Both Oklahoma law and federal law include statutes permitting private citizens to record telephone conversations if the private citizen is a party to the conversation. The statutes also authorize recordings if the citizen is not a party to the conversation, if one of the parties has given prior consent to record it.

 

     The federal law is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 2511(d). It provides, it “shall not be unlawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception[.]”  Thus, while the law places certain conditions on persons acting under color of law -- that is, acting on behalf of the government -- to record conversations, federal law allows private citizens to do so.

 

     However, federal law limits this authorization, if the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States or of any State.

 

     Oklahoma law is virtually identical to the federal law, and is codified at 13 O.S. § 176.4.

 

     While most states’ laws are similar to Oklahoma’s, some states are more strict than Oklahoma and federal law. Thus, in some states it may be a crime to record a conversation without both parties’ consent. You should thus proceed with caution if you move outside Oklahoma, or if the conversation you are recording involves someone located in another state.

 

     As a further cautionary note, remember it may be the other party to a conversation who is recording it without your consent!  If you are involved in a domestic dispute or any other type of litigation, or you expect to be, you may want to keep this in mind.

 

     And, while both the Oklahoma law and the federal law have been on the books for many years, you should also double check the current status of the law periodically, to ensure it has not changed. In any event, we recommend you contact an attorney before recording telephone conversations, to be sure you are in full compliance with the law.