Missouri Phone Recording Laws: One-Party Consent for Calls

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

Phone calls have a clear answer in Missouri. In-person talks don't, so we'll take them one at a time.

Phone calls: one-party. Missouri isn't a two-party state for calls. A party is a person on the call. RSMo § 542.402.2(3) lets a person "intercept a wire communication where such person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent."

The exception doesn't apply if you record to commit a crime or to wrong someone in a way they could sue over.

A cell call to a regular phone is covered too. Lee v. Lee (1998) said the law's plain language protects those calls. The Reporters Committee says Missouri courts haven't decided cell-to-cell calls, so treat them the same way.

In-person talks: unclear. The exception for people on the call names only phone calls. And the ban on recording in-person talk reaches only a device that "transmits communications by radio or interferes with the transmission of such communication." So the words don't ban an ordinary in-person recording.

Sources read this differently. The Reporters Committee takes a cautious view and says "In general, one must obtain the permission of all parties" for private in-person talks. The statute has no all-party wording, and we found no Missouri appeals decision on it. So it's unclear which rule a court would apply. Ask everyone in the room.

How that works on a phone call:

• Fine. You record your own phone call with a car dealer without telling him.
• Not fine. You secretly record a phone call between two other people, and neither of them agreed.

Penalties for illegal recording in Missouri

	What the law says
The crime	A felony
Prison	Up to 4 years
Fine	Up to $10,000, or up to double the gain
Company fine	Up to $20,000, or up to double the gain
Later offenses	The maximum stays the same. You become eligible for parole later: after 15 percent of the sentence on a first conviction, 20 percent on a second, 50 percent on a third or later
Who can sue	A person whose wire communication was intercepted, disclosed, or used. The text doesn't cover in-person talk
Damages	At least $10,000. More if your actual losses, or $100 for each day of the violation, come to more
Also	Punitive damages for a willful or intentional violation, a reasonable attorney's fee, and litigation costs

The right to sue is in § 542.418. The prison terms are in § 558.011.

Missouri court cases and settlements

If you run a business, don't record other people's confidential calls without consent. The first case shows the possible cost. The second shows a court treating a person's recording of their own call as lawful.

• Johnson v. CoreCivic and Securus Technologies (2020). Attorneys alleged that a Kansas detention center and its phone vendor recorded confidential attorney-client calls. These weren't typical business calls, but they show the stakes: a Missouri federal case settled for $3.7 million. Both companies denied wrongdoing.
• Phillips v. American Motorist Insurance (1999). A chiropractor secretly recorded his own call and later used it in a suit against an insurer. A legal trade paper reports that the Missouri Court of Appeals ordered a new trial because the tape was wrongly excluded. So your own recording can count as evidence in a Missouri suit.

Can a business record your call in Missouri?

Missouri's law doesn't make a business on the call announce the recording. But the law where the other person is may require consent, so give a short notice.

The business is a party, so the one-party rule covers it. The law also leaves out of its definition of a recording device any phone equipment owned by the user or supplied by a phone company and used as a normal part of the user's business.

"This call may be recorded" isn't what makes a phone recording legal under Missouri's rule. The company's own consent does that. We didn't find a Missouri notice rule. Say "we record" instead, because it's a clearer warning.

If you're the customer: Federal law may count staying on after a notice as consent, as in Griggs-Ryan v. Smith, where the person had been warned many times. You can hang up.

What if the other person is in another state?

Where the recording happened can matter. In a case tied to the Johnson suit, a court dismissed the Missouri count because no alleged interception happened in Missouri. That one ruling doesn't answer every case.

Other states can pull the other way. California's top court applied California law to a business that recorded calls with people in California from another state.

Courts disagree on which state's law applies. The safe course is to follow the stricter state's rule.

Running a call center or sales team in Missouri?

Our advice: announce the recording at the very start of every call, inbound and outbound. Missouri's own rule may not require it, but the law where the other person is may require consent, and this covers them without working out where each one is.

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 Missouri

People in Missouri filed 35,317 fraud reports with the FTC in 2024 and reported about $139.3 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 Missouri?

A person on the call can generally record it in Missouri, unless the recording is meant to commit a crime or wrong someone. If the caller is in a stricter state, that state's rule may apply too.

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 Missouri Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 1-800-392-8222. 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 Missouri

CallTutor's analysis of 4,063 calls from Missouri area codes, August through October 2026, found a credit card number read out loud on 19.4% 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 Missouri. 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.

Missouri recording law FAQ

Is Missouri a one-party consent state?

For phone calls, yes. A person on the call can record it. Missouri's in-person rule is unclear, so ask everyone in the room.

Is Missouri a two-party consent state?

Not for phone calls, which are one-party in Missouri. The in-person rule is unclear, so asking everyone is the safe course.

In Missouri, can someone record me without telling me?

On a phone call, yes, if that person is on the call or someone on it agreed, unless the purpose is a crime or a wrong you could sue over.

Can I record a conversation in person in Missouri?

The Missouri statute doesn't ban ordinary recording, but no appeals decision we found settles it. Asking everyone is the safe course.

How much can I sue for in Missouri?

At least $10,000 for an illegally recorded call in Missouri. More if your actual losses, or $100 a day, come to more. Punitive damages need a willful or intentional violation.

Recording laws in nearby states

• Arkansas phone recording laws (one-party)
• Illinois phone recording laws (two-party)
• Iowa phone recording laws (one-party)
• Kansas phone recording laws (one-party)

See all one-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.