New York Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules

New York is a one-party consent state under N.Y. Penal Law section 250.05. If you are part of a conversation, you can record it without telling anyone else. Recording a conversation you are not part of is a class E felony. Illegal recording also exposes you to federal civil liability under 18 U.S.C. section 2520.

New York recording law at a glance

For in-depth analysis of each topic, see the New York recording laws in depth index below.

Recording in-person conversations in New York

New York's eavesdropping statute, section 250.05, incorporates the definitions in section 250.00. "Mechanical overhearing of a conversation" is the intentional overhearing or recording of a conversation without the consent of at least one party, by a person not present. A participant in the conversation is plainly present and counts as the consenting party, so recording your own conversations is lawful.

The New York Court of Appeals confirmed this in People v. McGee, 49 N.Y.2d 48 (1979). The court held that a consenting participant satisfies section 250.00's requirement, and the recording is not eavesdropping. McGee remains good law.

Planting a device in a room and leaving so it records other people is the textbook fact pattern for illegal mechanical overhearing. Recording a conversation between two other people, with no participant's consent, is a class E felony. In public spaces, where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, the analysis rarely changes the outcome for a participating recorder: you are still a party.

Recording phone calls in New York

The same one-party rule applies to phone calls. If you are on the call, you can record it. New York courts apply section 250.05 to landlines, cell calls, and VoIP services such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, all of which are "telephonic" or "electronic" communications under section 250.00.

Interstate calls carry an important caveat. If the other party is in California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Illinois, Montana, or Washington, the most-restrictive-state rule generally applies. Get all-party consent before recording any call into one of those jurisdictions.

General Business Law section 399-z(2) is a narrow disclosure obligation for telemarketers making B2C sales calls into New York. It does not change the general one-party rule for ordinary recordings.

For the full phone-call analysis, see New York Phone Call Recording Laws.

Hidden cameras, doorbells, and nanny cams

Audio is governed by section 250.05. Surreptitious video is governed by N.Y. Penal Law section 250.45, unlawful surveillance in the second degree, a separate class E felony. There is no participant-consent escape valve for video.

Section 250.45 covers surreptitiously installing or using an imaging device to view, broadcast, or record a person dressing or undressing, or to capture intimate body parts, in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy. It also covers recording with no legitimate purpose in bedrooms, changing rooms, restrooms, bathrooms, showers, and hotel or inn rooms. A nanny cam in a common living area is generally outside this statute; one in a bathroom or bedroom is not.

Section 250.50, aggravated unlawful surveillance (first degree), is a class D felony triggered by a prior unlawful-surveillance conviction within ten years: up to seven years in prison and mandatory sex-offender registration. Section 250.55 separately criminalizes disseminating unlawful-surveillance images.

For security cameras on your property and doorbell cameras, see New York Security Camera Laws. For the full voyeurism and hidden-camera statute analysis, see New York Voyeurism and Hidden Camera Laws.

Penalties for illegal recording in New York

Eavesdropping under section 250.05 is a class E felony: up to four years in prison under section 70.00(2)(e), and a fine of up to $5,000 or twice the defendant's gain under section 80.00. Possession of eavesdropping devices with intent to use under section 250.10 is a class A misdemeanor: up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

The Penal Law section 250 series is criminal only. There is no state civil cause of action attached to section 250.05. Federal law fills the gap: 18 U.S.C. section 2520 provides a civil cause of action for unlawful interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications, available in federal or state court. State-specific civil remedies exist under section 79-p (police interference), section 52-c (AG enforcement for workplace monitoring), and section 52-b (intimate-image dissemination). A complaint claiming a "civil cause of action under Penal Law 250.05" is a common drafting error and will draw a motion to dismiss.

Recording the police in New York

The lead authority in New York is state statute. N.Y. Civil Rights Law section 79-p, the Right to Record Act, was signed June 14, 2020 and took effect approximately November 14, 2020. It gives any non-detained person the right to record law-enforcement activity and to keep custody of that recording. A person whose right is violated has a private cause of action against the officer and the employing agency for compensatory and punitive damages, declaratory and injunctive relief, and attorney fees. The statute of limitations is three years.

New York City has a parallel ordinance: NYC Admin Code section 14-189 (Local Law 67 of 2020), which creates a city right to record police in public, with a private right of action against the NYPD. Section 14-189 applies only within the five boroughs; section 79-p covers the rest of the state.

The Second Circuit has not issued a published First Amendment decision squarely holding that the Constitution protects recording police outdoors. Lead with section 79-p when asserting this right. The certified question from Reyes v. City of New York, No. 23-7640 (2d Cir. June 18, 2025) about whether section 79-p and section 14-189 extend to indoor police-facility recording is pending before the New York Court of Appeals.

For your full rights and practical tips, see New York Laws on Recording Police.

Special topics in New York

Workplace electronic monitoring (Civil Rights Law section 52-c)

N.Y. Civil Rights Law section 52-c, effective May 7, 2022, requires private employers monitoring employee phone, email, or internet to give written notice on hire, obtain written acknowledgment, and post a conspicuous workplace notice. Penalties escalate: $500, $1,000, then $3,000. The Attorney General is the sole enforcer; there is no private right of action. An employee who records a meeting they attend is not covered by section 52-c; that is protected one-party recording, not employer monitoring. NLRB Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023), remains binding Board precedent and holds that a blanket no-recording policy risks being unlawful if it could reasonably chill section 7 activity. For the full workplace analysis, see New York Workplace Recording Laws.

Deepfakes and digital intimate images (Penal Law section 245.15; Civil Rights Law section 52-b)

N.Y. Penal Law section 245.15 criminalizes intentionally disseminating or publishing an intimate image of an identifiable person without consent. The 2023 Hinchey amendment (S.1042-A, Chapter 513 of the Laws of 2023, signed September 29, 2023, effective approximately November 28, 2023) added "images created or altered by digitization," bringing AI-generated and deepfake intimate imagery within the statute. Section 245.15 is a class A misdemeanor. Civil Rights Law section 52-b provides a parallel civil cause of action for actual damages, statutory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, and injunctive relief.

Right of publicity and AI replicas (Civil Rights Law section 50-f)

N.Y. Civil Rights Law section 50-f, most recently amended December 11, 2025, covers commercial uses of a deceased or living personality's voice or likeness via digital replica, without consent. The 2025 amendment removed the prior likelihood-of-deception requirement and the disclaimer exemption. This governs commercial AI-voice and AI-likeness exploitation, not ordinary conversation recording.

Federal TAKE IT DOWN Act

The TAKE IT DOWN Act, Pub. L. 119-12, signed May 19, 2025, criminalizes knowing publication of nonconsensual intimate visual depictions (including AI-generated digital forgeries) with maximum penalties of two years (adult victim) or three years (minor victim). Covered platforms must remove flagged content within 48 hours; that platform-removal obligation took effect May 19, 2026. The FTC enforces the platform obligations.

Body-worn cameras and FOIL

Civil Rights Law section 50-a, which shielded police personnel records, was repealed by Chapter 96 of the Laws of 2020 (signed June 12, 2020). Body-worn-camera footage is now subject to disclosure under N.Y. Public Officers Law section 87 (FOIL), subject to standard exemptions for ongoing investigations and personal-safety risk. N.Y. Executive Law section 234, enacted June 16, 2020, mandates body-worn cameras for New York State Police troopers.

Courtroom and public-meeting recording

Recording inside a New York trial court is generally barred without prior judicial approval under 22 NYCRR section 29.1. Public governmental meetings, governed by the Open Meetings Law (N.Y. Public Officers Law Article 7), are generally open to recording; a public body may regulate equipment placement but cannot prohibit recording outright.

Court admissibility (CPLR 4506)

N.Y. CPLR 4506 bars admission of communications obtained in violation of section 250.05 in any New York proceeding, and extends to derived evidence. The counter-exception: an unlawful recording is admissible against the person who made it in a section 250.05 prosecution or related civil proceeding.

Federal ECPA overlay

The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act, 18 U.S.C. sections 2510 to 2522, establishes a federal one-party floor under section 2511(2)(d). New York's one-party rule is consistent with ECPA; stricter all-party states provide more protection than the federal floor.

Recent legal developments

• December 11, 2025: Governor Hochul signs amendments to Civil Rights Law section 50-f, removing the likelihood-of-deception requirement and disclaimer exemption from the AI/digital-replica right-of-publicity provision.
• May 19, 2025: TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. 119-12) signed. Criminal penalties for nonconsensual intimate digital forgeries take effect immediately; covered-platform notice-and-removal obligation takes effect May 19, 2026.
• June 18, 2025: Second Circuit in Reyes v. City of New York certifies to the New York Court of Appeals whether sections 79-p and 14-189 extend to indoor police-facility recording. Question pending.
• September 29, 2023: Governor Hochul signs S.1042-A (Hinchey), amending Penal Law section 245.15 to cover AI-generated and deepfake intimate images (eff. approx. Nov. 28, 2023).
• May 7, 2022: N.Y. Civil Rights Law section 52-c (employer electronic monitoring notice) takes effect.
• June 12-14, 2020: Right to Record Act (section 79-p) signed; section 50-a repealed; Executive Law section 234 (state trooper body-cam mandate) enacted.
• S.5070 and S.5077 (2025-2026 Session): Both pending in Senate Codes Committee. Reintroductions of bills that have failed since 2018. New York remains one-party consent.

New York recording laws in depth

Want to know more? Each guide below covers a specific context in greater depth than this hub can.

By type of recording

• New York Audio Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules and Penalties
• New York Video Recording Laws: Surveillance Rules and Privacy Limits
• New York Phone Call Recording Laws: Consent Rules for Landline, Cell, and VoIP
• New York Dashcam Laws: Legality, Mounting Rules, and Evidence Use
• New York Voyeurism and Hidden Camera Laws: Penalties and Protections
• New York Security Camera Laws: Rules for Homes, Businesses, and Rentals

By place or relationship

• New York Laws on Recording Police: Your Rights and Limits
• New York Workplace Recording Laws: Employee Rights and Employer Rules
• New York Laws on Recording in Public: Rights, Limits, and Privacy Rules
• New York School Recording Laws: Student, Parent, and Teacher Rights
• New York Medical Recording Laws: Patient Rights and Healthcare Privacy
• New York Landlord-Tenant Recording Laws: Rights for Renters and Property Owners

More New York laws

• New York Alimony Laws
• New York At-Will Employment Laws
• New York Child Custody Laws
• New York Data Privacy Laws
• New York Landlord-Tenant Laws

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Recording laws change and apply differently to each situation. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed New York attorney.

More New York Laws

• New York AI Meeting Recording Laws
• New York Alimony Laws
• New York At-Will Employment Laws
• New York Car Accident Laws
• New York Car Seat Laws
• New York Child Custody Laws
• New York Child Support Laws
• New York Common Law Marriage Laws
• New York Data Privacy Laws
• New York Deepfake Laws
• New York Divorce Laws
• New York Dog Bite Laws
• New York Emancipation Laws
• New York Expungement Laws
• New York Hit and Run Laws
• New York Landlord-Tenant Laws