Can you record a phone call in Vermont?
You can record a call you take part in without asking the others. Vermont has no recording law of its own, so the federal one-party rule applies, unless the purpose is a crime or a civil wrong.
- Phone calls
- Vermont has no statute on recording phone calls or conversations. The federal Wiretap Act fills the gap: 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) lets a person who is a party to a call, or who has one party's prior consent, record it, unless the recording is made to commit a crime or a civil wrong.
- Business calls
- No Vermont law requires a recording notice. Vermont's Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act, signed in June 2026, applies from 1 January 2028 to businesses handling personal data of 35,000 Vermont consumers, or 3,000 for sensitive data or data sales. Neighboring Massachusetts and New Hampshire require everyone's consent, so announce the recording and get consent on calls with people there or in other all-party states.
- What counts as consent
- As a participant, your own consent is enough under federal law. No beep or announcement is required. For a call you are not part of, one participant must agree before the recording starts.
- Penalties
- Federal law: a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both. Victims can sue under 18 U.S.C. 2520 for the greatest of actual damages plus profits, $100 a day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and fees.
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
- State v. Blow (1991) and State v. Geraw (2002) bar secret police recording inside a home without a warrant. They bind the government, not private callers.
- Vermont's Electronic Communication Privacy Act (13 V.S.A. chapter 232) governs police access to stored data, not private recording.
- Secretly recording someone inside a home can still bring a privacy lawsuit, and may fall under Vermont's voyeurism law (13 V.S.A. 2605(d)).
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026. A plain summary of the law, not legal advice.
Other states
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Questions
Is Vermont a one-party consent state?
Yes. You can record a call you take part in without asking the others. Vermont has no recording law of its own, so the federal one-party rule applies, unless the purpose is a crime or a civil wrong.
Can a business record calls in Vermont?
No Vermont law requires a recording notice. Vermont's Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act, signed in June 2026, applies from 1 January 2028 to businesses handling personal data of 35,000 Vermont consumers, or 3,000 for sensitive data or data sales. Neighboring Massachusetts and New Hampshire require everyone's consent, so announce the recording and get consent on calls with people there or in other all-party states.
What counts as consent in Vermont?
As a participant, your own consent is enough under federal law. No beep or announcement is required. For a call you are not part of, one participant must agree before the recording starts.
What happens if you record a call illegally in Vermont?
Federal law: a fine, up to 5 years in prison, or both. Victims can sue under 18 U.S.C. 2520 for the greatest of actual damages plus profits, $100 a day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and fees.
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.
