North Carolina
Reporter's Recording Guide
Last updated April 2020
CompareSummary
An individual who has the consent of one of the parties to an in-person, telephone or electronic conversation can lawfully record it or disclose its contents. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287.
CompareIn-person conversations
The consent of at least one party to an in-person conversation is required to record “any oral communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation.” N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 15A-286, 15A-287. Thus, consent is not required to record in-person conversations in public where there is no reasonable expectation of privacy.
CompareTelephone and electronic communications
The consent of at least one party to any telephone conversation is required to record it. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287. And because the provision of the law dealing with wireless communications applies to “any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, or intelligence of any nature,” consent likewise is required to disclose the contents of text messages sent between wireless devices. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-286.
In interpreting the definition of “consent,” a state appellate court held that implied consent to a recording occurs when a party is warned of the monitoring and still continues with the conversation. North Carolina v. Price, 611 S.E.2d 891, 897 (N.C. Ct. App. 2005).
CompareHidden cameras
It is a felony to photograph or record a person in a room where the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy “for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any person” or — regardless of whether a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy — to secretly photograph or record a person “up-skirt” or “down-blouse,” or under or through his or her clothing, and to disclose any images obtained by these means. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-202. The law, however, does not criminalize the use of recording devices for other purposes in areas to which the public has access or there is no reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g., filming conversations on public streets or in a hotel lobby).
CompareCriminal penalties
Illegally recording an in-person or electronic conversation is a felony offense. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287.
CompareCivil suits
Anyone whose oral, telephone or electronic conversation has been recorded or disclosed in violation of the law can bring a civil suit to recover the greater of actual damages, $100 a day for each day of violation, or $1,000, and can also recover punitive damages, attorney’s fees, and court costs. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-296.
CompareDisclosing recordings
Disclosing the contents of an in-person, telephone or electronic conversation obtained through illegal recording is a felony. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287.
If a journalist received an illegally recorded conversation and was not involved in the illegal conduct, the First Amendment likely protects the publication of such material, to the extent it is a matter of public concern and truthful. See Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001). For more information, see this guide’s introductory chapter here.
CompareRight to record government officials in public
A growing consensus of courts have recognized a constitutional right to record government officials engaged in their duties in a public place. This First Amendment right to record generally encompasses both video and audio recording. For more information on the right to record broadly, see this guide’s introductory chapter here.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which includes North Carolina, has not yet directly addressed the First Amendment right to record.
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