Virginia Call Recording Laws: One-Party Consent

Virginia 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. Intercepting a communication without any party's consent is a Class 6 felony, and civil damages start at $4,000, doubling for privileged relationships such as attorney and client.

For Virginia businesses, recording your own calls is lawful. In Northern Virginia, though, Maryland's all-party rule is just across the river.

This is general information, not legal advice.

Virginia recording law at a glance

Question	Answer in Virginia
Consent rule	One party
Main statute	Va. Code § 19.2-62
Can a participant record without telling others?	Yes
Criminal penalty	Class 6 felony
Civil damages	At least $400/day or $4,000; $800/day or $8,000 for privileged relationships (§ 19.2-69)
Texts and email	Covered

What the statute says

Va. Code § 19.2-62(A) says that, except as otherwise provided in the chapter, any person who intentionally intercepts, or tries or procures someone else to intercept, any wire, electronic or oral communication, or intentionally uses a device to intercept oral communications, or discloses or uses contents knowing they were illegally intercepted, "shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony."

Section 19.2-62(B)(2) provides the exception:

"It shall not be a criminal offense under this chapter for a person to intercept a wire, electronic or oral communication, where such person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception."

Unlike federal law, Virginia's text does not add a "criminal or tortious purpose" limit. Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), still does.

Purpose and federal law

Virginia's exception in § 19.2-62(B)(2) is unconditional on its face: a party, or someone with a party's prior consent, does not commit a criminal offense under the chapter. The federal Wiretap Act, which applies to the same calls, is narrower. It excludes recordings made "for the purpose of committing any criminal or tortious act." A participant who records a call to blackmail or defraud someone may be outside Virginia's criminal statute and still violate federal law. Record for documentation, quality and training, and write those purposes into your policy.

In-person conversations

Virginia protects oral communications "uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectations" (§ 19.2-61), according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP). A participant may record. Conversations in public generally are not protected.

Texts and email

Virginia's 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 and email.

Penalties

Violation	Statute	Classification
Intercepting a communication without a party's consent	§ 19.2-62(A)	Class 6 felony
Disclosing or using illegally intercepted contents	§ 19.2-62(A)	Class 6 felony

A Class 6 felony in Virginia carries one to five years, or up to twelve months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, at the discretion of the court or jury (Va. Code § 18.2-10).

Civil liability

Va. Code § 19.2-69 gives anyone whose communication is intercepted, disclosed or used in violation of the chapter a civil cause of action against anyone who did so or procured someone else to. They can recover:

1. Actual damages, but not less than $400 a day for each day of violation or $4,000, whichever is higher
2. Enhanced liquidated damages of $800 a day or $8,000, whichever is higher, when the communication is between spouses; attorney and client; a licensed healthcare practitioner and patient; a licensed professional counselor, clinical social worker, psychologist or marriage and family therapist and client; or clergy and a person seeking spiritual counsel
3. Punitive damages
4. A reasonable attorney's fee and litigation costs

Good-faith reliance on a court order or legislative authorization is a complete defense.

Virginia's minimums are four times the common $1,000, and the privileged-relationship enhancement is unusual. Law firms, medical practices and counseling services in Virginia should be particularly careful about any monitoring.

Calls between Virginia and neighboring jurisdictions

Neighbor	Rule for phone calls
Maryland	All-party
Washington, DC	One-party
West Virginia	One-party
Kentucky	One-party
Tennessee	One-party
North Carolina	One-party

Northern Virginia's government contractors, associations and tech companies call Maryland residents constantly. Maryland makes recording without all parties' prior consent a felony. Read interstate call recording consent and see the state-by-state table.

Three Virginia scenarios

A Reston contractor records program calls with a greeting notice. The contractor is a party, and Maryland participants hear the notice, which supports consent from all parties.

A Richmond law firm's office manager listens to and records attorney-client calls without the lawyer or client knowing. No party consented. That is a Class 6 felony, and the enhanced civil minimum of $8,000 applies to attorney-client communications.

An Arlington salesperson secretly records a call with a prospect in Bethesda. Virginia allows it. Maryland does not. Announce the recording.

What this means for Virginia businesses

Government contractors

Contracts may impose their own recording and data-handling rules. Follow both the contract and the strictest state involved.

Law, healthcare and counseling

Given the enhanced damages for privileged communications, do not monitor these calls without clear consent from everyone.

Defense, shipbuilding and the ports

Hampton Roads employers record calls for operations and compliance. Calls often involve partners in other states and federal agencies with their own rules. Announce recordings, and keep them in a system with access controls rather than on personal devices.

Employees

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

Privileged-relationship damages in practice

The enhanced damages in § 19.2-69 apply to the communication, not just the business type. A dental office recording a patient's call about treatment, a law firm recording a client, or a counseling practice recording a session call all fall within the enhanced categories if a recording is unlawful. Those businesses should get explicit consent on the recording, not just a general notice, and keep recordings tightly restricted.

Virginia recording checklist

• Recording notice at the start of recorded inbound calls
• Spoken notice on outbound recorded calls, especially to Maryland
• Signed employee recording and monitoring policy
• No interception of calls, texts or email you are not party to
• Extra care with privileged communications
• Callers who object are not recorded
• Access controls and retention schedule

Wording is in call recording disclosure scripts.

Recording calls in Virginia with Callata

With recording turned on, Callata plays "This call may be recorded." to both sides as the call connects, inbound and outbound, so Maryland callers are informed. Recordings are transcribed and summarized with sentiment and action items on the contact's history. Callata's terms keep consent-law compliance with you. It costs $99 a month for a team of up to five, plus $20 a month for each person beyond that. Sign up.