Recording laws · Missouri

Can You Record Your Doctor Appointment in Missouri?

Last reviewed October 6, 2026

For phone and video visits, yes: Missouri lets a person who is on a call record it. For in-person visits, Missouri's law is worded in an unusual way and no court has answered the question, so the safest choice is to tell your clinician you are recording.

In-person visit: UnsettledUnclear, so ask first
Phone or telehealth visit: One-party consentYour consent is enough

Main law: Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402

Recording an in-person visit

Missouri's criminal ban on recording face-to-face conversations only covers devices that send the conversation out by radio or interfere with a transmission (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402.1(2)). A phone that just saves the audio on the device probably falls outside that ban, and a federal appeals court found Missouri's wiretap law did not cover a tape recording of an in-person conversation. But the law has no written exception for a person who is part of an in-person conversation, and no Missouri court has applied it to a smartphone. Telling your clinician you are recording removes the doubt.

Phone and telehealth visits

Missouri allows a person who is a party to a phone call to record it, as long as it is not done to commit a crime or a wrongful (tortious) act (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402.2(3)). A Missouri appeals court has held that calls between a cell phone and a landline are covered by the wiretap law, so the same party exception applies to them. We found no Missouri case on video visits, but the same party exception should apply if the call counts as a wire communication. If your clinician is in another state, that state's law may also apply, and some states require everyone's consent.

In Missouri, the rule for calls is different from the rule for in-person conversations, so check which one fits your visit.

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.

Things to know

No Missouri court has decided whether recording an in-person talk on a phone is covered, so the in-person answer is uncertain.
Missouri's in-person rule is about devices that send the conversation out by radio. It is not clear how it treats an app that uploads audio over the internet while you record.
Missouri's written exception for people who are part of the conversation only mentions phone (wire) communications, not in-person talks.
Recording is not protected if the purpose is to commit a crime or a wrongful act.
Legal guides disagree about in-person recording in Missouri. One major guide advises getting everyone's consent to be safe, while an older guide calls Missouri one-party for all conversations but describes the law more broadly than its actual wording.
If your clinician is in a state that requires everyone's consent, that state's law may apply to the call, so asking first is the safest choice.
A clinic or hospital can still have its own recording policy and can ask you to stop or end the visit.
These rules are about audio. Video or photos, especially of anyone who is undressed, can be covered by separate laws.

What happens if you break the law

Illegal interception is a class E felony (Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402.1). A person whose wire (phone) communication is illegally intercepted can sue for actual damages or liquidated damages of $100 a day or $10,000, whichever is greater, plus punitive damages for willful violations and attorney's fees (§ 542.418).

How to ask your clinician

Ask before you start, and record the answer so there's no doubt later:

“Before we start, is it okay if I record this visit? I want to remember your instructions correctly.”

Wait for a clear yes. If your clinician says no, take notes instead or ask for a written summary. More tips are in our guide to asking to record your doctor visit.

Missouri law and court decisions

Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.402: Wiretap crime (class E felony). Party exception for private persons covers wire communications only. In-person (oral) rule limited to devices that transmit by radio or interfere with a transmission.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.400: Definitions, including 'intercept' (limited to wire communications), 'oral communication' and 'wire communication'.
Mo. Rev. Stat. § 542.418: Civil damages for illegally intercepted wire communications.
18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d): Federal wiretap law: a person who is a party to a phone call or conversation may record it unless the purpose is a criminal or tortious act. Stricter state laws still apply.
Lee v. Lee, 967 S.W.2d 82 (Mo. Ct. App. 1998): Phone calls between a cell phone and a landline are 'wire communications' covered by Missouri's wiretap law (the recorder in that case was not a party to the calls).
Angel v. Williams, 12 F.3d 786 (8th Cir. 1993): A tape recording of an in-person conversation in a jail was not a 'wire communication,' so the Missouri wiretap claims failed.

Recent change: None found for 2023 to 2026. Section 542.402 was last amended by S.B. 491 (2014), effective January 1, 2017, as part of the criminal code revision that set the current felony class; sections 542.400 and 542.418 were last amended in 2002.

Frequently asked questions

Is Missouri a one-party consent state?

For in-person conversations, Missouri has no settled rule, so the safest choice is to ask first. For phone and video calls, it has a one-party consent rule, so your own consent is enough. For phone and video visits, yes: Missouri lets a person who is on a call record it. For in-person visits, Missouri's law is worded in an unusual way and no court has answered the question, so the safest choice is to tell your clinician you are recording.

Do I need my doctor's permission to record a visit in Missouri?

Can I record a telehealth or phone visit in Missouri?

Does HIPAA stop me from recording my doctor?

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.

Can my doctor's office 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.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Recording laws change and can depend on the details of your situation. For a legal question, talk to a licensed attorney in Missouri. AlignCare does not provide medical or legal advice.