Can you record a phone call in Ireland?
You may record a call you take part in without the other person's consent. Irish law treats a recording as interception only when neither the caller nor the person called agreed, but businesses must tell callers under the GDPR.
- Phone calls
- Section 98 of the Postal and Telecommunications Services Act 1983, as amended in 1993, makes intercepting a call a crime. To intercept means to listen to or record a call in transit, but not where the caller or the intended recipient has consented. A participant gives that consent, so recording your own call is legal.
- Business calls
- A business that records calls processes personal data under the GDPR. Tell callers at the start that the call is recorded and why, and point them to the full privacy notice: who you are, how long recordings are kept and their rights. Record only for a clear purpose and delete recordings when that purpose ends.
- What counts as consent
- Under the 1993 rule, one party's consent is enough. For data protection, an announcement at the start of the call is the usual notice, and staying on the line after it is commonly treated as agreement. Share the full privacy notice by email or a link.
- Penalties
- Intercepting a call without either party's consent is a crime, with up to 5 years in prison on indictment. GDPR breaches, such as recording without proper notice, can bring fines up to €20 million or 4% of worldwide turnover.
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?
Worth knowing
- The consent rule comes from section 13 of the 1993 Act, which added the definition of intercept to section 98. The Law Reform Commission's revised text is updated to 2 April 2025.
- The Data Protection Commission's guidance list has no call-recording guide. Its general GDPR principles apply: lawfulness, fairness and transparency, purpose limitation and storage limitation.
- For a participant, recording without telling the caller is not a crime, but for a business it can still breach the GDPR duty to inform (Article 13).
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026. A plain summary of the law, not legal advice.
- Interception of Postal Packets and Telecommunications Messages (Regulation) Act 1993, revised (section 13)statute
- Data Protection Commission: Guidance on the principles of data protectionregulator
- GDPR Article 13 (information to be provided)guide
- GDPR Article 83 (administrative fines)guide
- The Irish Times: Q&A on the legal implications of recording calls (2014)guide
Other countries
More free tools
Questions
Is Ireland a one-party consent country?
Yes. You may record a call you take part in without the other person's consent. Irish law treats a recording as interception only when neither the caller nor the person called agreed, but businesses must tell callers under the GDPR.
Can a business record calls in Ireland?
A business that records calls processes personal data under the GDPR. Tell callers at the start that the call is recorded and why, and point them to the full privacy notice: who you are, how long recordings are kept and their rights. Record only for a clear purpose and delete recordings when that purpose ends.
What counts as consent in Ireland?
Under the 1993 rule, one party's consent is enough. For data protection, an announcement at the start of the call is the usual notice, and staying on the line after it is commonly treated as agreement. Share the full privacy notice by email or a link.
What happens if you record a call illegally in Ireland?
Intercepting a call without either party's consent is a crime, with up to 5 years in prison on indictment. GDPR breaches, such as recording without proper notice, can bring fines up to €20 million or 4% of worldwide turnover.
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.
