Tennessee Phone Call Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules

Tennessee allows you to record your own phone calls without telling the other person. Under Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-601, the state follows a one-party consent framework for recording wire, oral, and electronic communications. As long as you are a participant in the phone call, you can record it without notifying or obtaining permission from anyone else on the line.

This guide covers everything you need to know about recording phone calls in Tennessee in 2026, including what the law actually says, how it applies to different types of calls, what happens when you call someone in another state, and how recorded calls can be used as evidence.

What Tennessee Law Says About Recording Phone Calls

The Core Statute: Tenn. Code Ann. Section 39-13-601

Tennessee's wiretapping and electronic surveillance laws are found in Title 39, Chapter 13, Part 6 of the Tennessee Code Annotated, titled "Invasion of Privacy." The primary statute, Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-601, makes it illegal to intentionally intercept, endeavor to intercept, or procure any other person to intercept any wire, oral, or electronic communication without the consent of at least one party.

The critical phrase is "without the consent of at least one party." Because you are always a party to your own phone calls, your own consent satisfies the one-party requirement. You do not need to tell the other person you are recording, and you do not need to play a beep tone or an announcement.

Supporting Statutes

Several related statutes work together with section 39-13-601:

• Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-602 establishes criminal penalties for violations, classifying illegal wiretapping as a Class D felony
• Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-603 creates civil remedies for victims of illegal recording, including statutory damages of $100 per day or $10,000 minimum
• Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-604 specifically addresses interception of cellular and cordless telephone transmissions with distinct penalty tiers

Types of Phone Calls Covered

The statute covers all forms of wire and electronic communications. In practical terms, this includes:

• Landline telephone calls placed through traditional copper wire networks
• Cell phone calls made through cellular networks
• VoIP calls placed through services like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Skype, and other internet-based platforms
• Video calls with audio on any platform, including FaceTime and WhatsApp
• Conference calls where multiple participants are on the line

The law does not distinguish between personal calls and business calls. The same one-party consent rule applies regardless of the purpose of the call.

What "Intercept" Means Under Tennessee Law

The statute uses the term "intercept" to describe the prohibited conduct. Under Tennessee law, "intercept" means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, oral, or electronic communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical, or other device. This definition is broad enough to cover recording with a smartphone, a dedicated voice recorder, a computer application, or any other tool capable of capturing audio.

Recording your phone call with a smartphone app, an external recorder, or built-in call recording software all fall within the scope of lawful one-party consent recording, as long as you are an active participant in the call.

Can You Record Your Own Phone Calls in Tennessee?

Yes. You have the legal right to record any phone call you participate in. Tennessee's one-party consent law means your own knowledge of and consent to the recording is sufficient. You do not need to:

• Tell the other person you are recording
• Play a beep tone during the call
• Get written or verbal consent from the other party
• Provide any notification before or during the call

This applies whether you are calling someone or receiving a call. The only requirement is that you are an active participant in the conversation being recorded.

The Criminal Purpose Exception

Tennessee law includes an important limitation. Even with one-party consent, you cannot record a conversation for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act. This means you cannot legally record a phone call as part of a scheme to blackmail, extort, or harass the other person. Your intent at the time of the recording matters.

Recording to document a legitimate concern, preserve evidence of wrongdoing, or keep a personal record of important conversations is lawful. Recording as part of an illegal plan is not, regardless of consent.

What You Cannot Do

While you can freely record your own calls, the law draws a clear line at recording conversations you are not part of. The following activities are illegal under Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-601:

• Wiretapping someone else's phone line to listen to or record their calls
• Using a listening device to capture a phone call between two other people
• Asking a third party to record a call you are not involved in, without consent from at least one participant
• Intercepting electronic communications such as emails, text messages, or data transmissions without authorization

Even if you have access to the phone, such as a family plan where you pay the bill, you cannot record calls made by other people on that phone unless you are a party to those calls or have consent from at least one participant.

Recording Phone Calls Across State Lines

Why This Matters

The United States does not have a single, uniform recording consent law. Each state sets its own rules. When you place a call from Tennessee to someone in another state, the question becomes: which state's law applies?

The General Rule

Courts and legal experts generally agree that the stricter law applies in interstate calls. If you are in Tennessee (one-party consent) and you call someone in California (two-party consent), the California standard may apply. This means you could face liability under California law for recording that call without the other person's consent, even though the recording would be perfectly legal under Tennessee law.

Two-Party Consent States to Watch

The following states require consent from all parties to a phone call before recording is legal:

State	Key Statute
California	Penal Code 632
Connecticut	Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-570d
Florida	Fla. Stat. 934.03
Illinois	720 ILCS 5/14-2
Maryland	Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. 10-402
Massachusetts	Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, 99
Montana	Mont. Code Ann. 45-8-213
New Hampshire	N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. 570-A:2
Pennsylvania	18 Pa.C.S. 5703
Washington	Wash. Rev. Code 9.73.030

For a complete list, see our guide to two-party consent states.

Best Practice for Interstate Calls

When calling someone in a two-party consent state, the safest approach is to inform the other party that you are recording. A simple statement like "I am recording this call for my records" at the beginning of the conversation protects you from potential liability. If the other person objects, you can either stop recording or end the call.

Federal Law: 18 U.S.C. Section 2511

Federal wiretapping law under 18 U.S.C. section 2511 also follows a one-party consent framework. The federal standard acts as a baseline. States can impose stricter requirements, as two-party consent states do, but they cannot be more permissive than federal law. Since Tennessee's one-party consent standard matches the federal minimum, recordings that comply with Tennessee state law also comply with federal law.

Business Phone Call Recording in Tennessee

Employer Recording of Business Calls

Tennessee businesses can record phone calls for legitimate business purposes, including:

• Quality assurance and customer service monitoring
• Training purposes to coach employees on call handling
• Compliance documentation for regulated industries like finance and healthcare
• Dispute resolution to maintain accurate records of verbal agreements

Under the one-party consent framework, a business only needs consent from one party to the call. If an employee is on the line, the employee's consent or the employer's direction to record satisfies the legal requirement.

Notice Requirements for Businesses

While Tennessee law does not require businesses to notify callers about recording, many businesses choose to provide notice as a best practice. Common methods include:

• A recorded announcement at the beginning of the call ("This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes")
• A periodic beep tone during the call
• Written disclosure in service agreements or terms of service
• Verbal notice from the employee at the start of the conversation

Providing notice protects the business from liability in interstate calls and builds customer trust. It also addresses potential concerns under the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits deceptive practices.

The Tennessee Information Protection Act

Businesses should also consider the Tennessee Information Protection Act (TIPA), which took effect on July 1, 2025. While TIPA primarily addresses consumer data privacy rather than call recording, businesses that process personal information of Tennessee consumers should ensure their recording practices align with both wiretapping and data privacy requirements.

Employee Rights When Being Recorded

Tennessee employees have the right to record their own phone calls at work under the one-party consent law. This includes calls with supervisors, HR representatives, clients, and coworkers. However, employers may have internal policies that restrict or prohibit recording. Violating an employer's recording policy can result in disciplinary action or termination, even though the recording itself is legal under state law. Tennessee is an at-will employment state.

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) provides some protection. The NLRB has ruled that overly broad no-recording policies can violate Section 7 of the NLRA when they interfere with employees' rights to engage in protected concerted activity, such as documenting unsafe working conditions or wage violations.

Recording Phone Calls for Evidence in Tennessee

Admissibility in Court

Phone call recordings made in compliance with Tennessee's one-party consent law are generally admissible as evidence in both criminal and civil proceedings. To use a recording as evidence, you typically need to establish:

• Authentication: Prove the recording is genuine, unaltered, and accurately represents the conversation that took place
• Relevance: Show the recording relates to the issues being decided in the case
• Chain of custody: Demonstrate how the recording has been stored and handled since it was made
• Foundation testimony: Provide testimony from a person who can identify the voices on the recording

Criminal Cases

In criminal proceedings, illegally obtained recordings are inadmissible under Tennessee law. If you record a phone call without being a party to it and without consent, the recording cannot be used as evidence. The person who made the illegal recording may also face criminal charges under Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-602.

Civil Cases

In civil cases, legally recorded phone calls can serve as evidence in contract disputes, harassment claims, personal injury cases, and family law matters. Tennessee courts evaluate recordings based on their probative value weighed against any potential for unfair prejudice, following the Tennessee Rules of Evidence.

Best Practices for Recording Evidence

If you plan to use a phone call recording as evidence in a Tennessee court:

• Keep the original recording file completely unedited
• Note the date, time, duration, and participants of the call immediately after recording
• Store the original file in a secure location with backup copies
• Do not share the recording unnecessarily before presenting it in court
• Consult with an attorney about proper procedures for introducing the recording as evidence
• Be prepared to testify about the circumstances under which the recording was made

Penalties for Illegal Phone Call Recording in Tennessee

Criminal Penalties

Illegally recording a phone call in Tennessee carries serious criminal penalties:

Offense	Classification	Potential Penalty
Wiretapping or illegal interception	Class D Felony	2 to 12 years imprisonment, up to $5,000 fine
Disclosing illegally obtained communications	Class D Felony	2 to 12 years imprisonment, up to $5,000 fine
Cellular or cordless phone interception	Class A Misdemeanor	Up to 11 months 29 days, up to $2,500 fine
Cellular interception with dissemination	Class E Felony	1 to 6 years imprisonment

The specific sentence within each range depends on the offender's criminal history under Tennessee's sentencing guidelines.

Civil Liability

Under Tenn. Code Ann. section 39-13-603, victims of illegal phone call recording can file a civil lawsuit and recover:

• Actual damages resulting from the illegal interception
• Statutory damages of $100 per day of violation, with a minimum of $10,000
• Profits made by the violator from the illegal recording
• Punitive damages for willful or egregious violations
• Reasonable attorney fees and litigation costs
• Injunctive relief to stop ongoing or threatened violations

The statute of limitations for civil claims is two years from the date the victim first discovered or had a reasonable opportunity to discover the violation.

Defenses to Liability

Tennessee law provides a complete defense to both criminal and civil liability if the defendant acted in good faith reliance on:

• A court warrant or order
• A grand jury subpoena
• A legislative or statutory authorization

Common Scenarios and Questions

Can I Record a Phone Call With My Ex-Spouse?

Yes. As a one-party consent state, you can record phone calls with your ex-spouse as long as you are a participant in the call. This is common in custody and divorce disputes. However, you should not record calls between your child and your ex-spouse unless you are an active participant in the conversation.

Can I Record Customer Service Calls?

Yes. You can record any customer service call you participate in. Many businesses already record these calls on their end. When a company plays a message saying "this call may be recorded," that notice also serves as implicit consent for you to record the call as well.

Can I Record Calls With Government Officials?

Yes. You can record phone calls with government employees, including calls to state agencies, local government offices, and federal agencies. Government employees acting in their official capacity generally have a reduced expectation of privacy during business calls.

Are Call Recording Apps Legal in Tennessee?

Yes. Apps like Rev Call Recorder, TapeACall, Cube ACR, and other call recording applications are legal to use in Tennessee as long as you are a party to the call being recorded. The app is simply a tool for exercising your legal right to record under the one-party consent law.

AI Transcription and Phone Call Recording

AI-powered transcription services and call recording tools have become widespread. Services like Otter.ai, Fireflies.ai, and built-in transcription features in platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams can automatically record and transcribe phone calls.

In Tennessee, using these tools follows the same one-party consent rules as any other recording method. If you are a party to the call, you can use an AI tool to record and transcribe it without notifying the other participants. However, if the call involves participants in two-party consent states, you should notify all participants before activating AI recording or transcription features.

Some AI tools join calls as a separate "participant," appearing as a bot. While this does not change the legal analysis in Tennessee, it may alert the other party to the recording. Review the settings of any AI transcription tool to understand how it appears to other call participants.

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