South Carolina Call Recording Laws: One-Party Consent

South Carolina is a one-party consent state: you may record a phone call or conversation you are part of, or one where a participant has given prior consent. Intercepting a call without any party's consent is punishable by up to five years in prison, and the civil remedy is among the steepest in the country: at least $25,000 per claim.

For South Carolina businesses, recording your own calls is lawful. Third-party monitoring without consent is where the large exposure lies.

This is general information, not legal advice.

South Carolina recording law at a glance

Question	Answer in South Carolina
Consent rule	One party
Exception	S.C. Code § 17-30-30(C)
Offense	S.C. Code § 17-30-20
Criminal penalty	Up to 5 years, up to $5,000, or both (§ 17-30-50)
Civil damages	At least $500/day or $25,000, plus punitive damages and fees (§ 17-30-135)
Texts and email	Covered

What the statute says

South Carolina's Homeland Security Act chapter on interception of communications, Title 17, Chapter 30, was enacted in 2002. Section 17-30-20 prohibits intentionally intercepting wire, oral or electronic communications, using devices to intercept oral communications, and disclosing or using contents known to have been illegally intercepted.

Section 17-30-30(C) provides the private-person exception:

"It is lawful under this chapter for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication where the person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to the interception."

No purpose limit in the text

Federal law, and most one-party states, exclude recordings made for a criminal or tortious purpose. South Carolina's § 17-30-30(C) does not include that limit. That does not make a recording made to commit a crime safe: the federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), still excludes recordings made for criminal or tortious purposes, and other crimes, such as extortion, still apply.

In-person conversations

South Carolina protects oral communications uttered by a person "exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying the expectation" (§ 17-30-15), according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP). A participant may record. Public conversations are generally not protected.

South Carolina's peeping-tom statute, § 16-17-470, separately makes it a misdemeanor to eavesdrop on the premises of another or use audio or video equipment to spy on or invade the privacy of others.

Texts and email

The definition of electronic communication covers "any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature." One-party consent governs intercepting texts in transit.

Penalties

Violation	Statute	Penalty
Intercepting a communication without a party's consent	§§ 17-30-20, 17-30-50	Up to 5 years, up to $5,000, or both
Disclosing or using illegally intercepted contents	§§ 17-30-20, 17-30-50	Same
Eavesdropping or peeping on another's premises	§ 16-17-470	Misdemeanor

Civil liability: the $25,000 floor

S.C. Code § 17-30-135(A) gives any person whose communication is intercepted, disclosed or used in violation of the chapter a civil claim against any person or entity responsible. Relief includes:

1. Equitable or declaratory relief
2. Actual damages, but not less than liquidated damages of $500 a day for each day of violation or $25,000, whichever is greater, subject to limits in subsection (F)(3)
3. Punitive damages, except as subsection (F)(4) prohibits
4. A reasonable attorney's fee and litigation costs

Most states set liquidated damages at $100 a day or $1,000. South Carolina's figures are five and twenty-five times higher. An employer that monitors calls it is not part of, without consent, faces serious exposure for each person recorded.

Who can be liable

Section 17-30-135 reaches "any person or entity" that intercepts, discloses or uses a communication in violation of the chapter, or "procures any other person or entity" to do so. A business that directs an employee or contractor to monitor calls unlawfully can be liable alongside the person who did it. Before you deploy any monitoring tool, confirm three things in writing: that a party to each monitored call has consented, which lines and devices are covered, and who may access the recordings.

Calls between South Carolina and neighboring states

Neighbor	Rule for phone calls
North Carolina	One-party
Georgia	One-party

South Carolina's neighbors are one-party states. Its coastal tourism, manufacturing and retiree communities bring many callers from Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois and other all-party states. Read interstate call recording consent and see the state-by-state table.

Three South Carolina scenarios

A Myrtle Beach rental company records booking calls with a notice. Agents are parties, and callers from Pennsylvania and Maryland hear the notice.

A Greenville manufacturer's manager listens to and records calls between a buyer and a supplier without either knowing. The manager is not a party and has no consent. That is a crime, and each person recorded could seek at least $25,000.

A Charleston contractor records a call with a customer to document a change order. Lawful under § 17-30-30(C): the contractor is a party.

What this means for South Carolina businesses

Manufacturing and logistics

Upstate manufacturers and Lowcountry port businesses record supplier and dispatch calls. Record only calls your staff are on, with notice.

Tourism and real estate

Visitors and buyers call from all over. A notice on every recorded call covers callers from stricter states.

Employees

Given the $25,000 floor, document employee consent in a signed policy before any monitoring. Keep personal devices and personal accounts out of scope unless the employee agrees in writing, and give staff a way to make personal calls that are not recorded.

No purpose limit, but federal law still applies

South Carolina's text does not exclude recordings made for criminal or tortious purposes, but the federal Wiretap Act does, and it applies to every call in the state. A participant who records a call to extort or defraud someone is not protected by federal law, and other South Carolina crimes, such as extortion, still apply. For businesses, this gap changes nothing in practice: record for legitimate reasons, and document them in your policy.

South Carolina recording checklist

• Recording notice at the start of recorded inbound calls
• Spoken notice on outbound recorded calls
• Signed employee recording and monitoring policy
• No interception of calls, texts or email you are not party to
• Recordings made for legitimate business purposes
• Callers who object are not recorded
• Access controls and retention schedule

Wording is in call recording disclosure scripts.

Recording calls in South Carolina with Callata

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