Pennsylvania call recording law

Is Pennsylvania a one-party consent state?

All-party consent

No. Pennsylvania is an all-party consent state. A person may record a call only when all parties to it have given prior consent, unless an exception applies, and recording without it is a felony of the third degree (18 Pa.C.S. §§ 5703, 5704).

Last checked October 13, 2026 · 15 quoted facts from official pages

Pennsylvania at a glance

Phone calls: All-party consent
The law: 18 Pa.C.S. § 5704 (exceptions to prohibition of interception) (official source, opens in a new tab)
In-person conversations: The same rule (see below)
Criminal penalty: Intentionally intercepting a wire, electronic or oral communication without an exception is a felony of the third degree: up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
Lawsuits: The person whose communication was intercepted may recover actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages of $100 per day of violation or $1,000 (whichever is higher), plus punitive damages and a reasonable attorney's fee and litigation costs.
Last checked: October 13, 2026

The law

The official pages this page relies on.

Penalties

As the statutes and courts state them.

Criminal: Intentionally intercepting a wire, electronic or oral communication without an exception is a felony of the third degree: up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000.
Civil (lawsuits): The person whose communication was intercepted may recover actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages of $100 per day of violation or $1,000 (whichever is higher), plus punitive damages and a reasonable attorney's fee and litigation costs.

In-person conversations

In-person “oral communications” are protected when the speaker has an expectation that the conversation is not being intercepted (§ 5702).

What this means for a business that records calls

An exception lets the personnel of a business engaged in telephone marketing or telephone customer service record those calls with one party’s consent, for the sole purpose of training, quality control or monitoring. Those recordings may be used only for training or quality control and are to be destroyed within one year (§ 5704). Public utilities may record emergency and service calls when a periodic warning plays during the recording, and a person who receives a telemarketer’s or robocaller’s call may record it with their own consent.

Notices and warnings: Pennsylvania lets public utilities record emergency and service calls when a periodic warning indicates, during the recording, that the call is being recorded (§ 5704).

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 Pennsylvania's law is a question for a lawyer licensed in Pennsylvania.

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.

The general exception for private persons requires the prior consent of all parties.
“A person, to intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication, where all parties to the communication have given prior consent to such interception.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Intercepting without an exception is a felony of the third degree.
“a person is guilty of a felony of the third degree if he: (1) intentionally intercepts ... any wire, electronic or oral communication”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Telephone-marketing and customer-service businesses may intercept those calls...
“The personnel of a business engaged in telephone marketing or telephone customer service ... to intercept such marketing or customer service communications”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
...solely for training, quality control or monitoring, with one party's consent.
“for the sole purpose of training, quality control or monitoring by the business, provided that one party involved in the communications has consented”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Such recordings may only be used for training or quality control.
“Any communications recorded pursuant to this paragraph may only be used by the business for the purpose of training or quality control.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Such recordings must be destroyed within one year unless other law requires otherwise.
“communications recorded pursuant to this paragraph shall be destroyed within one year from the date of recording.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Public utilities may record emergency and service calls if a periodic warning plays during the recording.
“provided there is, during such recording, a periodic warning which indicates to the parties to the conversation that the call is being recorded.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
A call recipient may record a telemarketer's or robocaller's call (to enforce telemarketing laws)...
“A person to intercept the wire communications of a telemarketer, telemarketing business or an individual or entity that initiates robocalls”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026

Show 7 more facts

...when the person who received the call consents.
“provided that the person who received the telephone call has consented to the interception”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Communication service providers may not use service observing or random monitoring except for quality control checks.
“no provider of wire or electronic communication service shall utilize service observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or service quality control checks.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
In-person 'oral communication' is protected when the speaker expects it is not being intercepted.
“Any oral communication uttered by a person possessing an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Maximum prison term for a third-degree felony is seven years.
“In the case of a felony of the third degree ... not more than seven years.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Maximum fine for a third-degree felony is $15,000.
“$15,000, when the conviction is of a felony of the third degree.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Civil damages: actual damages with a floor of $100 per day or $1,000, whichever is higher.
“Actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages ... of $100 a day for each day of violation, or $1,000, whichever is higher.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026
Civil plaintiffs may also recover punitive damages, attorney's fees and costs.
“Punitive damages. (3) A reasonable attorney's fee and other litigation costs reasonably incurred.”
Source: palegis.us (official source, opens in a new tab) · read October 13, 2026

Pennsylvania call recording questions