Legal Question in Telecomm Law in North Carolina

One party consent - means where at least one party to the conversation consents to the recording.

Two-party - consent: this assumes that a conversation is between two-people. Both parties to the conversation must consent to the recording.

All-party: I am not an expert on the electronic surveillance/eavesdropping/recording statute in all 50 states. Most states are either 1 or 2 party places, but if a statute says that all parties have to consent that is what it means. All parties consent to the recording.

If you are in a 1-party state like NC and the other person is also in NC, then as long as one of you consents to the recording, the conversation can be recorded. So if you consent and record the conversation, you would not have to tell the other person you are recording.

Where this becomes tricky is where you are in one state and the other person to whom you are speaking is in another state. In that case, you need to know the recording laws of both the state you are in and the state the other person is in. If you are in NC (a 1-party state) and the other person is in a 2-party state, then you cannot record the conversation unless both parties consent.

Why are you doing this? The statute in NC is written that if you record in violation of the law, then the conversation is not admissible in any type of court proceeding. Some people like to record - if you are not planning on introducing the recording, then there is no real problem. However, if you are using it with an eye towards going to court, you really need to be consulting an attorney before you do this. If you record in violation of the law and try to use the conversation, you can be charged with a crime. So you want to be very careful and do things correctly.