Nebraska call recording law
Is Nebraska a one-party consent state?
One-party consent
Yes. Nebraska is a one-party consent state. A person who is a party to a call, or who has one party’s prior consent, may record it, unless the call is recorded to commit a criminal or tortious act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-290).
Last checked October 13, 2026 · 10 quoted facts from official pages
Nebraska at a glance
- Phone calls
- One-party consent
- Criminal penalty
- Unlawful interception is a Class IV felony (lower misdemeanor grades apply only to certain unscrambled radio communications).
- Lawsuits
- A person whose call was unlawfully intercepted may sue for the greater of actual damages plus the violator's profits, or statutory damages of $100 per day of violation or $10,000 (whichever is greater), plus reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs.
- Last checked
- October 13, 2026
The law
Penalties
- Criminal
- Unlawful interception is a Class IV felony (lower misdemeanor grades apply only to certain unscrambled radio communications).
- Civil (lawsuits)
- A person whose call was unlawfully intercepted may sue for the greater of actual damages plus the violator's profits, or statutory damages of $100 per day of violation or $10,000 (whichever is greater), plus reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs. Suit must be filed within two years of discovery.
What this means for a business that records calls
Employers covered by the statute’s business exemption may use service observing or random monitoring only for mechanical, service quality or performance control checks, and only with reasonable notice of the random-monitoring policy to their employees (§ 86-290).
Notices and warnings: Nebraska limits an employer’s random monitoring to mechanical, service quality or performance control checks, with reasonable notice of the policy to employees (§ 86-290).
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 Nebraska's law is a question for a lawyer licensed in Nebraska.
Recording notices on CallFlux numbers
CallFlux plays a recording notice to callers on every tracking number that records, before the call connects.
What the official sources say
Interception is not unlawful for a private person who is a party to the communication or when one party has given prior consent.
“when such person is a party to the communication or when one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
The one-party exception does not cover a recording made to commit a criminal or tortious act.
“unless such communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Violating the interception prohibition is a Class IV felony.
“any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a Class IV felony.”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Certain first-offense interceptions of unscrambled radio communications are graded as misdemeanors instead.
“the wire or electronic communication ... is a radio communication that is not scrambled or encrypted”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Civil damages: the greater of $100 per day of violation or $10,000 in statutory damages.
“Statutory damages of whichever is the greater of one hundred dollars a day for each day of violation or ten thousand dollars.”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Alternatively, civil damages can be actual damages plus the violator's profits, whichever is greater.
“The sum of the actual damages suffered by the plaintiff and any profits made by the violator as a result of the violation”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A successful civil plaintiff can recover attorney's fees and litigation costs.
“Reasonable attorney's fees and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
The civil action must be brought within two years of discovery.
“may not be commenced later than two years after the date upon which the claimant first discovered”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Show 2 more facts
Employer exemption on business premises is paired with a limit on random monitoring.
“Such employers and providers shall not utilize service observing or random monitoring except for mechanical, service quality, or performance control checks”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Random monitoring requires reasonable notice of the policy to employees.
“as long as reasonable notice of the policy of random monitoring is provided to their employees”
Source: nebraskalegislature.gov (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Nebraska call recording questions
Is Nebraska a one-party consent state?
Yes. Nebraska is a one-party consent state. A person who is a party to a call, or who has one party’s prior consent, may record it, unless the call is recorded to commit a criminal or tortious act (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-290).
What is the penalty for recording a call illegally in Nebraska?
Unlawful interception is a Class IV felony (lower misdemeanor grades apply only to certain unscrambled radio communications).
What does Nebraska's law say about lawsuits over recorded calls?
A person whose call was unlawfully intercepted may sue for the greater of actual damages plus the violator's profits, or statutory damages of $100 per day of violation or $10,000 (whichever is greater), plus reasonable attorney's fees and litigation costs. Suit must be filed within two years of discovery.
What do Nebraska's sources say about businesses that record calls?
Employers covered by the statute’s business exemption may use service observing or random monitoring only for mechanical, service quality or performance control checks, and only with reasonable notice of the random-monitoring policy to their employees (§ 86-290).