informed of the logic of any AI that scores or ranks candidates.
• Interview tool not used to record or assess interviewers.

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