Can I record this interview?
Pick where you are, where the candidate is, and what you are capturing. The checker tells you whether everyone has to agree, what to say at the start of the call, and which rule it is based on. It covers every US state, Canada, the UK, the EU and Australia.
This is not legal advice. It summarizes commonly cited rules, checked in September 2026, to help you ask a better question of someone qualified. It runs in your browser and sends nothing anywhere.
The rules behind the checker
United States: all-party states
Federal law and most states are one-party: someone in the conversation agreeing is enough, and the interviewer is in it. These 14 states have an all-party rule for at least some conversations. The full statute text and the reasoning are in two-party consent states.
| State | Statute | What it means for an interview |
|---|---|---|
| California | Penal Code § 632, § 632.7 | All parties. § 632.7 covers mobile calls whether or not confidential. Civil claim of $5,000 per violation (§ 637.2). |
| Connecticut | Gen. Stat. § 52-570d | All parties for recorded phone calls (civil); a recorded verbal notice at the start counts. The criminal statute is effectively one-party. |
| Delaware | 11 Del. C. § 1335, § 2402 | Two statutes conflict, one one-party and one all-party. Plan for all-party. |
| Florida | Fla. Stat. § 934.03 | All parties, for phone, electronic and in-person conversations. |
| Illinois | 720 ILCS 5/14-2 | All parties, where the recording is surreptitious. Recording openly with everyone aware is the practical line. |
| Maryland | Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 10-402 | All parties must give prior consent. |
| Massachusetts | G.L. c. 272, § 99 | Secret recording is the offence. Recording openly, with everyone aware, is the practical line. |
| Michigan | MCL § 750.539c | Disputed: the statute says all parties, but Sullivan v. Gray (1982) let a participant record. Ask everyone. |
| Montana | MCA § 45-8-213 | All parties must know. A warning at the start satisfies it. |
| Nevada | NRS 200.620, 200.650 | All parties for phone calls (Lane v. Allstate, 1998); one party in person. |
| New Hampshire | RSA 570-A:2 | All parties, for phone and in-person conversations. |
| Oregon | ORS 165.540 | Phone calls one-party. In person and, since 2021, video calls: everyone must be specifically informed. |
| Pennsylvania | 18 Pa.C.S. § 5704 | All parties must give prior consent. Unlawful interception is a felony. |
| Washington | RCW 9.73.030 | All parties. An announcement counts as consent, and if you record it must be on the recording. |
When the interviewer and the candidate are in different states, follow the stricter one: California's Supreme Court applied California's rule to calls made from Georgia in Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney. More in recording calls across state lines.
Outside the United States
| Where | The rule that bites first |
|---|---|
| Canada | The Criminal Code is one-party, but PIPEDA and the private-sector laws of Alberta, British Columbia and Quebec mean telling the candidate before you start, saying why, and offering an alternative. Canada guide |
| United Kingdom | UK GDPR: a lawful basis (usually legitimate interests, not consent) and a clear notice before or at the start, with an easy way to object. UK guide |
| European Union | GDPR, the same approach as the UK; some member states also have criminal rules on recording private conversations. EU AI Act and recruiting |
| Australia | State law: NSW, WA, SA, Tasmania and the ACT generally need every principal party's consent; Victoria, Queensland and the NT let a participant record. Australia guide |
When a tool scores or analyzes the candidate
Transcription is one question; AI that evaluates the candidate is another, with its own notice rules: the Illinois AI Video Interview Act and Illinois HB 3773, Maryland's facial recognition waiver, New York City's Local Law 144, California's automated-decision rules, Colorado's ADMT law from January 2027 and the EU AI Act. The state-by-state overview is in AI hiring laws by state.
What to say, whatever the checker says
One sentence at the start of the call, in your own voice, with a real offer to stop, answers the consent question in every state on this page. Wording for phone screens, panels and follow-up emails is in the consent script, and the printable version is in the consent guide. To prepare the interview itself, the scorecard builder makes a printable scorecard for the role.
Link to this checker
If it is useful to your team or readers, you are welcome to link to it. Copy this:
Copied
Questions
Do I need the candidate's consent to record a job interview?
In most US states one party's consent is enough, and the interviewer is a party. In all-party states such as California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Washington, everyone on the call has to agree. When the two of you are in different places, or you do not know where the candidate is, treat the call as all-party and ask.
Does a transcription or AI note-taker count as recording?
Assume it does. Recording laws are mostly written around capturing a conversation with a device, not around saving an audio file, so a tool that transcribes the call needs the same notice and consent as a recording.
Which state's law applies when we are in different states?
Courts look at where the people on the call are, not only at the company's headquarters. The safe rule is to follow the stricter state.
Is consent needed to record an interview in the UK or EU?
The question there is a lawful basis and transparency rather than wiretap consent. Consent is rarely the right basis in recruitment because of the imbalance of power; legitimate interests with a clear notice and an easy way to object is the common approach.