Is it legal to record phone calls in Maine?
Yes, generally. Maine is a one-party consent state: you may record a phone call you take part in without telling the other person, because your own consent satisfies the rule. Recording calls you are not part of is illegal. When the other person may be in an all-party consent state like California or Florida, disclose the recording anyway.
What Maine law says
Maine follows one-party consent for phone calls, consistent with the federal Wiretap Act: as long as one participant — and you count — consents, the recording is lawful. The rule covers conversations you participate in; intercepting other people’s calls remains a crime. Bear in mind the rule protects you within Maine — interstate calls can implicate stricter states’ laws, which is why professionals default to disclosure.
Maine is a one-party consent state for phone calls and most private conversations: interception is lawful when you are a participant or have consent from at least one party. The state separately requires all-party consent to use recording devices in private places like bathrooms and dressing rooms where sounds would not ordinarily be heard outside. Illegal interception is a Class C crime with civil liability.
"Any person ... who intentionally or knowingly intercepts, attempts to intercept or procures any other person to intercept or attempt to intercept any wire or oral communication is guilty of a Class C crime." — Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 15, § 710(1), subject to the one-party consent exception in § 710(2)(B).
Maine's one-party consent rule aligns with the federal baseline in 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d) for participant recordings. Federal law does not preempt Maine's § 710 criminal penalties, § 711 civil remedies, or the stricter all-party private-place requirements in 17-A M.R.S. § 511.
Maine's wiretap chapter follows the familiar one-party model: § 710(2)(B) exempts interception when the recorder is a party or has one party's prior consent. No announcement is required for a call you are on. The statute defines interception broadly — using any device to hear or record a communication — but excludes conduct within a person's normal unaided hearing range. For ordinary phone and private conversations, your participation is the consent the law requires. The wrinkle is Maine's privacy statute (17-A M.R.S. § 511): recording in "private places" such as bathrooms, dressing rooms, and similar areas requires the consent of all persons entitled to privacy if the sounds would not ordinarily be audible outside. That is stricter than the phone-call rule. Disclosure or use of a communication known to have been illegally intercepted is its own Class C crime under § 710(3), and possessing interception devices without authorization is separately prohibited.
| Consent rule for phone calls | One-party consent |
| Recording calls you're part of | Allowed — your own consent is sufficient. |
| Calls with people in other states | The stricter state's rule may apply — when in doubt, disclose. |
What breaking the law costs in Maine
Illegal interception, disclosure, or use under § 710 is a Class C crime — up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Violating the private-place privacy statute (17-A M.R.S. § 511) is a Class D crime — up to 364 days and $2,000.
Yes — § 711 gives any aggrieved party a civil action for the greater of actual damages or $100 per day of violation, plus attorney fees and litigation costs.
Exceptions worth knowing
- One-party consent when the interceptor is a party or has one participant's prior consent (§ 710(2)(B))
- Communications within the interceptor's normal unaided hearing range
- Law enforcement interception under judicial warrant or statutory authority
- Jail and correctional phone recording under authorized procedures
- Private-place recording only with all-party consent where § 511 applies
How Maine courts have ruled
Statutes set the rule; cases show how it plays out when a recording ends up in front of a judge. These are real, decided cases under Maine law.
What happened: Former business owners intercepted and recorded telephone calls of Allied Capital employees during a corporate dispute; the employees sued under both the federal Wiretap Act and Maine's § 710.
The ruling: The First Circuit held the defendants violated Maine's anti-wiretap statute by intercepting calls without one-party consent and that counsel who disclosed and used the recordings with the requisite mens rea also violated § 710(3).
What happened: The state sought to admit jail recordings of a defendant's phone calls with his girlfriend; the defendant argued insufficient foundation and possible tampering.
The ruling: The Law Court affirmed admission, holding that testimony about the jail's recording, storage, and retrieval procedures was sufficient foundation without proof that tampering was impossible.
What happened: A man was arrested after filming Boston police officers making an arrest in a public park; Maine is within the First Circuit, which applies this precedent.
The ruling: The court recognized a First Amendment right to film government officials in public spaces, including audio-visual recording of police performing their duties.
Personal calls vs. business calls in Maine
Recording personal calls
Recording your own calls in Maine is legal without telling the other person — you are the consenting party under § 710(2)(B). People in divorce, tenant, and harassment disputes use participant recordings regularly. Do not plant a recorder in a bathroom, dressing room, or other private place without everyone's consent; § 511 is all-party for those spaces. Passing along a recording you know was illegally intercepted exposes you to § 710(3) charges and civil suits under § 711.
Recording business calls
Maine businesses can record customer calls when an employee participates, but interstate call centers should still play a recording announcement to satisfy all-party states. Allied Capital shows that intercepting competitor or employee calls without one-party consent triggers both criminal and civil wiretap liability — and using the tapes in litigation makes it worse. Employers recording in restrooms or locker rooms need all-party consent under § 511 regardless of the phone-call rule.
Calls that cross state lines
Maine courts have not issued a definitive cross-border choice-of-law rule. A Maine resident calling an all-party state, or being called from one, should assume the stricter state's law may apply. When in doubt, announce the recording.
The safe way to record in Maine
Whatever the local rule, one habit covers every situation: say the call is being recorded at the start. Consent is then on the recording itself, and cross-border calls stop being a legal puzzle. Callmark can play "This call may be recorded" automatically on your calls, so the disclosure never depends on your memory.
For the full national picture — every all-party state, cross-border rules, and consent mechanics — see our state-by-state consent guide.
Sources and further reading
Statutes, court opinions, and reference guides cited on this page. Laws change — verify current text before relying on it for anything consequential.
- Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 15, § 710 (official text, Maine Legislature)
- Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 15, § 711 — civil remedies (official text)
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — Maine recording guide
- Allied Capital Corp. v. Garrard, 11 F.3d 271 (1st Cir. 1993)
- State v. Coston, 215 A.3d 1285 (Me. 2019) — vLex
Common questions
Yes. As a participant in the call, your consent satisfies Maine’s one-party rule. Disclosure is still wise whenever the other party might be in an all-party consent state.
Courts have applied different states' laws to interstate calls, and you often can't verify where a mobile number is. The practical rule: assume the strictest state applies and disclose the recording.
In most states, continuing a call after a clear "this call may be recorded" announcement is treated as implied consent — the same mechanism customer-service lines rely on.
Yes. Maine is a one-party consent state. If you are a party to the call, your own consent satisfies § 710(2)(B).
Yes, in private places like bathrooms and dressing rooms under 17-A M.R.S. § 511, where recording requires consent from everyone entitled to privacy in that space.
Yes. State v. Coston confirms that jail recordings are admissible when the facility establishes its standard recording and storage procedures. Inmates who use jail phones after notice have impliedly consented.
Under § 711, at least $100 per day of violation or actual damages, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees and costs.
Yes, in public while they perform their duties, under the First Circuit's Glik and Gericke decisions. Do not interfere with their work while recording.
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