Illinois Phone Recording Laws: Two-Party Consent

Is Illinois a one-party or two-party consent state?

Illinois is in the two-party group. The law itself says all parties, meaning everyone in the conversation, however many are on the line. The word that matters most in the statute is "surreptitious," which means secret, so the rule targets secret recording.

720 ILCS 5/14-2(a)(2) covers conversations you're part of.

A person breaks the law if they use an eavesdropping device, "in a surreptitious manner, for the purpose of transmitting or recording all or any part of any private conversation to which he or she is a party unless he or she does so with the consent of all other parties to the private conversation."

Two terms there have set definitions:

• Private conversation. This covers talk "whether in person or transmitted between the parties by wire or other means," when someone intended it to be private "under circumstances reasonably justifying that expectation." So calls and in-person talks follow the same rule.
• Surreptitious. This means "obtained or made by stealth or deception, or executed through secrecy or concealment."

The wording suggests open recording falls outside this rule, but it's unclear, so don't rely on that. Ask, and get a yes.

Asking vs. secretly recording your boss

• Fine: You ask at the start of the call if you can record, and the other person says yes.
• Not fine: You secretly record a private call with your boss. Being on the call doesn't help.

Watch out for old articles. In 2014, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the recording part of the earlier law in People v. Melongo. The earlier law didn't separate open recording from secret recording. Today's law is the rewrite, and its last change took effect January 1, 2016.

Penalties for illegal recording in Illinois

	First offense	Second or later offense
The crime	A felony under § 14-4	A felony
Prison	1 to 3 years, or 3 to 6 years with an extended term	2 to 5 years
Fine	Up to $25,000 for each offense	Up to $25,000 for each offense
Company fine	Up to $50,000 for a corporation	Up to $50,000 for a corporation

Illinois also lets people sue. Under § 14-6, any or all of the people in the conversation can get:

• A court order to stop it, called an injunction.
• All actual damages, against the eavesdropper, the person they acted for, or both.
• Punitive damages.
• Actual and punitive damages against a landlord, owner, building operator or phone company who "aids, abets, or knowingly permits" the eavesdropping.

§ 14-6 sets no fixed dollar amount, so there's no set minimum award.

Illinois court cases

If you run a business, don't secretly record your staff's calls, because workers can take you to court over it. In Alholm v. The Vrdolyak Law Group, people who worked at a law firm alleged that it secretly recorded their phone conversations, under federal, Tennessee and Illinois law.

On October 15, 2026, a federal court in Illinois refused to let the case go ahead as a class action. These are allegations, with no finding of liability and no damages.

Can a business record your call in Illinois?

If you run a business: tell callers at the start and get their agreement. Secret recording is allowed only under a narrow exemption.

A company that's on the call is still a party, and the all-party rule applies to parties.

The limited exemption covers a "telephone monitoring device" used by a business doing marketing, opinion research or telephone solicitation. "Telephone solicitation" there includes live-operator calls that solicit sales, receive orders, help people use goods or services, or collect on bank or retail credit accounts. The business has to meet all of these:

• The purpose is service quality control, training or internal research.
• At least one active person on the call consents.
• Current and prospective employees get notice, with prominent signs at work.
• Personal-only phone lines are available.
• Conversations the exemption doesn't cover are stopped and destroyed.

What's recorded under the exemption can't go to a third party or be used in a proceeding. A business outside the exemption falls under the all-party rule.

If you run a business: it's unclear if "this call may be recorded" is enough in Illinois, so don't rely on it alone. Say "we record" instead, because it's a clearer warning.

If you're the customer: staying on the line can count as consent under federal law (Griggs-Ryan v. Smith), but that doesn't settle the Illinois rule. You can hang up.

What if the other person is in another state?

Illinois is often the stricter state, so a person in a one-party state calling someone in Chicago should take care. California, another all-party state, applied its own law to a business in Georgia recording calls with people in California.

Courts disagree on which state's law applies. The safe course is to follow the stricter state's rule. For a call with Illinois, get everyone's consent.

Running a call center or sales team in Illinois?

Our advice: announce the recording at the very start of every call, inbound and outbound. In Illinois, getting everyone's agreement is the point of the law, and an announcement at the start is how you ask for it.

1. Ask first. "We record our calls for quality and coaching. Is that okay with you?"
2. Using AI or other software? Say that too. "We record our calls and use software to review them. Is that okay with you?"
3. Start recording after they say yes. Then say "This call is being recorded, and you said that's okay" so it's on the recording. Some states want consent first, and others look for the notice on the recording, so this is a sensible default for both.
4. If someone says no, don't record. Deleting the recording when someone says no limits the harm, but it may not undo the problem.
5. Check your phone system. If it records from the moment a call connects, change that setting first.

Using a vendor or AI coaching tool? Whether a separate company counts as someone on the call isn't settled, so mention the software in the script. Our checklist for phone teams has the details.

How to protect yourself from phone fraud in Illinois

People in Illinois filed 71,060 fraud reports with the FTC in 2024 and reported about $318.1 million lost, with a median loss of $400. These are reports people filed, and the FTC doesn't verify them. They cover all fraud, not only phone calls.

Can I record a scammer in Illinois?

Not secretly. Illinois requires everyone's consent, so say you're recording first. If a scammer hangs up, you lost nothing.

What can a crook do with a recording of my voice?

The FCC warned in 2017 about callers who record your "yes" as a "voice signature", so hang up if someone asks "Can you hear me?" If you already answered, check your statements for unauthorized charges.

The FTC warned in 2023 that scammers can clone a relative's voice to ask for money, so call that person back on a number you know.

A voice alone doesn't tell a scammer your account details, so don't give those out on a call you didn't start.

Where to report it

Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to the Illinois Attorney General, Consumer Protection, 1-800-386-5438. Our phone safety guide covers how to spot a scam and what to do if you paid.

If you think someone recorded you illegally, talk to a lawyer in your state. The federal deadline to sue is two years after you first had a reasonable chance to discover it.

Your credit card number on a recorded call in Illinois

CallTutor's analysis of 5,584 calls from Illinois area codes, August through October 2026, found a credit card number read out loud on 25.4% of them, compared with 21.1% across all states in our data. These are calls to companies that take payments by phone, so that isn't every call in Illinois. Here's how we counted.

Before you read your credit card number out loud, ask if the call is recorded and if the number stays in the recording. If the agent doesn't know, ask to pay another way, like a secure link or a website.

If you think your number got out, check your statements and call your bank. For unauthorized charges, federal law caps what you owe at $50.

If your team takes payments by phone, CallTutor takes credit card numbers out of Zendesk Talk and Aircall recordings and transcripts minutes after hangup. See it on a real call.

Illinois recording law FAQ

Is Illinois a one-party consent state?

No, with one narrow exception. Some Illinois marketing, research and telephone solicitation businesses can monitor calls with one active person's consent, if they meet strict conditions.

Is Illinois a two-party consent state?

Yes. To secretly record a private conversation in Illinois, even your own, you need the consent of everyone else in it. This covers calls and in-person talks.

In Illinois, can someone record me without telling me?

Generally not, if the conversation is private. Secretly recording it takes everyone's consent, apart from a narrow exemption for some business call monitoring.

Can I record my boss in Illinois?

Not secretly, if the talk is private. You'd need everyone's consent. In Illinois, a first offense is a felony with 1 to 3 years in prison.

Recording laws in nearby states

• Indiana phone recording laws (one-party)
• Iowa phone recording laws (one-party)
• Kentucky phone recording laws (one-party)
• Missouri phone recording laws (one-party)

See all two-party consent states, or every state in our call recording laws by state guide.

This is general information, not legal advice. Laws change. We last checked these sources on November 2, 2026. If you have a legal question about a recording, talk to a lawyer in your state.