New Mexico Phone Recording Laws: One-Party Consent

Is New Mexico a one-party or two-party consent state?

For phone calls, it's one-party, not two-party. For in-person talks, we didn't find a state statute at all, so follow federal law. A "party" is a person on the call or in the conversation.

Phone calls. NMSA § 30-12-1(C) bars "reading, interrupting, taking or copying any message, communication or report intended for another by telegraph or telephone without the consent of a sender or intended recipient thereof." One side's consent is enough.

In-person talks. A 1977 New Mexico appeals court said a face-to-face talk sent to a listener by a hidden device "is not made criminal" by an earlier version of New Mexico's law. That ruling is old, so don't rely on it.

Federal law still applies. It protects you if you're in the conversation or someone in it agreed, unless you're recording to commit a crime or to wrong someone in a way they could sue over. So don't take New Mexico's silence as a green light to bug a room you're not in.

Cell phones. The statute says "telephone," and the Reporters Committee reads that as landlines only. No court has ruled, so treat a cell call as covered.

Your insurance company vs. your neighbor's doctor:

• Fine: You call your insurance company and record the call on your phone. You're the sender, so your own consent counts.
• Not fine: You copy a phone call between your neighbor and her doctor, and neither of them agreed. That's the misdemeanor, and your neighbor could sue.

Penalties for illegal recording in New Mexico

	What the law says
The crime	A misdemeanor, called interference with communications, with less than 1 year in county jail
Fine	Up to $1,000
Who can sue	Anyone whose call or conversation was intercepted, disclosed, or used illegally (NMSA § 30-12-11)
Damages	At least $1,000. More if $100 a day, or actual losses, comes to more
Other money	Punitive damages, plus a reasonable attorney's fee and litigation costs

Can a business record your call in New Mexico?

If you run a business: say you're recording up front. If your business is the sender or intended recipient, New Mexico's law doesn't require it, but the law where the other person is may require consent.

The statute has no customer call rule that we could find.

The closest guide is a jail call case, which isn't a typical business call. The state's top court said in 2010 that a notice plus going ahead with the call counted as agreeing. That suggests the same for an ordinary caller, but it's unclear if it reaches customer calls, so don't rely on it alone.

If you're the customer: if you don't want to be recorded, you can hang up.

What if the other person is in another state?

A New Mexico business with customers around the country should think past New Mexico. The clearest example is California. It needs all parties to agree, and its top court applied that rule to out-of-state brokers who recorded California clients.

Courts disagree on which state's law applies. The safe course is to follow the stricter state's rule. So if you don't know where the other person is, tell them you're recording.

Running a call center or sales team in New Mexico?

Our advice: announce the recording at the very start of every call, inbound and outbound. New Mexico'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 New Mexico

People in New Mexico filed 12,694 fraud reports with the FTC in 2024 and reported about $56.6 million lost, with a median loss of $500. 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 New Mexico?

A person on the call can generally record it in New Mexico, 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 New Mexico Department of Justice, consumer protection (contact listing). 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 New Mexico

CallTutor's analysis of 505 calls from New Mexico area codes, August through October 2026, found a credit card number read out loud on 25.7% 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 New Mexico. 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.

New Mexico recording law FAQ

Is New Mexico a one-party consent state?

For phone calls, yes. The consent of the sender or the intended recipient is enough. We found no New Mexico statute that requires consent for in-person talks.

Is New Mexico a two-party consent state?

No. On a New Mexico phone call, the consent of one side is enough, and that can be your own if you're on the call.

In New Mexico, can someone record me without telling me?

Yes, if they're the sender or intended recipient of the call, or one of those people agreed. If neither agreed, it's a misdemeanor in New Mexico and you can sue.

Can I record an in-person conversation in New Mexico?

We didn't find a New Mexico statute that requires consent. Under federal law, stay in the conversation or get someone in it to agree.

Does the New Mexico law cover cell phones?

That's unsettled. The statute says "telephone," and one press guide reads that as landlines only. We'd treat cell calls in New Mexico as covered.

Recording laws in nearby states

• Arizona phone recording laws (one-party)
• Colorado phone recording laws (one-party)
• Oklahoma phone recording laws (one-party)
• Texas 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.