Call recording disclosure script
What to say when you record a call, and where to say it: at the start of the call, on your voicemail, in your emails and invites, and in your privacy notice. Based on the law where you and the other person are.
- 84 places, 25 languages
- Built on sourced law research
- Free, no sign-up
Ask, and wait for a yes.
Choose both places to see the rule there. Until then the kit asks, because telling everyone and asking is the safe habit everywhere.
Your kit
Copy each text, or all of them at once. Words in [brackets] are still to fill in.
On the call
Start of the call
Say it before you talk business, and wait for a yes.
Before we start: I record my calls so I can keep accurate notes. Is that OK with you?
If they say no
Do not record. If the recording had started, stop it and delete what was recorded without their yes.
No problem. I will not record this call, and I will take notes by hand.
When someone joins
Everyone on the call needs to know, so ask the new person too.
Welcome. Before we go on: I am recording this call so I can keep accurate notes. Is that OK with you?
People you call often
A quick check, so a regular caller is never surprised.
I would like to record this call for my notes, as usual. Is that still OK with you?
Before the call
Meeting invite or booking
Put it in the invite or the confirmation email.
I would like to record this call so I can keep accurate notes. I will ask you at the start. If you would rather not be recorded, just say so and I will not record it.
Email signature
Notice in advance. It is not their yes, so still ask when the call starts.
I record my business calls so I can keep accurate notes. If you would rather not be recorded, just tell me at the start of the call.
Voicemail greeting
Callers hear it when you cannot answer. Ask again when you call back.
Hello, this is [your name]. I cannot take your call right now. Please leave your name, your number and a short message, and I will call you back. Just so you know, I record my calls so I can keep accurate notes.
Company number greeting
For a phone menu or a shared number. Whoever answers still asks.
Thank you for calling [your company]. We record our calls so we can keep accurate notes. If you do not want this call recorded, please tell the person who answers.
After the call
Note that they agreed
Only when you asked and they said yes. Add it to the call note or your CRM.
Call recording: [their name] agreed at the start of the call. Date: [date].
Privacy notice
EU and EEA: the GDPR
The paragraph for your website's privacy notice.
We record business phone calls only if you agree at the start of the call. If you say no, we do not record, and the call goes on as normal. We use the recording and its written transcript to keep accurate notes of the call. Legal basis: your consent (GDPR Article 6(1)(a)). You can withdraw your consent at any time: tell us during the call, or email us. Our call recording and transcription service processes the recordings for us. You have the right to access, correct and delete your data, to restrict its use and to receive it in a portable format. You can complain to a data protection authority, in particular in the EU or EEA country where you live or work. Transfers outside the EU or EEA: [countries and safeguard, or none]. How long we keep recordings: [how long you keep recordings]. Data controller: [your company]. Contact: [your email address].
A business that records calls must tell people who it is, why it records, on what legal basis, who receives the recordings, how long it keeps them and what their rights are. A short spoken notice at the start can cover the basics, with the rest in your privacy notice.
It should say
- Who you are and how to reach you, and your data protection officer if you have one.
- Why you record calls and the legal basis: here, the other person's consent.
- That they can say no, and can withdraw consent at any time.
- Who receives the recordings, including your recording and transcription service.
- Any transfer outside the EU or EEA, the safeguard that covers it, and how to get a copy.
- How long you keep recordings, or the rule you use to decide.
- Their rights: access, correction, deletion, restriction and portability.
- That they can complain to a data protection authority.
Good to know
- Name your recording and transcription service. If it processes recordings outside the EU or EEA, add the country, the safeguard (an adequacy decision or standard contractual clauses) and how to get a copy.
- If you have a data protection officer, add their contact details next to yours.
- Relying on legitimate interest instead of consent? Name the interest and tell people they can object. The French regulator (CNIL) says to tell callers this during the call. German regulators say recording generally needs consent.
- Give a real period or a clear rule, for example 6 months. EU regulators say that keeping data 'as long as necessary' is not enough.
Sources
- General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679, Articles 7, 13 and 77, EUR-Lex
- Article 29 Working Party: Guidelines on transparency (WP260 rev.01), on the EDPB site
- Datenschutzkonferenz: Beschluss vom 23.03.2018, Aufzeichnung von Telefongesprächen
- CNIL: Enregistrement ou écoute des conversations téléphoniques, faut-il informer ses clients/usagers ?
- Andmekaitse Inspektsioon: Telefonikõnede seire (2023 review of call recording in the public sector)
Checked 17 October 2026. A starting point for your privacy notice, not legal advice.
How to tell people you record a call
Why people record their calls. Most people who record business calls do it for the notes: what was agreed, the numbers, the next steps. Salespeople, recruiters, lawyers, estate agents and consultants record so they can listen to the other person instead of writing. The other person should know, and in many places they must agree first.
Ask, and wait for a yes. Say it before you talk business: that you record the call, and why. Then ask if that is OK, and wait for the answer. Some places only ask you to tell people. Others need everyone's consent, and some regulators say that staying on the line is not a yes. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, regulators say to ask before the recording starts. Telling everyone and asking is the safe habit everywhere, and it takes a few seconds.
The stricter place wins. When you and the other person are in different places, follow the stricter rule. A call from Texas, where your own consent is enough, to California, where everyone must agree, needs everyone's agreement. In the US, 13 states ask for everyone's consent. In Europe and Canada, data protection law also applies to every recording a business makes, and in Australia and some US states, such as California, it does for larger businesses. Choose both places above and the kit follows the stricter rule. The call recording laws have the details for each place.
Notice in advance is not their yes. A line in your email signature, your meeting invite or your voicemail greeting tells people before the call. That is good: nobody is surprised. But reading a line in an email is not agreeing to it. Still ask at the start of the call.
If they say no. Do not record, and carry on with the call. If the recording had already started, stop it and delete what was recorded without their yes. Take notes by hand. A yes only counts when people were free to say no, so the call should not depend on it. When someone joins a call that is already recorded, tell them and ask them too.
Keep a note of the yes. If anyone asks later, you want to show that they agreed. Add one line to the call note or your CRM: who agreed, and when.
Say it in your privacy notice. In Europe and Canada, a business must tell people what it does with their data, and a recorded voice is personal data. In Australia and some US states, such as California, larger businesses must too. If you record calls, your privacy notice should say so: why you record, how long you keep the recordings, and how people can ask for theirs. The kit has a paragraph for each privacy law it covers, with what the notice should say and the sources.
Say it in their language. A line the other person does not understand does not tell them much. The kit has every text in English and in the languages of the countries in the research. Under each translation you see the English, so you know what you are saying.
More free tools
- Call notes generatorPaste a call transcript and get the note: a summary, the follow-ups and an entry for your CRM.
- Attendance note generatorTurn a client call into the attendance note for the file: what the client said, the advice given, the next steps and the time spent.
- Candidate call notesTurn a screening call into notes on the candidate: fit for the role, pay, notice period and a summary for your client.
- Viewing feedback generatorTurn a buyer's call after a viewing into the feedback note, and a short update you can send the seller.
- Speech to textDictate, or drop in a recording and get the text back by speaker. It runs in your browser, so the audio never leaves your device.
- Call recording lawsCan you record this call? A plain answer for every US state and 33 countries, with the law behind it.
Questions
Do I have to tell people that I record a call?
It depends on where you both are. Of the 84 places in the research, 31 require everyone on the call to agree, 13 US states among them. In the others your own consent is enough under the recording law. But in Europe and Canada, data protection law also says a business must tell people it records a call, and often ask, and in Australia it says so for larger businesses. Telling everyone and asking is the safe habit everywhere.
Which US states require everyone to agree?
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. In the other states, and under federal law, your own consent is enough for a phone call you take part in. In Oregon, video calls and meetings in person follow a stricter rule: everyone must be told before you record. Telling people is still good practice.
Is a line in my email signature or invite enough?
It tells people in advance, and that helps: nobody is surprised. But it is not their yes. Where everyone must agree, ask at the start of the call and wait for the answer, even if they have read your email.
What do I say if they do not want to be recorded?
Say that it is no problem, do not record, and carry on with the call. Take notes by hand. If the recording had already started, stop it and delete what was recorded without their yes. The kit has a line for this in every language.
Which languages are there?
English, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish: the languages of the countries in the research. Under every translation the kit shows the English text, so you know what it says.
Is this legal advice?
No. The scripts are plain wording built on a summary of each law, with the sources linked, checked in October 2026. Laws change, and a court can read a law differently. If a call matters, read the law itself or ask a lawyer where you are.
Hang up. The notes are done.
Say the line at the start of the call. Superscribe records the call on the number you already have and writes the note when you hang up.
