Tennessee Phone Recording Laws: One-Party Consent

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

Tennessee isn't a two-party state. If you're on the call, your own okay is enough.

Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-601(b)(5) says it's lawful for a private person to intercept "a wire, oral, or electronic communication, where the person is a party to the communication or where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to the interception".

A party is a person on the call. Intercept is the law's word, and it covers recording. That one sentence covers phone calls and in-person talks alike.

The same sentence takes the protection away if the recording is made to commit a crime or to wrong someone in a way they could sue over.

A federal appeals court read similar federal words and said that crime or wrong has to be "independent of the intentional act of recording" (Caro v. Weintraub). So the recording alone doesn't count as the wrong. That case read the federal law, so it doesn't settle Tennessee's.

A Nashville landlord's promise, and a hidden recorder

• Fine: You're in Nashville and you record your own call with a landlord, so you have a record of what was agreed.
• Not fine: You hide a recorder in a room to catch a private talk you aren't in, and no one in the talk agreed.

Penalties for illegal recording in Tennessee

	What the law says
The crime	A felony under § 39-13-602
Prison	2 to 12 years, depending on the offender's history
Fine	A jury may assess up to $5,000 under § 40-35-111
State civil suit	Lawmakers deleted this right to sue in 2024

That last row sets Tennessee apart: its recording law no longer gives you a suit of its own. House Amendment 2 to HB1658 says: "SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-13-603, is amended by deleting the section in its entirety."

The legislature's bill page shows the bill became Pub. Ch. 1045, signed June 6, 2024. The fiscal memo says the same about the civil action.

Some guides haven't caught up. The Reporters Committee's guide still describes a state suit with damages, so be careful with any Tennessee damage figure you see elsewhere.

A federal suit is a separate matter. 18 U.S.C. § 2520 lets a person sue over a recording that breaks the federal wiretap law. A court may award at least $10,000.

It's more if $100 a day, or actual losses plus the violator's profits, comes to more. "May" means the award isn't guaranteed. The deadline is two years from your first reasonable chance to discover it.

Can a business record your call in Tennessee?

Yes. Tennessee's one-party rule lets a business record its own calls without announcing it.

If you run a business: Announce the recording at the start of the call, because the law where the other person is may require consent. "This call may be recorded" isn't what makes your own recording lawful here, because you're already on the call. Say "we record" instead, because it's a clearer warning.

Tennessee's recording law also doesn't stop you from sharing calls with your vendors.

The 2024 amendment says, "To clarify existing law", that Tennessee's recording law doesn't "Restrict a business from selecting the business's vendors and disclosing communications to those vendors, by interception or otherwise, in the normal course of business". That clause doesn't tell a company what to say to callers.

If you're the customer: Under federal law, staying on the line after a notice can be consent, based on what you knew. A federal appeals court reached that result after repeated warnings (Griggs-Ryan v. Smith). That wasn't a customer call, so don't treat it as a rule for one.

What if the other person is in another state?

A caller in Memphis talking to someone in California may run into California's Penal Code § 632, which requires everyone's consent. California's top court applied its law to a business recording California clients from a one-party state (Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney).

Courts disagree on which state's law applies. The safe course is to follow the stricter state's rule. An easy way to do that is to say you're recording when the call starts.

Running a call center or sales team in Tennessee?

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

People in Tennessee filed 39,942 fraud reports with the FTC in 2024 and reported about $157.2 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 Tennessee?

A person on the call can generally record it in Tennessee, 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. 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 Tennessee

CallTutor's analysis of 3,491 calls from Tennessee area codes, August through October 2026, found a credit card number read out loud on 18.9% 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 Tennessee. 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.

Tennessee recording law FAQ

Is Tennessee a one-party consent state?

Yes. In Tennessee, one person on the call can consent, and that can be you, unless the purpose is a crime or a wrong someone could sue over.

Is Tennessee a two-party consent state?

No. Tennessee needs only one person's consent, for calls and for in-person talks.

In Tennessee, can someone record me without telling me?

Yes, if they're on the call or someone on it agreed first, and the purpose isn't a crime or a wrong you could sue over.

Can I sue under Tennessee law for being recorded?

Tennessee's civil suit section was deleted in 2024. A federal suit over a recording that breaks the federal wiretap law is still possible.

Can a Tennessee business share a recorded call with a vendor?

Tennessee's 2024 amendment says its recording law doesn't restrict disclosing communications to vendors in the normal course of business. It doesn't speak to other laws.

Recording laws in nearby states

• Alabama phone recording laws (one-party)
• Arkansas phone recording laws (one-party)
• Georgia phone recording laws (one-party)
• Kentucky 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.