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Texas Video Recording Laws: What Is Legal and What Is Not

Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited November 1, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of November 1, 2026. · 6 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content

Texas Video Recording Laws: What Is Legal and What Is Not

Updates

Completed the description of the private-place part of Texas's invasive visual recording law to include broadcasting and transmitting images.

We removed a description of H.B. 421 as an enacted deepfake-generator law (the bill did not pass), corrected the sex offender registration rule for invasive visual recording (generally 10 years, with no lifetime trigger for a second conviction), limited the Fifth Circuit's Turner ruling to recording police, corrected how the wiretap law applies to audio, and corrected the descriptions of FERPA, courtroom recording rules, the interference statute, and the 2015 rewrite of Section 21.15. Narrowed the First Amendment section to the Fifth Circuit's actual holding (a right to record police), stated the recording and intent elements of the Section 21.15 offense for cameras in private areas, completed the elements of the Section 21.16 disclosure offense, and separated the Section 21.165 penalties for deepfake threats from those for producing or distributing deepfakes. We restated the Texas invasive visual recording offense (Penal Code 21.15) everywhere it appears to include lack of consent, intent to invade privacy, and, for intimate areas, the requirement that the person reasonably expects the area not to be in public view; listed all elements of the 21.16 intimate-image disclosure offense in the takeaways and FAQ; and limited the 21.16 promotion offense to sites the person owns or operates, as the statute does.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes

Removed a fabricated direct quotation attributed to the Fifth Circuit's Turner v. Driver decision and replaced it with the court's actual verbatim holding, verified against the official opinion text.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources

Corrected the definition of 'intimate area' under Tex. Penal Code Section 21.15 to match the statute's actual enumerated list (genitals, pubic area, anus, buttocks, female breast, naked or clothed), rather than an open-ended 'any area covered by clothing' description.

Corrected an overstatement that invasive visual recording convictions always require lifetime sex offender registration in Texas; H.B. 1465 (2025) made the offense registrable, but a single conviction generally carries a 10-year registration period unless the person has another reportable conviction.

Governing law re-checked for recent changes

Added H.B. 1465 explicit bill citation to 2025 amendments for § 21.15. Added 89R deepfake section (S.B. 441 amending § 21.165 and Ch. 98B). Added federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (signed May 19, 2025; platform compliance May 19, 2026) with three-pathway takedown framing. Fixed Turner citation to Turner v. Lieutenant Driver, 848 F.3d 678 (5th Cir. 2017). Replaced Findlaw § 21.16 link with official Texas statutes URL.

Reviewed and approved by an editor

Sources and References

  1. Tex. Penal Code Section 21.15 - Invasive Visual Recording(statutes.capitol.texas.gov).gov
  2. Tex. Penal Code Chapter 16(statutes.capitol.texas.gov).gov
  3. Tex. Penal Code Section 38.15(statutes.capitol.texas.gov).gov
  4. Tex. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.001(statutes.capitol.texas.gov).gov
  5. Texas State Law Library - Visual Recording Laws(guides.sll.texas.gov).gov
  6. ACLU of Texas - Your Right to Film Police(aclutx.org)
  7. Texas DPS - Private Security Bureau(dps.texas.gov).gov
  8. RCFP - Texas Recording Guide(rcfp.org)
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