Recording laws · Oregon

Can You Record Your Doctor Appointment in Oregon?

Last reviewed October 6, 2026

It depends on the type of visit. You can record an audio-only phone visit without telling the clinician, but for an in-person or video visit Oregon requires that everyone be specifically told the conversation is being recorded (they do not have to agree).

In-person visit: Notice ruleTell everyone you're recording
Phone call (audio only): One-party consentYour consent is enough
Video visit: Notice ruleTell everyone you're recording

Main law: Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.540

Recording an in-person visit

Oregon makes it a crime to record a face-to-face conversation unless all participants are specifically informed that it is being recorded (Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.540(1)(c)). The law requires notice, not permission, so saying something like 'I am recording this visit so I can review it later' before you start meets the rule. Openly recording a private meeting with a visible device, when everyone knew or should have known about it, is also allowed, but saying it out loud is the clearest way to comply. The clinician can still decline to continue, and clinic policies may limit recording.

Phone and telehealth visits

Audio-only phone calls: Oregon only forbids recording a phone call you are not part of, so you can record your own phone visit without telling anyone (§ 165.540(1)(a)). Video visits: since January 1, 2022, a call on a video conferencing program counts as a 'conversation,' so everyone must be specifically told you are recording, just as in an exam room (§ 165.535). If your clinician is in another state, Oregon's rules still apply to a recording you make in Oregon, and the other state's law may apply too, so telling them is the safest choice.

In Oregon, 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

Video visits follow the in-person notice rule, not the phone rule. Tell everyone on the video call before you start recording.
An audio-only call made through a video app (for example, with the camera off) is not clearly covered by either rule. Tell the clinician to be safe.
Oregon has an exception for people recording in their own homes, and courts have read it broadly, but no court has applied it to a telehealth or home health visit. Do not rely on it alone.
A recording made in violation of this law generally cannot be used as evidence in an Oregon court (Or. Rev. Stat. § 41.910).
Some websites say a 2023 court ruling struck down Oregon's in-person rule. The full Ninth Circuit reversed that in 2025 and upheld the law, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review it in October 2025.
Do not leave your phone recording if you step out of the room. Recording a conversation without telling the people in it is a crime in Oregon.
HIPAA, the federal health privacy law, applies to health plans and health care providers, not to patients, so it does not stop you from recording your own visit.
None found. No Oregon statute specifically addresses patients recording their own medical visits.

What happens if you break the law

Violating § 165.540(1) is a Class A misdemeanor (§ 165.540(9)), punishable by up to 364 days in jail (§ 161.615) and a fine of up to $6,250 (§ 161.635). Oregon's civil damages statute (§ 133.739: at least $100 a day or $1,000, plus punitive damages) is written for violations of its court-ordered wiretap provisions, so it is unclear whether it covers private recordings, though other privacy lawsuits remain possible.

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.

Oregon law and court decisions

Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.540: (1)(c) bars recording a conversation unless all participants are specifically informed; (1)(a) bars recording only phone or radio calls you are not part of; exceptions in (3) and (6); Class A misdemeanor in (9)
Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.535: Definitions: a 'conversation' includes a video conferencing call, which is excluded from 'telecommunication' and 'radio communication'
Or. Rev. Stat. § 165.543: Misdemeanor for a non-party to intercept a wire or oral communication without any party's consent
Or. Rev. Stat. § 41.910: Recordings made in violation of § 165.540 are generally inadmissible in Oregon courts
Or. Rev. Stat. § 133.739: Civil damages for interceptions that violate the court-ordered wiretap provisions (§§ 133.724, 133.737)
Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 161.615, 161.635: Maximum jail term and fine for a Class A misdemeanor
Or. Laws 2021, ch. 357 (H.B. 2459): Added video conferencing calls to the 'conversation' notice rule, effective January 1, 2022
Or. Laws 2023, ch. 234 (H.B. 2129): Added § 165.540(8), a matter-of-public-concern exception for later sharing, effective January 1, 2024
18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d): Federal rule letting a participant record a call or conversation unless the purpose is criminal or tortious
Project Veritas v. Schmidt, 125 F.4th 929 (9th Cir. 2025) (en banc), cert. denied, No. 24-1061 (U.S. Oct. 6, 2025): The full Ninth Circuit upheld Oregon's rule that everyone must be told before an in-person conversation is recorded, replacing a 2023 panel decision (72 F.4th 1043) that had struck it down.
State v. Haase, 134 Or App 416, 895 P.2d 813 (1995): Warning a person that the conversation was being monitored by audio was enough to 'specifically inform' them under § 165.540(1)(c).
State v. Rainey, 294 Or App 284, 431 P.3d 98 (2018): Whether the home exception in § 165.540(3) applies depends on where the recording is made, not where the conversation takes place.
State v. Evensen, 298 Or App 294 (2019): 'Subscribers' in the home exception means anyone who subscribes to a phone or radio service, so a family member's secret recording made in the home fell within the exception.

Recent change: H.B. 2129 (Or. Laws 2023, ch. 234, effective January 1, 2024) added an exception that lets people who did not help make a recording share it if it concerns a matter of public concern; it does not change the rules for making a recording. Earlier, H.B. 2459 (Or. Laws 2021, ch. 357, effective January 1, 2022) brought video calls under the in-person notice rule. In January 2025 the full Ninth Circuit upheld § 165.540(1)(c) in Project Veritas v. Schmidt, and the U.S. Supreme Court denied review on October 6, 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Is Oregon a one-party consent state?

For in-person conversations, Oregon has a notice rule, so everyone must know they're being recorded. For audio-only phone calls, it has a one-party consent rule, so your own consent is enough. For video calls, it has a notice rule, so everyone must know they're being recorded. It depends on the type of visit. You can record an audio-only phone visit without telling the clinician, but for an in-person or video visit Oregon requires that everyone be specifically told the conversation is being recorded (they do not have to agree).

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

Can I record a telehealth or phone visit in Oregon?

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 Oregon. AlignCare does not provide medical or legal advice.