Wisconsin Audio Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules and Penalties (2026)

Wisconsin follows one-party consent for audio recording under Wis. Stat. 968.31, meaning any participant in a conversation may record it without informing the other parties. This rule covers phone calls, in-person conversations, and electronic communications. Recording to commit a crime, a tort, or any other injurious act remains illegal even when you are a participant.

Wisconsin is a one-party consent state for audio recording. Under Wis. Stat. 968.31, you can legally record any phone call, in-person conversation, or electronic communication you participate in without notifying or getting permission from other participants. This protection covers wire, oral, and electronic communications.

This guide explains how Wisconsin's audio recording laws work in practice, what activities cross the line into criminal conduct, and what penalties apply to illegal interception. Whether you want to record a business call, preserve evidence for a legal dispute, or document a conversation with a government agency, understanding these rules will help you stay within the law.

How Wisconsin's One-Party Consent Law Works

The Statutory Framework

Wisconsin's wiretapping and electronic surveillance laws are found in Chapter 968 of the Wisconsin Statutes, titled "Commencement of Criminal Proceedings." The central statute is Wis. Stat. 968.31, which prohibits the interception and disclosure of wire, electronic, or oral communications.

The statute makes it unlawful to intentionally intercept, attempt to intercept, or procure any other person to intercept any wire, electronic, or oral communication. However, an exception exists under Wis. Stat. 968.31(2)(c) for situations where one party to the communication consents to the interception. This is the one-party consent exception that allows you to record your own conversations.

What "One-Party Consent" Means in Practice

One-party consent means that at least one person involved in the communication must know about and agree to the recording. That person is usually the one pressing the record button. You do not need to announce "this call is being recorded." You do not need a verbal or written agreement from the other participants.

Here are common scenarios where one-party consent protects you:

• Recording a phone call you are on. Whether it is a landline, cell phone, or VoIP call through Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet, you can record the audio without telling the other person.
• Recording an in-person conversation you participate in. If you are having a face-to-face discussion with someone, you can use your phone or a voice recorder to capture it.
• Authorizing someone else to record on your behalf. If you ask a colleague to record a meeting you will attend, their recording is lawful because you (a party to the conversation) gave prior consent.

What One-Party Consent Does NOT Allow

The one-party consent exception has clear boundaries. You cannot:

• Record a conversation you are not part of and have no party's consent for. Placing a hidden recorder in a room to capture other people's private conversations is illegal wiretapping.
• Intercept communications between two other people without either person's knowledge. Tapping a phone line or using software to capture someone else's calls violates the statute.
• Record for a criminal, tortious, or injurious purpose. Even if you are a participant, Wisconsin law prohibits recording when your purpose is to commit a crime, a tort, or any other injurious act.

The Criminal, Tortious, or Injurious Purpose Exception

Why This Exception Matters

Wisconsin's one-party consent law includes an important limitation that distinguishes it from many other one-party consent states. Under Wis. Stat. 968.31(2)(c), the consent exception does not apply if the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the constitution or laws of the United States or any state, or "for the purpose of committing any other injurious act." That last clause goes further than federal law, which stops at criminal or tortious purposes (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d)), so a recording that is legal under federal law can still be a Wisconsin felony.

This means that even when you are a party to the conversation, your recording is illegal if your purpose is unlawful. Courts examine the intent behind the recording to determine whether this exception applies.

Examples of Criminal, Tortious, or Injurious Purpose

• Recording for blackmail or extortion is illegal because the intent is criminal.
• Recording to facilitate fraud is illegal because fraud is both criminal and tortious.
• Recording with intent to harass can remove the exception, whether or not the conduct rises to criminal harassment under Wis. Stat. 947.013, because the statute also reaches recording to commit "any other injurious act."
• Recording to gather trade secrets could be illegal if it involves misappropriation under Wisconsin's Uniform Trade Secrets Act.

Legitimate Purposes That Are Protected

• Documenting workplace harassment or discrimination
• Recording performance reviews for your personal records
• Preserving evidence of verbal agreements or promises
• Keeping a record of medical instructions
• Documenting threatening or abusive behavior so you can report it to police and keep accurate notes (a recording may not be admissible at a protective order hearing; see the evidence section below)
• Recording conversations with government officials about your case

Courts look at the circumstances when evaluating purpose. A lawful reason for recording, such as protecting your own interests or documenting important information, keeps you within the participant exception, but it does not make the recording usable in court (see the evidence section below).

Types of Audio Communications Covered

Wire Communications

Wire communications include traditional telephone calls, cell phone calls, and any communication that travels over a wire or cable at some point during transmission. Under Wis. Stat. 968.27(17), a wire communication is any aural transfer made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by wire, cable, or other like connection. Wisconsin's one-party consent rule covers all wire communications.

Oral Communications

Oral communications are face-to-face spoken conversations where the speaker has a reasonable expectation that the conversation is not being intercepted. Under Wis. Stat. 968.27(12), an oral communication is one uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying that expectation.

Conversations in public places where people can overhear you generally do not carry a reasonable expectation of privacy. Conversations in your home, office, or other private settings do carry that expectation.

Electronic Communications

Electronic communications include emails, text messages, instant messages, and data transmissions. Under Wis. Stat. 968.27(4), an electronic communication is any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence transmitted in whole or in part by wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or photo-optical system.

Recording Phone Calls Under Wisconsin Law

Personal Phone Calls

You can record any personal phone call you participate in. This applies to:

• Calls made from or received on your cell phone
• Landline calls
• VoIP calls through services like Skype, WhatsApp, or Signal
• Video call audio through Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or Google Meet

You do not need to play a beep tone, announce the recording, or get permission. Simply being a party to the call satisfies the one-party consent requirement.

Business Phone Calls

Wisconsin businesses can record calls for quality assurance, training, compliance, and dispute resolution purposes. The one-party consent rule means a business employee who participates in the call provides the necessary consent. Many businesses still announce recording as a best practice, using phrases like "This call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes."

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has confirmed that electronic recording of conversations is permissible under state law when at least one party consents.

Interstate Phone Calls

When you call someone in another state, the recording laws of both states may apply. If you are in Wisconsin calling someone in a two-party consent state, courts do not agree on which state's law governs. Some apply the law of the place where the recording is made, while in Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006) California's Supreme Court held that California law governs recordings of calls with Californians going forward, though it applied Georgia law to the out-of-state firm's past conduct. Because you could face exposure under the other state's law, check the pairing before you record.

This is especially important for Wisconsin residents because the state borders Illinois, which is an all-party consent state. States requiring all-party consent include:

• Illinois (Wisconsin's neighbor)
• California
• Connecticut (criminal wiretap law is one-party consent, but Conn. Gen. Stat. 52-570d imposes civil liability for recording a phone call unless all parties consent, verbal notice is given at the start, or an audible warning tone is used)
• Delaware (its statutes conflict, so get everyone's consent to be safe)
• Florida
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevada (phone calls)
• New Hampshire
• Oregon (in-person conversations)
• Pennsylvania
• Washington

If you regularly record calls with people in these states, the safest approach is to inform all parties before recording begins.

Recording In-Person Conversations

When Audio Recording Is Legal

Wisconsin law permits audio recording of in-person conversations when:

• You are a direct participant in the conversation
• You are in a public place where no reasonable expectation of privacy exists
• One of the parties to the conversation has given you prior consent to record
• The recording is not for a criminal, tortious, or other injurious purpose

Public spaces like sidewalks, parks, government buildings, and retail stores generally carry no expectation of privacy for conversations held at normal volume.

When Audio Recording Is Illegal

Recording becomes illegal when:

• You are not a party to the conversation and have no participant's consent
• You use a hidden device to capture conversations in a clandestine manner from a private place
• You place a recording device in someone else's home, office, or vehicle without any party's knowledge
• Your purpose for recording is criminal, tortious, or otherwise injurious

The Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Standard

Wisconsin courts evaluate whether someone had a reasonable expectation that their conversation was private. Factors include:

• The location of the conversation (private home vs. public street)
• The volume at which people were speaking
• Precautions taken to ensure privacy (closing a door, stepping away from others)
• The nature of the relationship between the parties
• Whether others could overhear the conversation

A whispered conversation in a crowded restaurant may carry more expectation of privacy than a loud conversation on a public sidewalk, even though both occur in semi-public settings.

Penalties for Illegal Audio Recording

Criminal Penalties Under Wis. Stat. 968.31

Violating Wisconsin's wiretapping laws is a Class H felony. Under Wis. Stat. 939.50(3)(h), a Class H felony carries:

A felony conviction carries lasting consequences including a permanent criminal record, loss of voting rights while incarcerated or on supervision, firearm ownership restrictions, and difficulty finding employment.

Civil Liability Under Wis. Stat. 968.31(2m)

Wisconsin provides civil remedies for victims of illegal recording. Under Wis. Stat. 968.31(2m), any person whose communication is intercepted, disclosed, or used in violation of the wiretapping statutes can sue for:

• Actual damages, but not less than $100 per day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher
• Punitive damages
• Reasonable attorney fees and other litigation costs

Devices used to intercept illegally can be seized and forfeited under Wis. Stat. 968.32. Victims may also pursue claims under the federal Wiretap Act (18 U.S.C. 2520), which lets a court award the greater of actual damages or statutory damages of $100 a day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and attorney fees, although the award is up to the court.

Good Faith Defense

A complete defense exists under Wis. Stat. 968.31(3) if the defendant relied in good faith on a court order authorizing the interception or on the provisions of Wis. Stat. 968.30(7), which governs the recording, custody, and court-ordered sealing of communications intercepted under such an order.

Using Audio Recordings as Evidence in Wisconsin

Authentication Requirements

Lawful to make is not the same as usable in court. Wis. Stat. 885.365 makes recorded telephone conversations "totally inadmissible" in Wisconsin civil actions. Its notice exception covers only a recording "made in a manner other than by interception," and Wisconsin defines interception as acquiring a communication's contents with any device (Wis. Stat. 968.27(9)). More broadly, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held in State v. Waste Management of Wisconsin, 81 Wis. 2d 555 (1978) that one-party consent tapes are lawful but their contents "cannot be admitted as evidence in chief" under Wis. Stat. 968.29(3).

The exceptions are narrow: recordings made by or with police (a person acting under color of law) can be used in felony cases under 968.29(3)(b); speech made without a reasonable expectation of privacy is not a protected "oral communication" (State v. Duchow, 2008 WI 57); a party who relies heavily on a transcript can open the door to the tape (State v. Albrecht, 1994); and small-claims cases are not bound by the ordinary rules of evidence (Wis. Stat. 799.209(2)). Where a recording can be offered, authentication typically requires:

• Testimony from a person with knowledge that the recording is what it claims to be
• Evidence that the recording device was working properly
• Proof that the recording has not been altered or edited
• Chain of custody documentation showing how the recording was preserved

Admissibility in Different Court Settings

• Criminal cases: Illegally obtained recordings can be suppressed and may lead to separate criminal charges. Even a lawful private one-party recording generally cannot be played as evidence in chief (State v. Waste Management, 1978).
• Civil cases: Recorded phone calls are barred by Wis. Stat. 885.365, and the Waste Management rule also limits in-person recordings.
• Family court: Divorce and custody cases are civil actions, so the same limits apply. Ask a family lawyer before relying on a recording.
• Administrative hearings: Agencies like the Wisconsin Equal Rights Division may accept recordings as evidence in discrimination and harassment complaints.

Best Practices for Preserving Recordings

1. Use a reliable recording device or app. Smartphone voice memo apps, dedicated digital recorders, and call recording apps all work.
2. Do not edit the recording. Preserve the original file in its entirety.
3. Back up the recording immediately. Save copies to cloud storage and a separate device.
4. Note the date, time, location, and participants. Write this information down as soon as possible after the recording.
5. Store the recording securely. Protect it from accidental deletion or unauthorized access.

Wisconsin Bar Ethics Opinion on Attorney Recording

In February 2024, the State Bar of Wisconsin issued Formal Ethics Opinion EF-24-01, which addresses when attorneys may record conversations without disclosure. Key findings include:

• Recording clients without their knowledge or consent is prohibited under Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules 20:1.4(b) and 20:8.4(c)
• Recording judges and court personnel without permission is not permitted
• Recording opposing counsel is not ordinarily prohibited by disciplinary rules, but the committee cautions attorneys to carefully consider the risks
• Recording third parties without telling them is not itself misconduct, but lawyers must still follow SCR 20:4.2 (no contact about the matter with a represented person without their lawyer's consent) and may never falsely deny that a conversation is being recorded

This opinion replaced the earlier Ethics Opinion E-94-5 and reflects the practical reality of recording in a one-party consent state.

Federal Law and Wisconsin Audio Recording

The federal Wiretap Act (18 U.S.C. 2511) also follows a one-party consent standard. Federal law prohibits interception of wire, oral, or electronic communications except where one party to the communication consents. The two rules are not identical: Wisconsin's exception is also lost for a recording made to commit "any other injurious act," which the federal limit does not reach.

Federal penalties for wiretapping violations include up to five years in prison and fines. Under 18 U.S.C. 2520, a court may award the greater of actual damages or statutory damages of $100 a day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and attorney fees; the award is discretionary, not a fixed amount per violation.

Recent Developments

As of early 2026, Wisconsin's core recording and wiretapping statute (Wis. Stat. 968.31) has not been amended. Wisconsin remains a one-party consent state.

• Wisconsin Bar Ethics Opinion EF-24-01 (February 2024): Updated guidance on attorney recording replaced the 1994 opinion.
• Government Surveillance Reform (AB 252/SB 260): A bill introduced in the 2023-2024 session would have restricted government agencies from intercepting oral communications in buildings they own without a two-thirds vote. The bill did not pass and has not been reintroduced.
• NLRB Workplace Recording Guidance: The National Labor Relations Board has continued to scrutinize employer no-recording policies, reinforcing that blanket bans may violate employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal to record a conversation in Wisconsin without the other person knowing?

Yes. Wisconsin is a one-party consent state under Wis. Stat. 968.31. As long as you are a participant in the conversation, you can record without telling the other person. The limit is purpose: you cannot record to commit a criminal or tortious act or any other injurious act, such as blackmail or harassment.

What are the penalties for illegal audio recording in Wisconsin?

Illegal wiretapping in Wisconsin is a Class H felony punishable by up to 6 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Victims can also sue civilly under Wis. Stat. 968.31(2m) for actual damages (minimum $100 per day or $1,000), punitive damages, and attorney fees.

Can I record a phone call in Wisconsin?

Yes. You can record any phone call you participate in, including landline calls, cell phone calls, and VoIP calls. You do not need to inform the other party. However, if you are calling someone in a two-party consent state like Illinois, the stricter law may apply.

Does Wisconsin's one-party consent law apply to electronic communications?

Yes. Wis. Stat. 968.31 covers wire, oral, and electronic communications. This includes phone calls, in-person conversations, text messages, emails, and video call audio. The one-party consent exception applies to all three categories.

Can a recording be used as evidence in Wisconsin court?

No, not as a rule. Making a one-party recording is legal in Wisconsin, but using it in court is a separate and stricter question. Wis. Stat. 885.365 bars recorded phone calls from Wisconsin civil cases, and its notice exception covers only recordings not made by a device interception. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that a lawful one-party recording generally cannot be admitted as evidence in chief (State v. Waste Management, 1978). Narrow exceptions exist, for example speech made without a reasonable expectation of privacy, recordings made with police in felony cases, and small-claims cases, which use looser evidence rules. Talk to a Wisconsin attorney before planning a case around a recording.