A Practical Guide to Taping Phone Calls and In-Person Conversations in the 50 States and D.C.

• Introduction

• State-by-state guide

• Tape-recording laws
  at a glance

• Consent and its limits

• Interstate phone calls

• Possession and
  publication

• The FCC’s role

• Cellular & cordless calls

• Citations to cases

New Hampshire

It is a felony to intercept or disclose the contents of any telecommunication or oral communication without the consent of all parties. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 570-A:2-I. It is punishable by imprisonment of one to seven years. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann § 625:9. However, it is only a misdemeanor if a party to a communication, or anyone who has the consent of only one of the parties, intercepts a telecommunication or oral communication. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann § 570-A:2-I. Misdemeanors are punishable by imprisonment up to one year. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann § 625:9.

Any person whose telecommunication or oral communication is intercepted or disclosed has a civil cause of action against any person who unlawfully obtains such communication and is entitled to recover: actual damages at a rate of $100 per day or $1,000, whichever is greater; punitive damages; and reasonable attorney fees or other litigation costs. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann § 570-A:11.

In addition, it is a violation of privacy to install or use any device for the purpose of observing, photographing, or recording in or outside any private place. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann § 644:9-I. The state’s highest court has held that a classroom was not a private place where a school custodian could reasonably expect to be safe from video surveillance. State v. McLellan, 744 A.2d 611, 615 (N.H. 1999).