Can You Record Your Doctor Appointment? Recording Laws by State

Recording laws in every state

Pick your state for the full rule, the law behind it, and what it means for phone and telehealth visits.

One-party, all-party, and notice rules

• One-party consent: if you're part of the conversation, your own consent is enough to record it.
• All-party consent: everyone in a private conversation must agree before you record.
• Notice rule: everyone must know the conversation is being recorded, even if they don't formally agree.
• Unsettled: the law or the courts haven't clearly settled the question, so asking first is the safe choice.

Phone and telehealth visits across state lines

When you and your clinician are in different states, for example on a phone or video visit, there is no single national rule for which state's law applies. Courts decide case by case, and they have not all agreed. California's highest court applied California's stricter rule to calls recorded in Georgia with people in California, while a Pennsylvania court declined to apply Pennsylvania's stricter rule to a call recorded in New York. The safest choice is to follow the stricter state's rule: tell everyone you are recording and get their OK.

Sources: Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., 39 Cal. 4th 95 (Cal. July 13, 2006).; Larrison v. Larrison, 750 A.2d 895 (Pa. Super. Ct. Apr. 12, 2000).; Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Introduction to the Reporter's Recording Guide.

Is a video visit treated like a phone call?

Phone and video visits are covered by wiretap laws just like in-person visits, and under federal law the same one-party rule applies to all of them. Some states treat them differently, though: Oregon, for example, lets one person record a phone call but requires telling everyone before recording an in-person or video-call conversation. Everyone on the call counts, including interpreters, students or family members, and if people are in different states, follow the stricter rule. Some tools announce recording for you (an iPhone's built-in call recorder tells everyone on the call), and some telehealth services ask patients not to record.

Sources: 18 U.S.C. 2510(1), (12) (definitions of wire and electronic communication), via Cornell LII.; 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d), via Cornell LII.; Or. Rev. Stat. 165.535 and 165.540 (2025 edition), Oregon Legislature.; Elwyn G, Barr PJ, Castaldo M. Can Patients Make Recordings of Medical Encounters?: What Does the Law Say? JAMA. 2017;318(6):513-514. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7511. PMID 28692707.; Javier v. Assurance IQ, LLC, No. 21-16351 (9th Cir. May 31, 2022) (unpublished memorandum).; Apple Support. Record and transcribe a call on iPhone (iPhone User Guide).; Doximity. Informed Consent for Telehealth (Dialer video).

What federal law says

Federal law, called the Wiretap Act, generally lets you record a conversation you are part of, even if the other person does not know. This is called one-party consent, and you can be that one party. There is one big exception: federal law forbids recording if your purpose is to commit a crime or another illegal wrong against someone, such as blackmail. Federal law is only the minimum. States are allowed to be stricter, and a minority of states (roughly a dozen, depending on how you count them) require everyone in the conversation to agree.

Sources: 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) (Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited), via Cornell LII.; 18 U.S.C. 2510(1), (2), (12) (Definitions), via Cornell LII.; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. Title III of The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Wiretap Act).; Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney, Inc., 39 Cal. 4th 95 (Cal. July 13, 2006).; Sussman v. American Broadcasting Cos., 186 F.3d 1200 (9th Cir. 1999).; Caro v. Weintraub, 618 F.3d 94 (2d Cir. 2010).; Stevens GM, Doyle C. Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping. Congressional Research Service Report 98-326, December 3, 2009.; Veterans Health Administration. VHA Directive 1078, Privacy of Persons Regarding Photographs, Digital Images and Video or Audio Recordings. November 29, 2021 (recertification/expiration date listed as November 30, 2026).

Does HIPAA stop you from recording?

HIPAA is the federal health privacy law, but it applies to doctors, hospitals, health plans and the companies that work for them. It does not apply to patients. So HIPAA does not stop you from recording your own visit, and it does not give a doctor a right not to be recorded. A recording you keep on your own phone is your personal record, not part of your medical chart. If you give a copy to your clinic and the clinic keeps it, the clinic's copy can become part of its records and HIPAA would then cover that copy.

Sources: 45 CFR 160.102 (Applicability), via Cornell LII.; 45 CFR 164.501 (Definitions: designated record set; record), via Cornell LII.; Elwyn G, Barr PJ, Castaldo M. Can Patients Make Recordings of Medical Encounters?: What Does the Law Say? JAMA. 2017;318(6):513-514. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7511. PMID 28692707.; Full text of the JAMA 2017 Viewpoint as reproduced by the American Patient Rights Association (for verification of quotes; cite JAMA as the source).; MedPro Group. Risk Q&A: Audio/Video Recording in Healthcare Practices. 2024.; Defense Health Agency Privacy and Civil Liberties Office. Information Paper: Camera and Video Use in a Covered Entity. Posted February 4, 2015.; Veterans Health Administration. VHA Directive 1078, Privacy of Persons Regarding Photographs, Digital Images and Video or Audio Recordings. November 29, 2021 (recertification/expiration date listed as November 30, 2026).

Can a clinic or hospital ban recording?

Yes, a clinic or hospital can have a no-recording policy and can ask you to stop. That policy is a rule of the practice, not a law, but in states that require everyone's consent, recording without permission can be illegal on its own. If you keep recording after being asked to stop, the clinician may end the visit, and a practice may stop seeing you as a patient if it gives proper notice (hospital emergency departments still must screen and stabilize anyone with an emergency). Many medical liability insurers advise clinicians to ask why you want to record and to consider allowing it, so asking first often works.

Sources: Elwyn G, Barr PJ, Castaldo M. Can Patients Make Recordings of Medical Encounters?: What Does the Law Say? JAMA. 2017;318(6):513-514. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7511. PMID 28692707.; Full text of the JAMA 2017 Viewpoint as reproduced by the American Patient Rights Association (verification copy).; MedPro Group. Risk Q&A: Audio/Video Recording in Healthcare Practices. 2024.; Canadian Medical Protective Association. Smartphone recordings by patients: Be prepared, it's happening. March 2017, revised April 2022.; Defense Health Agency Privacy and Civil Liberties Office. Information Paper: Camera and Video Use in a Covered Entity. Posted February 4, 2015.; American Medical Association. Code of Medical Ethics Opinion 1.1.5, Terminating a Patient-Physician Relationship.; 42 U.S.C. 1395dd (EMTALA), via Cornell LII.; AMA House of Delegates, Resolution 002 (I-25), Ensuring Ethical Use of Wearable Recording Devices in Clinical Encounters (Women Physicians Section).; AMA. I-25 House of Delegates action status report (entry for RES 002-I-25).; Barr PJ, Bonasia K, Verma K, et al. Audio-/Videorecording Clinic Visits for Patient's Personal Use in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(9):e11308. doi:10.2196/11308. PMID 30209029; PMCID PMC6231772.; Jimenez RB, Johnson AE, Horick NK, et al. Do you mind if I record?: Perceptions and practice regarding patient requests to record clinic visits in oncology. Cancer. 2022;128(2):275-283. doi:10.1002/cncr.33910. PMID 34633655.; Joshi A, Farberov M, Demissie S, Smith MC, Elwyn G. Attitudes of Physicians to Recording Clinical Encounters: Responses to an Online Survey. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(3):942-943 (published online July 3, 2019). doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05127-y. PMID 31270783; PMCID PMC7080903.

VA hospitals and other federal facilities

At VA medical centers, VA's own policy says it does not cover veterans, patients or family members recording their providers, because no federal law or rule forbids it. VA property rules still limit photography (for example, for news or advertising) and forbid conduct that disrupts care, so staff may ask you to stop if your recording causes a disruption. Your state's recording law may still matter. Military hospitals and clinics have their own Defense Health Agency rules, so ask staff before recording there.

Sources: Veterans Health Administration. VHA Directive 1078, Privacy of Persons Regarding Photographs, Digital Images and Video or Audio Recordings. November 29, 2021 (recertification/expiration date listed as November 30, 2026).; 38 CFR 1.218 (Security and law enforcement at VA facilities), via Cornell LII.; 41 CFR 102-74.420 (Photographs on GSA-controlled federal property), via Cornell LII.; 18 U.S.C. 13 (Assimilative Crimes Act), via Cornell LII.; Defense Health Agency Privacy and Civil Liberties Office. Information Paper: Camera and Video Use in a Covered Entity. Posted February 4, 2015.; National Federation of Federal Employees. Triumph: VA agrees to rescind patient recording policy after NFFE takes action (March 2018).

Why patients record their visits: what research shows

Studies show people forget much of what they hear at the doctor's office. Research reviews have found that most patients who get a recording of their visit listen to it, many share it with family, and recordings can help people remember and understand more. Recording is fairly common: in one US survey, about 1 in 5 adults said they had recorded a visit, and in another survey nearly all cancer doctors said patients had asked to record.

• A widely cited review estimates that patients forget 40% to 80% of the medical information their providers give them almost right away, and that nearly half of what they do remember is wrong. (Kessels RPC. Patients' memory for medical information. J R Soc Med. 2003;96(5):219-222. doi:10.1177/014107680309600504. PMID 12724430; PMCID PMC539473.)
• In a review of 33 studies, an average of 72% of patients who were given a recording of their visit listened to it. (Tsulukidze M, Durand MA, Barr PJ, Mead T, Elwyn G. Providing recording of clinical consultation to patients: a highly valued but underutilized intervention: a scoping review. Patient Educ Couns. 2014;95(3):297-304. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2014.02.007. PMID 24630697.)
• A Cochrane review of 16 trials found that 60% to 100% of people with cancer who received a recording or written summary of their visit used it at least once, and 5 of 9 studies that checked found better recall. (Pitkethly M, MacGillivray S, Ryan R. Recordings or summaries of consultations for people with cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(3):CD001539. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001539.pub2. PMID 18646075.)
• A systematic review of 26 studies found that consultation recordings improved patients' knowledge, recall and sense of being informed. (Rieger KL, Hack TF, Beaver K, Schofield P. Should consultation recording use be a practice standard? A systematic review of the effectiveness and implementation of consultation recordings. Psychooncology. 2018;27(4):1121-1128. doi:10.1002/pon.4592. PMID 29178602.)
• In a 2017 survey of 524 US adults, about 1 in 5 (18.7%) said they had recorded a clinic visit, and 2.7% said they had done so without the clinician's permission. (Barr PJ, Bonasia K, Verma K, et al. Audio-/Videorecording Clinic Visits for Patient's Personal Use in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(9):e11308. doi:10.2196/11308. PMID 30209029; PMCID PMC6231772.)
• In the same US survey, two out of three adults (66%) said they would be willing to record a visit in the future. (Barr PJ, Bonasia K, Verma K, et al. Audio-/Videorecording Clinic Visits for Patient's Personal Use in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(9):e11308. doi:10.2196/11308. PMID 30209029; PMCID PMC6231772.)
• When researchers contacted 49 of the largest US health systems, none had a policy written specifically about patients recording their visits. (Barr PJ, Bonasia K, Verma K, et al. Audio-/Videorecording Clinic Visits for Patient's Personal Use in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(9):e11308. doi:10.2196/11308. PMID 30209029; PMCID PMC6231772.)
• In a survey of 360 US cancer doctors, 93% said patients had asked to record a visit, and 85% said they always agree when asked. (Jimenez RB, Johnson AE, Horick NK, et al. Do you mind if I record?: Perceptions and practice regarding patient requests to record clinic visits in oncology. Cancer. 2022;128(2):275-283. doi:10.1002/cncr.33910. PMID 34633655.)
• In a small UK survey of about 130 people recruited through social media and radio, 15% said they had secretly recorded a medical visit. (Elwyn G, Barr PJ, Grande SW. Patients recording clinical encounters: a path to empowerment? Assessment by mixed methods. BMJ Open. 2015;5(8):e008566. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008566. PMID 26264274; PMCID PMC4538278.)
• In a survey of 116 physicians at one New York hospital system, 89% said they did not know their state's laws on patients recording visits. (Joshi A, Farberov M, Demissie S, Smith MC, Elwyn G. Attitudes of Physicians to Recording Clinical Encounters: Responses to an Online Survey. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(3):942-943 (published online July 3, 2019). doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05127-y. PMID 31270783; PMCID PMC7080903.)

Sources: Kessels RPC. Patients' memory for medical information. J R Soc Med. 2003;96(5):219-222. doi:10.1177/014107680309600504. PMID 12724430; PMCID PMC539473.; Tsulukidze M, Durand MA, Barr PJ, Mead T, Elwyn G. Providing recording of clinical consultation to patients: a highly valued but underutilized intervention: a scoping review. Patient Educ Couns. 2014;95(3):297-304. doi:10.1016/j.pec.2014.02.007. PMID 24630697.; Elwyn G, Barr PJ, Grande SW. Patients recording clinical encounters: a path to empowerment? Assessment by mixed methods. BMJ Open. 2015;5(8):e008566. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2015-008566. PMID 26264274; PMCID PMC4538278.; Barr PJ, Bonasia K, Verma K, et al. Audio-/Videorecording Clinic Visits for Patient's Personal Use in the United States: Cross-Sectional Survey. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(9):e11308. doi:10.2196/11308. PMID 30209029; PMCID PMC6231772.; Jimenez RB, Johnson AE, Horick NK, et al. Do you mind if I record?: Perceptions and practice regarding patient requests to record clinic visits in oncology. Cancer. 2022;128(2):275-283. doi:10.1002/cncr.33910. PMID 34633655.; Pitkethly M, MacGillivray S, Ryan R. Recordings or summaries of consultations for people with cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2008;(3):CD001539. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD001539.pub2. PMID 18646075.; Rieger KL, Hack TF, Beaver K, Schofield P. Should consultation recording use be a practice standard? A systematic review of the effectiveness and implementation of consultation recordings. Psychooncology. 2018;27(4):1121-1128. doi:10.1002/pon.4592. PMID 29178602.; Joshi A, Farberov M, Demissie S, Smith MC, Elwyn G. Attitudes of Physicians to Recording Clinical Encounters: Responses to an Online Survey. J Gen Intern Med. 2020;35(3):942-943 (published online July 3, 2019). doi:10.1007/s11606-019-05127-y. PMID 31270783; PMCID PMC7080903.; Elwyn G, Barr PJ, Castaldo M. Can Patients Make Recordings of Medical Encounters?: What Does the Law Say? JAMA. 2017;318(6):513-514. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.7511. PMID 28692707.

Recent changes to recording laws

• Pennsylvania: Act 53 of 2023 (HB 1278) added an exception letting a person who receives a telemarketing call or robocall record it, with that person's consent, to enforce listed consumer-protection laws; also expanded certain body-camera and parole-agent recording and extended the Wiretap Act to December 31, 2029. Does not change the all-party rule for other conversations. (effective Approved December 14, 2023; telemarketer exception effective February 12, 2024 (60 days after approval); other parts effective immediately) Pa. Act No. 53 of 2023 (HB 1278, PN 2303), amending 18 Pa.C.S. 5702, 5704 and 5781
• Florida: New exception lets a parent or legal guardian of a child under 18 record an oral communication the child is part of when there are reasonable grounds to believe it will capture a statement about an unlawful sexual act or physical violence against the child; the recording must go to law enforcement and may not be otherwise shared. Florida otherwise remains all-party. (effective April 26, 2024) Laws of Florida ch. 2024-131 (CS/HB 1281), creating s. 934.03(2)(l), F.S.
• Louisiana: New civil law requires that all participants be specifically notified before anyone uses a wearable eyeglass recording device (smart glasses) to record or transcribe an in-person direct conversation, with exceptions (for example, recordings to preserve evidence for legal proceedings, or made in one's own home, business or vehicle). Louisiana's general one-party consent law is unchanged. (effective August 1, 2026) La. Act No. 965 of 2026 (HB 410), enacting La. R.S. 9:2790.1-2790.4

How to ask your clinician

Even where the law doesn't require it, asking first keeps the visit collaborative. Our guide to recording your doctor visit has word-for-word scripts and tips for storing your recording safely.