Can you record a phone call in Luxembourg?
Get the consent of everyone whose words you record. Luxembourg's 1982 privacy law makes it a crime to record words spoken in private without the speaker's consent, and the text has no exception for participants.
- Phone calls
- Article 2 of the Law of 11 August 1982 on the protection of private life punishes deliberately invading someone's privacy by listening to, recording or transmitting, with any device, words they spoke in private, without their consent. The amended Law of 30 May 2005 on privacy in electronic communications allows recording calls with prior consent or, in lawful business practice, as proof of a transaction or other business communication.
- Business calls
- The GDPR applies alongside the 2005 law. Whether you rely on consent or on business proof, the data protection authority (CNPD) requires clear prior information to clients and employees, especially the purpose and retention period, and a message at the start of every recorded call. Banks must keep recordings of order calls for five years, or up to seven if the CSSF asks.
- What counts as consent
- Announce the recording and its purpose at the start of each call, by an automated or spoken message. Consent must be prior, free, specific, informed and unambiguous. The 1982 law presumes consent when you record openly, in full view of a meeting's participants.
- Penalties
- Article 2 of the 1982 law: 8 days to 1 year in prison and a fine of EUR 251 to 5,000, or one of these. Keeping, sharing or using such a recording carries the same penalties. GDPR fines are separate.
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?
- French
Avant de commencer : j'enregistre mes appels afin de pouvoir prendre des notes précises. Êtes-vous d'accord ?
- German
Bevor wir beginnen: Ich zeichne meine Gespräche auf, damit ich genaue Notizen machen kann. Sind Sie damit einverstanden?
Worth knowing
- The 1982 offense requires an invasion of the intimacy of private life. The sources checked do not settle whether an ordinary business call qualifies, so the stricter all-party reading is used here.
- Employers with at least 15 staff must inform the staff delegation before monitoring employees, for example by recording their calls (Labor Code L.261-1). Each employee must also be informed individually.
- The CNPD set out these call-recording rules in its guidelines of 6 June 2025 on retention periods for payment service providers.
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026. A plain summary of the law, not legal advice.
- Loi du 11 août 1982 concernant la protection de la vie privée (Legilux)statute
- Loi modifiée du 30 mai 2005 (vie privée dans les communications électroniques), consolidated text, art. 4 (Legilux)statute
- CNPD: Lignes directrices en matière de durées de conservation, services de paiement (6 June 2025)regulator
- d'Lëtzebuerger Land: Moins protecteur (employee monitoring and the staff delegation)guide
- BEE SECURE: Fiche thématique Droit à l'image (December 2023), penalties under the 1982 lawguide
Other countries
More free tools
Questions
Is Luxembourg a one-party consent country?
No. Get the consent of everyone whose words you record. Luxembourg's 1982 privacy law makes it a crime to record words spoken in private without the speaker's consent, and the text has no exception for participants.
Can a business record calls in Luxembourg?
The GDPR applies alongside the 2005 law. Whether you rely on consent or on business proof, the data protection authority (CNPD) requires clear prior information to clients and employees, especially the purpose and retention period, and a message at the start of every recorded call. Banks must keep recordings of order calls for five years, or up to seven if the CSSF asks.
What counts as consent in Luxembourg?
Announce the recording and its purpose at the start of each call, by an automated or spoken message. Consent must be prior, free, specific, informed and unambiguous. The 1982 law presumes consent when you record openly, in full view of a meeting's participants.
What happens if you record a call illegally in Luxembourg?
Article 2 of the 1982 law: 8 days to 1 year in prison and a fine of EUR 251 to 5,000, or one of these. Keeping, sharing or using such a recording carries the same penalties. GDPR fines are separate.
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.
