Recording
Penal Code 632 — all party consent for a confidential conversation, and police in public
California requires the consent of all parties to record a confidential communication. Intentionally using a recording or amplifying device to eavesdrop on or record one without everyone's consent, in person or by phone, is punishable by a fine of up to $2,500 per violation, up to one year in county jail or state prison, or both; after a prior conviction, the fine can reach $10,000.
The rule reaches confidential conversations, not everything said. A confidential communication is one carried on in circumstances that reasonably indicate a party wants it confined to the parties. It does not include a communication made at a public gathering, in a legislative, judicial, executive or administrative proceeding open to the public, or anywhere the parties may reasonably expect to be overheard or recorded.
Recording a call carried between cellular or cordless phones, or between one of those and a landline, also takes the consent of all parties, whether or not the call is confidential, with the same range of punishment. Evidence obtained by recording a confidential communication in violation of the section is not admissible in any proceeding, except to prove the violation itself.
Recording an officer in public is not, by itself, obstruction. Taking a photograph or making an audio or video recording of a public officer or peace officer, while the officer is in a public place or the person recording is somewhere the person has a right to be, is not by itself resisting, delaying or obstructing the officer, and is not by itself reasonable suspicion to detain or probable cause to arrest.
A person known to all the parties to be overhearing or recording the conversation is outside the confidential communication section. Willfully resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer is still an offense, whatever the recording.
Sources for this section (3)
- Penal Code 632 — Eavesdropping on or recording a confidential communication
- Penal Code 148 — Resisting, delaying, or obstructing an officer
- Penal Code 632.7 — Intercepting or recording a cellular or cordless telephone call
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed California attorney.