Can you record a phone call in Greece?
Everyone on the call must agree before you record it. Greece's Penal Code makes recording your own phone call or private conversation without the other person's express consent a felony.
- Phone calls
- Penal Code Article 370A punishes anyone who records the content of their phone call with another person without that person's express consent, and the same applies to private face-to-face conversations. The electronic communications privacy law (Law 3471/2006, Article 4) also bans listening to, storing or monitoring calls unless a law allows it.
- Business calls
- A business may record calls only in lawful professional practice, to prove a commercial transaction or other business communication, and only when it needs proof that a specific call happened and what was said (Law 3471/2006, Article 4(3)). The data protection authority (HDPA) rejects vague aims such as quality service. GDPR and Law 4624/2019 apply. Keep recordings only as long as strictly needed.
- What counts as consent
- Ask first and get a clear yes, because the Penal Code requires express consent. For business recordings the HDPA accepts a recorded announcement before the conversation starts, saying that the call is recorded and why. Fuller GDPR details can go on your website.
- Penalties
- Recording your own call or conversation without express consent, or using such a recording, is a felony with up to 10 years in prison. The HDPA can also impose administrative fines on businesses that record unlawfully.
Say this at the start
Telling everyone and asking is the safe habit everywhere.
- English
Before we start: I record my calls so I can keep accurate notes. Is that OK with you?
- Greek
Πριν ξεκινήσουμε: καταγράφω τις κλήσεις μου για να έχω ακριβείς σημειώσεις. Συμφωνείτε;
Worth knowing
- Law 5002/2022 (December 2022) rewrote the penalties in Article 370A. Secret recording of calls and private conversations is now a felony with up to 10 years in prison. No later change was found.
- The HDPA says prior notice is enough for business recordings, but Law 3471/2006 asks both parties to consent after notice and the Penal Code asks for express consent. The stricter reading is shown.
- The HDPA reads the business exception narrowly. It rejected recording every call to deal with threatening callers, sample recording for staff training without safeguards, and recording for quality service.
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026. A plain summary of the law, not legal advice.
- Law 5002/2022, Government Gazette A' 228/9.12.2022, Article 10 (new text of Penal Code Article 370A)statute
- Law 3471/2006 on privacy in electronic communications (text published by the HDPA)statute
- HDPA: recording of telephone callsregulator
- HDPA: permitted purposes of call recordingregulator
- HDPA: obligations of controllers who record callsregulator
Other countries
More free tools
Questions
Is Greece a one-party consent country?
No. Everyone on the call must agree before you record it. Greece's Penal Code makes recording your own phone call or private conversation without the other person's express consent a felony.
Can a business record calls in Greece?
A business may record calls only in lawful professional practice, to prove a commercial transaction or other business communication, and only when it needs proof that a specific call happened and what was said (Law 3471/2006, Article 4(3)). The data protection authority (HDPA) rejects vague aims such as quality service. GDPR and Law 4624/2019 apply. Keep recordings only as long as strictly needed.
What counts as consent in Greece?
Ask first and get a clear yes, because the Penal Code requires express consent. For business recordings the HDPA accepts a recorded announcement before the conversation starts, saying that the call is recorded and why. Fuller GDPR details can go on your website.
What happens if you record a call illegally in Greece?
Recording your own call or conversation without express consent, or using such a recording, is a felony with up to 10 years in prison. The HDPA can also impose administrative fines on businesses that record unlawfully.
Hang up. The notes are done.
Superscribe records your business calls on the number you already have and writes the note when you hang up. You say one line at the start, and it does the rest.
