Tennessee Call Recording Laws: One-Party Consent

Tennessee is a one-party consent state: you may record a phone call or conversation you take part in, or one where a participant has given prior consent, unless the purpose is criminal or tortious. Intercepting a call without any party's consent is a Class D felony.

For Tennessee businesses, recording your own calls is lawful. Tennessee borders eight states, all one-party, but its music, healthcare and logistics industries call people nationwide.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Tennessee recording law at a glance

Question	Answer in Tennessee
Consent rule	One party
Exception	Tenn. Code § 39-13-601(b)(5)
Offense	Tenn. Code § 39-13-602
Can a participant record without telling others?	Yes, unless for a criminal or tortious purpose
Criminal penalty	Class D felony (§ 39-13-602)
Former civil remedy	§ 39-13-603, repealed in 2024

What the statute says

Tennessee's wiretapping statute, Tenn. Code § 39-13-601, prohibits intentionally intercepting any wire, oral or electronic communication, using a device to intercept oral communications, and disclosing or using contents known to have been illegally intercepted. Section 39-13-602 makes violations a felony.

Section 39-13-601(b)(5) provides the private-person exception:

"It is lawful ... 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, unless the communication is intercepted for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act in violation of the constitution or laws of this state."

Tennessee revised its wiretapping law in 2024, and the statute now refers to the "[former] 39-13-603 [repealed]," so older summaries of Tennessee law may be out of date.

In-person conversations

Tennessee protects oral communications "uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying that expectation" (§ 40-6-303). A participant may record. Public conversations generally are not protected.

Cellphones and texts

The RCFP notes that Tennessee's law covers telephone conversations including those transmitted by cellphone, and § 39-13-604 specifically addresses cellular and cordless communications. The definition of electronic communication covers "any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature," which includes texts and email.

Penalties

Violation	Statute	Classification
Intercepting a communication without a party's consent	§ 39-13-602	Class D felony
Disclosing or using illegally intercepted contents	§ 39-13-602	Class D felony
Unlawful photography for sexual gratification	§ 39-13-605	Misdemeanor; felony to disclose

Civil liability

Many summaries of Tennessee law, including the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) guide last updated in 2020, describe a civil remedy in Tenn. Code § 39-13-603 with damages of at least $10,000. That section was repealed effective May 28, 2024, by 2024 Tenn. Acts ch. 1045, as part of a broader revision of the wiretapping law.

Civil exposure has not disappeared. The federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2520, lets anyone whose communication is intercepted, disclosed or used in violation of federal law sue for the greater of actual damages or statutory damages of $100 a day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and attorney's fees. Privacy torts and other state claims can also apply. If you face a dispute, have a Tennessee lawyer confirm the current civil remedies.

What changed in 2024

Tennessee's 2024 wiretapping revision (2024 Tenn. Acts ch. 1045) reorganized parts of the law and repealed § 39-13-603. The one-party consent rule in § 39-13-601(b)(5) and the Class D felony in § 39-13-602 remain. If you are reading guidance published before mid-2024, check it against the current code, especially anything about civil damages. The practical advice for businesses did not change: record only calls you are part of, and announce the recording.

Federal law

Tennessee's rule tracks the federal Wiretap Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), which allows a party, or someone with a party's prior consent, to record unless the purpose is criminal or tortious.

Calls between Tennessee and neighboring states

Neighbor	Rule for phone calls
Kentucky	One-party
Virginia	One-party
North Carolina	One-party
Georgia	One-party
Alabama	One-party
Mississippi	One-party
Arkansas	One-party
Missouri	One-party

All eight neighbors are one-party. Nashville's music and healthcare industries and Memphis's logistics hub, however, connect Tennessee businesses to California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Washington. Read interstate call recording consent and see the state-by-state table.

Three Tennessee scenarios

A Nashville healthcare management company records patient billing calls with a notice. Agents are parties, and callers from all-party states hear the notice.

A Memphis freight broker records a rate negotiation with a carrier in Illinois without saying so. Tennessee allows it. Illinois treats a party's secret recording of a private conversation as eavesdropping. Announce the recording.

A Knoxville manager records calls between two employees on a shared line. The manager is not a party and has no consent. That is a Class D felony, and each employee could bring federal civil claims under 18 U.S.C. § 2520.

What this means for Tennessee businesses

Healthcare

Nashville is a center for healthcare companies. Recordings with patient information need access controls and retention schedules in addition to consent.

Logistics

Memphis freight and distribution companies record dispatch and broker calls. Counterparties are nationwide, so announce recordings.

Music and entertainment

Recording calls with artists, managers or labels in California requires all-party consent on the California side. Announce it.

Employees

A signed recording and monitoring policy documents consent on your side.

Disclosure and use of recordings

Tennessee's statute prohibits disclosing or using the contents of a communication you know, or have reason to know, was obtained by unlawful interception, and treats it the same as the interception itself. For businesses, that matters most when someone offers you a recording: a former employee's recording of a meeting, or a customer's recording of a call with a competitor. If it was not made lawfully, using it can create Class D felony exposure. Recordings your own system makes on calls your staff take part in avoid that question.

Tennessee 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 only
• Callers who object are not recorded
• Access controls and retention schedule

Wording is in call recording disclosure scripts.

Recording calls in Tennessee with Callata

With recording turned on, Callata plays "This call may be recorded." to both sides as the call connects, inbound and outbound. Recordings are transcribed and summarized with sentiment and action items on the contact's history. Callata's terms keep consent-law compliance with you. Callata Office is $99 a month with five users included, and each additional user is $20 a month; recording comes with the plan. Sign up.