Can You Record Your Doctor Appointment in Nevada?
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In person, yes: one person in a private conversation can authorize a recording, so your own consent is enough. Phone calls are different: the Nevada Supreme Court has held that recording a phone call needs everyone's consent, so ask your clinician before recording a phone or video visit.
- In-person visit
- One-party consentYour consent is enough
- Phone or telehealth visit
- All-party consentEveryone must agree
Main law: Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.620
Recording an in-person visit
Nevada bans secretly recording a private conversation unless one of the people in the conversation authorizes it (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.650). As a participant, your own consent is enough, and the ban only covers secret (surreptitious) recording in the first place. The Nevada Supreme Court has pointed to this one-party wording to explain why Nevada's phone rule is stricter (Lane v. Allstate).
Phone and telehealth visits
Nevada law bars intercepting a 'wire communication' (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.620), and in Lane v. Allstate (1998) the Nevada Supreme Court held that a man who taped his own phone calls without the other side's consent broke this law. The court later treated cell phone calls and text messages as wire communications too (Sharpe v. State, 2015). We found no Nevada case on video visits, but they likely travel partly over wire and cable, so treat them like phone calls and get your clinician's consent. The court has also said this law does not reach recordings made by someone outside Nevada (Ditech Financial v. Buckles, 2017), so it matters most when you are in Nevada while recording.
In Nevada, 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
- The phone rule comes from a court ruling, not plain words in the statute. Two of the five justices disagreed in 1998, but the court repeated the rule in 2017.
- No Nevada court has ruled on video telehealth visits. Treat them like phone calls.
- If you record while you are outside Nevada, Nevada's phone rule generally does not apply, but the law of the state you are in does.
- The in-person ban covers secret recording of private conversations. Recording openly, with your clinician's knowledge, avoids the question entirely.
- 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
Willfully and knowingly violating these laws is a category D felony (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.690(1)(a)). A person whose wire or oral communication is intercepted without consent can sue for actual damages or liquidated damages of $100 a day (at least $1,000), whichever is greater, plus punitive damages, costs, and attorney's fees (§ 200.690(1)(b)).
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.
Nevada law and court decisions
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.620: Interception of wire (phone) communications; read by the Nevada Supreme Court to require all parties' consent for private recorders.
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.650: Secret recording of private in-person conversations, allowed if one participant authorizes it.
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.610: Definitions, including wire communication.
- Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.690: Criminal penalty (category D felony) and civil damages.
- 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.
- Lane v. Allstate Ins. Co., 114 Nev. 1176, 969 P.2d 938 (1998): A participant who taped his own phone calls without the other parties' consent violated NRS 200.620, because Nevada's phone statute does not allow one-party consent recording by private persons.
- Sharpe v. State, 131 Nev. Adv. Op. 32, 350 P.3d 388 (2015): Cell phone calls and text messages are 'wire communications' under Nevada's wiretap laws (decided in a police wiretap case).
- Ditech Fin. LLC v. Buckles, 133 Nev. Adv. Op. 64 (2017): NRS 200.620 does not apply to phone calls recorded by a party located outside Nevada using equipment outside Nevada; the law of the place where the recording is made governs.
Recent change: None found for 2023 to 2026. NRS 200.620 was last amended in 2021, and NRS 200.650 in 1989.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nevada a one-party consent state?
For in-person conversations, Nevada has a one-party consent rule, so your own consent is enough. For phone and video calls, it has an all-party consent rule, so everyone in the conversation must agree. In person, yes: one person in a private conversation can authorize a recording, so your own consent is enough. Phone calls are different: the Nevada Supreme Court has held that recording a phone call needs everyone's consent, so ask your clinician before recording a phone or video visit.
Do I need my doctor's permission to record a visit in Nevada?
Nevada bans secretly recording a private conversation unless one of the people in the conversation authorizes it (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.650). As a participant, your own consent is enough, and the ban only covers secret (surreptitious) recording in the first place. The Nevada Supreme Court has pointed to this one-party wording to explain why Nevada's phone rule is stricter (Lane v. Allstate).
Can I record a telehealth or phone visit in Nevada?
Nevada law bars intercepting a 'wire communication' (Nev. Rev. Stat. § 200.620), and in Lane v. Allstate (1998) the Nevada Supreme Court held that a man who taped his own phone calls without the other side's consent broke this law. The court later treated cell phone calls and text messages as wire communications too (Sharpe v. State, 2015). We found no Nevada case on video visits, but they likely travel partly over wire and cable, so treat them like phone calls and get your clinician's consent. The court has also said this law does not reach recordings made by someone outside Nevada (Ditech Financial v. Buckles, 2017), so it matters most when you are in Nevada while recording.
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 Nevada. AlignCare does not provide medical or legal advice.
