Is Illinois a One-Party Consent State? Recording Law

Illinois at a glance

Phone calls: All-party consent (private conversations)
The law: 720 ILCS 5/14-2 (eavesdropping: elements of the offense) (official source, opens in a new tab)
In-person conversations: The same rule (see below)
Criminal penalty: Eavesdropping is a Class 4 felony for a first offense (1 to 3 years) and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense; eavesdropping on law enforcement officers, prosecutors or judges performing official duties is a Class 3 felony (Class 2 for repeat offenses).
Lawsuits: Any party to the conversation can obtain an injunction and recover all actual damages and any punitive damages from the eavesdropper and the eavesdropper’s principal (720 ILCS 5/14-6).
Last checked: October 13, 2026

The law

The official pages this page relies on.

Penalties

As the statutes and courts state them.

Criminal: Eavesdropping is a Class 4 felony for a first offense (1 to 3 years) and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense; eavesdropping on law enforcement officers, prosecutors or judges performing official duties is a Class 3 felony (Class 2 for repeat offenses). Felony fines can be up to $25,000 per offense, or $50,000 for a corporation.
Civil (lawsuits): Any party to the conversation can obtain an injunction and recover all actual damages and any punitive damages from the eavesdropper and the eavesdropper’s principal (720 ILCS 5/14-6).

In-person conversations

The same rule covers in-person conversations. A “private conversation” is an oral communication between two or more people, in person or by wire, that a party intended to be private under circumstances reasonably justifying that expectation (720 ILCS 5/14-1).

What this means for a business that records calls

The crime requires recording “in a surreptitious manner,” which the statute defines as by stealth or deception, or through secrecy or concealment. A separate exemption lets businesses that do marketing, opinion research or telephone solicitation monitor calls for service quality control, with the consent of at least one active party and notice to employees that includes prominent signage in the workplace; those recordings may not be divulged to third parties (720 ILCS 5/14-3).

Notices and warnings: Illinois’s offense covers recording done “in a surreptitious manner,” which the statute defines as by stealth or deception, or through secrecy or concealment (720 ILCS 5/14-1).

Callers can be in any state. The state-by-state table compares every state's rule, and the disclosure generator writes a plain notice sentence such as “This call may be recorded.” Whether a notice is enough under Illinois's law is a question for a lawyer licensed in Illinois.

Recording notices on CallFlux numbers

CallFlux plays a recording notice to callers on every tracking number that records, before the call connects.

How CallFlux call tracking works

What the official sources say

Each line is a short quote from the official page it links to, with the date we read it.

A party to a private conversation commits eavesdropping by surreptitiously recording it without the consent of all other parties.
“any private conversation to which he or she is a party unless he or she does so with the consent of all other parties”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
The offense requires use of an eavesdropping device in a surreptitious manner.
“Uses an eavesdropping device, in a surreptitious manner, for the purpose of transmitting or recording all or any part of any private conversation”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A non-party needs the consent of all parties.
“is not a party unless he or she does so with the consent of all of the parties to the private conversation”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A private conversation includes in-person and telephone conversations.
“any oral communication between 2 or more persons, whether in person or transmitted between the parties by wire or other means”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
The conversation is 'private' when a party intended it to be private under circumstances reasonably justifying that expectation.
“when one or more of the parties intended the communication to be of a private nature under circumstances reasonably justifying that expectation”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
'Surreptitious' means by stealth or deception, or through secrecy or concealment.
“"surreptitious" means obtained or made by stealth or deception, or executed through secrecy or concealment”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A party to the conversation can be an 'eavesdropper'.
“An eavesdropper is any person, including any law enforcement officer and any party to a private conversation”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
The current version of § 14-2 dates from Public Act 98-1142 (effective Dec. 30, 2014) as amended by P.A. 99-352.
“(Source: P.A. 98-1142, eff. 12-30-14; 99-352, eff. 1-1-16 .)”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026

Show 11 more facts

A first offense is a Class 4 felony; a second or subsequent offense is a Class 3 felony.
“Eavesdropping, for a first offense, is a Class 4 felony and, for a second or subsequent offense, is a Class 3 felony.”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A separate, higher penalty applies to eavesdropping on law enforcement officers, prosecutors or judges performing official duties.
“eavesdropping of an oral conversation or an electronic communication of any law enforcement officer, State's Attorney”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
That offense is a Class 3 felony, and a Class 2 felony for a second or subsequent offense.
“is a Class 3 felony, and for a second or subsequent offense, is a Class 2 felony”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A Class 4 felony carries a determinate sentence of 1 to 3 years.
“a determinate sentence of not less than one year and not more than 3 years”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Felony fines may be up to $25,000 per offense, or $50,000 for a corporation.
“$25,000 or the amount specified in the offense, whichever is greater, or if the offender is a corporation, $50,000”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Any party to the conversation may obtain an injunction.
“To an injunction by the circuit court prohibiting further eavesdropping by the eavesdropper and by or on behalf of his principal”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Actual and punitive damages are recoverable.
“To all actual damages against the eavesdropper or his principal or both; (c) To any punitive damages”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Telemarketing/opinion-research businesses may monitor employees' calls for quality control or training.
“the monitoring is used for the purpose of service quality control of marketing or opinion research or telephone solicitation”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
That exemption requires the consent of at least one active party.
“the monitoring is used with the consent of at least one person who is an active party”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Recordings under that exemption may not be divulged to any third party.
“used, directly or indirectly, in any administrative, judicial, or other proceeding, or divulged to any third party”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Businesses using the exemption must notify employees, including prominent workplace signage.
“The notice shall include prominent signage notification within the workplace.”
Source: ilga.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026

Illinois call recording questions

Is Illinois a one-party consent state?

No. Illinois is an all-party consent state for private conversations. A person on a private phone call commits eavesdropping by recording it in a surreptitious manner without the consent of all other parties (720 ILCS 5/14-2).

What is the penalty for recording a call illegally in Illinois?

Eavesdropping is a Class 4 felony for a first offense (1 to 3 years) and a Class 3 felony for a second or subsequent offense; eavesdropping on law enforcement officers, prosecutors or judges performing official duties is a Class 3 felony (Class 2 for repeat offenses). Felony fines can be up to $25,000 per offense, or $50,000 for a corporation.

What does Illinois's law say about lawsuits over recorded calls?

Any party to the conversation can obtain an injunction and recover all actual damages and any punitive damages from the eavesdropper and the eavesdropper’s principal (720 ILCS 5/14-6).

Does Illinois use the same rule for in-person conversations?