Georgia is a one-party consent state, not a two-party consent state. If you are part of a conversation, you can legally record it without telling anyone else, and you can also authorize someone else to record a conversation you are part of. The rule covers audio only. Video recording in a private place is governed by a stricter standard that requires everyone’s consent.
The One-Party Rule for Audio
Under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-66, Georgia law does not prohibit a person from recording a wire, oral, or electronic communication when that person is a party to the conversation, or when one of the parties has given prior consent.1Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-66 – Interception of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communication by Party Thereto In practice, you can record your own phone calls, meetings, and face-to-face conversations without warning the other person. Your consent is enough because you are in the conversation.
What you cannot do is secretly record a conversation between other people when none of them knows about it. That is eavesdropping, and Georgia treats it as a felony. The one-party rule exists to separate a participant documenting their own conversation from a hidden third party spying on someone else’s.
Video Recording Requires Everyone’s Consent
This is where Georgia law surprises people. The one-party standard applies to sound. Video is different. O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62(2) makes it illegal to use any device to observe, photograph, or record someone’s activities in a private place and out of public view without the consent of all persons being observed.2Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-62 – Eavesdropping, Surveillance, or Intercepting Communication Which Invades Privacy of Another
The Georgia Supreme Court confirmed this split in State v. Cohen, 807 S.E.2d 861 (2017), explaining that the all-party consent requirement covers images while the one-party standard covers sound. So an audio recorder you place in a room where you are having a conversation is fine. A hidden camera in the same room capturing someone’s activities is not, unless everyone agrees. A nanny cam that records video of a babysitter inside the home is a common example that falls on the stricter side of the line.
What “Private” Means Here
Georgia’s restrictions turn on privacy. O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62(1) targets the clandestine recording of a “private conversation of another which shall originate in any private place.”2Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-62 – Eavesdropping, Surveillance, or Intercepting Communication Which Invades Privacy of Another Two elements have to line up: the conversation itself must be private, and it must happen in a private place.
A conversation inside someone’s home, a closed office, or a private meeting room qualifies. A shouted argument in a public park or a chat at a busy restaurant counter does not. The law also separately prohibits entering someone else’s property for the purpose of eavesdropping on conversations or secretly watching their activities.2Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-62 – Eavesdropping, Surveillance, or Intercepting Communication Which Invades Privacy of Another
Gray areas exist. A conversation in the back seat of a rideshare sits in a middle ground: the driver can hear everything, but passengers might reasonably assume their words are not being recorded. The more effort people take to keep a conversation private, the stronger the expectation the law protects.
Penalties If You Get It Wrong
Georgia does not treat illegal recording as a minor matter. A violation of the state’s eavesdropping and surveillance laws is a felony. Under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-69, conviction carries one to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.3Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-69 – Penalty for Violations of Part
The consequences do not stop at sentencing. O.C.G.A. § 16-11-67 makes evidence obtained through an illegal recording inadmissible in Georgia courts, except when used to prosecute the recording violation itself.4Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-67 – Admissibility of Evidence That is a hard result for someone who recorded a conversation hoping to use it in a divorce or business dispute. The recording is unusable, and making it was a felony.
Civil exposure is real too. Georgia courts have allowed people whose conversations were recorded without proper consent to sue for damages. A separate federal avenue exists under 18 U.S.C. § 2520, which lets anyone whose communications are illegally intercepted bring a civil action, with a two-year statute of limitations running from when the victim first had a reasonable opportunity to discover the violation.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2520 – Recovery of Civil Damages Authorized
Calls That Cross State Lines
Georgia’s one-party rule governs conversations that stay inside the state. When a call crosses state lines, the picture gets murkier. A recording that is perfectly legal under Georgia law can violate the law of the other person’s state if that state requires everyone’s consent. California, Florida, and Illinois impose stricter requirements, and courts in different jurisdictions have reached conflicting conclusions about which state’s law controls.
Federal law sets a floor, not a ceiling. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2511, the federal wiretap statute also follows a one-party consent standard, so long as the recording is not made for the purpose of committing a crime or tort. States are free to go stricter, and many do. A federal violation carries up to five years in prison.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 2511 – Interception and Disclosure of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communications Prohibited
The safest approach on an interstate call is to follow the stricter state’s rule. If the other person is in an all-party consent state, get everyone’s agreement before you hit record.
At Work, With Police, and With Your Kids
Georgia’s one-party rule technically lets you record workplace conversations you take part in. Employer policy is a separate problem. Many Georgia employers maintain no-recording rules, and violating one can get you fired even when the recording itself is legal under state law. A narrow federal carve-out exists through the National Labor Relations Act, which protects some recording tied to concerted activity, but outside that lane the recording may be lawful and still cost you the job.
Recording police officers performing their duties in public is generally protected by the First Amendment, and multiple federal appellate courts have recognized that right. You cannot interfere with an officer’s work, and officers can impose reasonable restrictions like a safe distance. Georgia’s one-party rule still applies to the audio side: a conversation you are part of with an officer needs no additional consent, but secretly recording a private conversation between two officers you are not part of is treated like any other eavesdropping.
For parents, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-66 includes specific provisions for recording phone or electronic conversations involving children under 18, along with a parental exception.1Justia. Georgia Code 16-11-66 – Interception of Wire, Oral, or Electronic Communication by Party Thereto If you are a parent considering recording a child’s conversations because of bullying or harmful contact, read the full text of the statute, because the exception has specific conditions.