Is it Illegal to Record Phone Calls in North Carolina?

Phone recording requires consent in North Carolina.

It is illegal for a conversation to be recorded in North Carolina when there is no consent. North Carolina is a single consent state, which means that notice alone is required to obtain consent, and not an actual confirmation of consent.

Wiretapping

The interception or recording of any wire, oral, or electronic communication, where a person has not given consent, is illegal. This does not include transmissions from tracking devices, but does include divulging any information obtained to a third party, regardless of whether or not it is for a criminal purpose.

Consent

The courts clarified the consent law in North Carolina v. Price. In that case, the courts stated that if notice--written, oral or otherwise--is given, as long as it is clear, a person seeing or hearing the message has given his implied consent to being recorded.

Penalty

Wiretapping in North Carolina is considered a Class H felony, which carries a maximum jail time of 10 years. A person can recover monetary damages, along with punitive damages and reasonable attorney fees, from the guilty party. Monetary damages are calculated as $100 dollars a day for every day the offense continues, or $1000 dollars, whichever is higher.

References

• North Carolina Wiretapping Statute
• The Reporters Committe for Freedom of the Press: North Carolina Statute
• Association of American Physicans and Surgeons: State Requirements for Taping Conversations
• National Conference of State Legislatures: Electronic Surveillance Laws by State