This legal research guide provides information about surveillance and recording laws, including electronic monitoring in the workplace and consent requirements for recording conversations.
Ask a Librarian
Contact an Attorney
Texas is considered a "one-party consent" state. This means that unless at least one of the parties to a conversation consents, both Texas and federal wiretapping laws make it a crime to record an audio conversation, either in person or over the phone, if the parties have a "reasonable expectation of privacy."
Courts have generally held that there may not be a reasonable expectation of privacy out in public, but the legality of a specific recording will depend on the circumstances. An attorney can advise you on the recording laws and how they may affect a recording you plan to make.
Below you will find links to Texas and federal laws related to audio recordings. If you find these statutes difficult to understand, please see the Understanding the Law resources below for a "plain English" explanation of these laws.
State law governing the unlawful use, interception, or disclosure of a wire, oral, or electronic communication.
As stated in Penal Code Section 16.02 above, this particular article defines various terms related to wiretapping including "electronic communication" and "oral communication".
Federal law about the interception of oral, electronic, and wire communications. Often referred to as the "Electronic Communications Privacy Act".
This chart from a private law firm not only lists the states' and federal laws but also discuss issues like how to deal with parties in multiple states and the differences in eavesdropping vs wiretapping.
Created by the nonprofit Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and written with journalists in mind, this is a state-by-state guide to recording phone calls and in-person conversations.
This webpage from the Digital Media Law Project provides answers to frequently asked legal questions about recording phone calls and in-person conversations.
From legal self-help publisher Nolo, this article discusses the legalities of recording a conversation between two parties.
