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Montana Recording Laws (2026): Announcement Exception and Penalties

Independently fact-checkedEditor-reviewedLaw current as of August 22, 2026By Recording Law Editorial TeamReviewed August 26, 202612 min read

Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 22, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 22, 2026. · 15 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content

Montana Recording Laws (2026): Announcement Exception and Penalties

Montana does not fit neatly into the one-party or two-party consent categories used for most states. Under MCA 45-8-213(1)(c), recording a conversation with a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties is a criminal misdemeanor and a civil wrong. Any party who announces audibly that recording is occurring makes the recording immediately lawful under the announcement exception in (2)(a)(iii).

Montana recording law at a glance

QuestionAnswer
Consent ruleAll-party knowledge required (announcement satisfies)
Main statute
When is recording illegal?Hidden device used without all-party knowledge and no prior announcement
Criminal penaltyMisdemeanor: up to 6 months county jail, up to $500 fine
Civil remedyCommon-law invasion of privacy; constitutional Article II Section 10 claim
Hidden cameras prohibits surreptitious visual observation in residences and upskirt-style recording in public
Recording policeOpen recording falls outside MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) (hidden-device element); First Amendment right recognized in the Ninth Circuit

For in-depth treatment of each topic, see the Montana recording laws in depth section below.

Montana three smartphones around a blank document on a wooden desk

Montana small audio recorder and over-ear headphones resting on a stack of legal documents

Recording in-person conversations in Montana

The core rule comes from MCA 45-8-213(1)(c): recording a conversation with a hidden electronic or mechanical device without the knowledge of all parties is a criminal offense. Two elements must both be present for the statute to apply: a hidden device, and the absence of all-party knowledge. Remove either element and the prohibition does not apply.

The announcement exception in MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(iii) is the primary way parties satisfy the knowledge requirement. Either person in the conversation may give the warning. An audible statement like "I am recording this conversation" made before or at the start of recording is sufficient. No response, agreement, or acknowledgment from the other side is required. Once the announcement is made, either party may record freely for the duration of that conversation.

Montana is meaningfully different from both pure one-party and strict all-party states. A one-party state (such as Texas) lets the recording party record silently because their own presence counts as consent. A strict all-party state (such as California) requires active consent from every participant. In Montana, the recording party announces that recording is occurring. No consent is solicited or required. The other party's only recourse is to end the conversation.

Two quick examples: An employee says before a meeting, "I want everyone to know I am recording this." Recording is lawful under state law from that moment. A business plays an automated message: "This call may be recorded for quality assurance." That message satisfies MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(iii). No live-agent follow-up is needed.

The statute also exempts persons speaking at public meetings under MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(ii). Recording at a city council session, school board meeting, or other open government meeting requires no announcement because speakers have no reasonable expectation of privacy in those public remarks. Montana's Open Meetings law at MCA 2-3-212 separately permits audio recordings to serve as the official record of open meetings.

Recording phone calls in Montana

The same rule applies to phone calls. Recording a call with a hidden or concealed mechanism without the knowledge of all parties violates MCA 45-8-213(1)(c). Any party who announces at the start of the call satisfies the statute.

For interstate calls, the stricter state's law generally governs. If one party is in Montana and the other is in a one-party state, Montana's announcement requirement controls. The announcement should be made before substantive conversation begins, not after.

FCC telephone monitoring rules under 47 CFR 64.501 layer on top of state law for interstate calls. Compliance with Montana's announcement requirement satisfies both the state and federal frameworks.

Montana law also separately criminalizes intercepting electronic communications. Under MCA 45-8-213(3), purposely intercepting an electronic communication, defined broadly enough to include text messages, emails, and other data transmissions, is a distinct offense from the conversation-recording rule in (1)(c). The same warning-based exception applies: interception by a public official or employee performing official duty, or interception where a party has been given warning, falls outside the prohibition.

For detailed treatment of call recording scenarios, interstate rules, and business compliance, see Montana Phone Call Recording Laws.

close-up of two pairs of hands across a wooden cafe table, one hand resting near a coffee cup, the other near a smartphone

Hidden cameras, doorbells, and nanny cams

MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) applies to audio recording with a hidden device. A separate statute, MCA 45-5-223, addresses video voyeurism. It prohibits two distinct acts: (1) hiding, waiting, or loitering within or near a private dwelling to watch or electronically observe occupants without consent, and (2) recording the sexual or intimate parts of another person in a public place without knowledge or consent when the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy. Penalties under escalate with repeat convictions, reaching up to 5 years imprisonment on a third or subsequent offense.

On your own property, security cameras and doorbells pointing at exterior spaces (driveways, front doors, shared walkways) are generally lawful. Cameras aimed into a neighbor's home or at areas where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy (bathrooms, changing rooms) implicate both MCA 45-5-223 and common-law privacy rights. A camera that also captures audio from conversations raises MCA 45-8-213(1)(c): if the audio records conversations without all-party knowledge and the camera functions as a hidden device, the recording prohibition applies.

The practical rule for nanny cams: video-only in common household areas is generally permissible. Video plus audio in spaces where people have no expectation of being recorded (a nanny's private bedroom) may violate both statutes.

For full treatment of camera rules, placement, and tenant-landlord disputes, see Montana Security Camera Laws and Montana Voyeurism Laws.

Penalties for illegal recording in Montana

Criminal penalties under MCA 45-8-213(4) vary by which subsection is violated.

OffenseTierMaximum Penalty
(1)(c) recording violation, any offenseMisdemeanor (flat)6 months county jail and/or $500 fine
(1)(a)/(1)(b) harassment/extortion, first offenseMisdemeanor6 months county jail and/or $500 fine
(1)(a)/(1)(b) harassment/extortion, second convictionMisdemeanor (enhanced)1 year county jail and/or $1,000 fine
(1)(a)/(1)(b) harassment/extortion, third or subsequentFelony5 years state prison and/or $10,000 fine
(1)(d)/(1)(e) intimate images, first offenseMisdemeanor6 months county jail and/or $500 fine
(1)(d)/(1)(e) intimate images, second or subsequentFelony5 years state prison and/or $25,000 fine

The key point for recording violations: the escalating felony tiers in subsections (4)(b) and (4)(c) apply only to (1)(a) and (1)(b) harassment and extortion offenses. A second or third recording conviction under (1)(c) still carries the same flat misdemeanor baseline. General Montana felony sentencing statutes may interact with repeat offenses, so consult a Montana attorney if facing a specific charge.

Civil remedies. MCA 45-8-213 provides no private statutory cause of action for recording violations. A person harmed by illegal recording may pursue claims under common-law invasion of privacy, the constitutional privacy right under Article II, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution, or intentional infliction of emotional distress. Damages, attorney fees, and injunctive relief are available through those common-law and constitutional theories, though their availability depends on the facts of each case.

MCA 45-8-213 contains no suppression or exclusionary provision, and Montana has no statutory analogue to the federal wiretap suppression rule in 18 U.S.C. 2515. Admissibility of a particular recording is decided under Montana's rules of evidence and, where state agents obtained it, under the constitutional analysis in State v. Goetz and State v. Allen discussed below. Do not assume an unlawfully made private recording is automatically excluded.

Montana dome security camera in the corner of an office ceiling, soft interior daylight

Recording the police in Montana

Recording law enforcement in Montana rests on two independent legal foundations. Neither one is a police-specific exception written into the statute.

The first is statutory, and it turns on the hidden-device element rather than on any exception for recording officials. MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) reaches only a conversation recorded by use of a hidden electronic or mechanical device. A phone or camera held in plain view while an officer conducts a traffic stop, an arrest, or other duties in a public space is not a hidden device, so the offense is not made out and no announcement is required.

One point is worth stating plainly, because it is often reported the other way. MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(i) is not an exception for recording public officials. Its text exempts "elected or appointed public officials or to public employees when the transcription or recording is done in the performance of official duty," which covers officials and employees who do the recording as part of their job, not private citizens who record them. No Montana authority reads that subparagraph as permission to secretly record police, so do not rely on it for that.

The second is constitutional. The Ninth Circuit, which covers Montana, recognizes a First Amendment right to record law enforcement officers performing their duties in public. This right exists independently of the state statute and protects recording officers in public regardless of how the hidden-device question comes out.

Practical guidance: keep the device in plain view. Visibility is what keeps the conduct outside MCA 45-8-213(1)(c), and it also makes the recording harder to dispute later. No announcement is required when you are recording openly. Concealed audio recording of a conversation with an officer has no clear statutory safe harbor in Montana, so do not assume a secret recording is protected. Do not interfere with law enforcement operations while recording; obstruction is separately prohibited.

For a full treatment of legal protections, limits, and journalist rights, see Montana Laws on Recording Police.

Special topics in Montana

Workplace recording

Montana is an at-will employment state with strong constitutional privacy protections under Article II, Section 10. Employees who use the announcement exception comply with MCA 45-8-213, but employer policies remain separately enforceable. The NLRB held in Stericycle, Inc. and Teamsters Local 628, 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023), that facially neutral workplace no-recording policies are presumptively unlawful if they would reasonably tend to chill employees from exercising Section 7 rights. NLRB GC Memo 25-07 (June 25, 2025) additionally directs regional offices to treat surreptitious recording of collective bargaining sessions as a per se bad-faith bargaining violation under NLRA Sections 8(a)(5) and 8(b)(3). Montana employers with blanket no-recording policies should review them under the Stericycle standard.

Healthcare recording

Emergency telephone communications may be recorded by health care facilities under MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(iv); that exception is narrow and does not extend to routine telehealth appointments. HIPAA's Privacy Rule () applies to any recording capturing protected health information: covered providers must satisfy HHS OCR's authorization and safeguard requirements in addition to MCA 45-8-213's announcement rule.

Debt collection recording

Under 12 CFR 1006.100(b) (CFPB Regulation F), debt collectors that record calls must retain those recordings for three years. The CFPB retention obligation stacks on top of the MCA 45-8-213 announcement requirement.

School recording

Audio or video recordings that are directly related to a student and maintained by an educational institution are education records under FERPA (). Montana schools must satisfy both FERPA's consent requirements and MCA 45-8-213's announcement rule before recording conversations involving identified students.

Federal overlay

18 U.S.C. 2511 (federal Wiretap Act) permits one-party consent recording as the national floor. Montana's law is stricter and controls for intrastate conversations. For interstate calls, Montana's announcement requirement should be followed regardless of the federal baseline. See our guide to the federal Wiretap Act and ECPA.

The FCC's One-to-One TCPA Consent Rule (FCC 24-24) was vacated by the Eleventh Circuit in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (11th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025), mandate issued April 30, 2025. Montana is in the Ninth Circuit; the Eleventh Circuit decision is persuasive authority only and no Ninth Circuit court has independently confirmed the vacatur.

AI deepfakes and intimate images (Chapter 686, Laws of 2025)

Chapter 686, Laws of 2025 amended MCA 45-8-213 to add (1)(d) and (1)(e): non-consensual distribution of real or AI-generated intimate images, and possession-with-threat to extort. The statute now defines "digitally fabricated" as using technical means such as artificial intelligence to create media that realistically misrepresents an identifiable individual. The core recording-consent rules and the announcement exception in (2)(a)(iii) were not affected.

Government data purchasing: SB 282 (effective October 1, 2025)

Montana Senate Bill 282 (Ch. 382, L. 2025) prohibits government entities from purchasing electronic communications, contents of communications, precise geolocation data, or other sensitive personal data without a warrant or court-issued investigative subpoena. Narrow exceptions exist for data-owner consent, life-threatening emergencies, and incarcerated persons. SB 282 does not affect the MCA 45-8-213 recording-consent rules for private parties.

Case law

State v. Goetz, 2008 MT 296, remains the controlling Montana Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of recording law enforcement, addressing the interplay between MCA 45-8-213 and the Article II, Section 10 privacy right. State v. Allen, 2010 MT 214, 357 Mont. 495, 241 P.3d 1045, held that warrantless one-party-consent recording of a telephone conversation by a police informant acting at law enforcement's direction violates Article II, Sections 10 and 11 of the Montana Constitution, requiring police to obtain a warrant before recording a conversation even when one participant consents. Allen and Goetz govern law-enforcement interception under the state constitution and Title 46's judicial-warrant framework, a distinct legal track from the private-party consent regime in MCA 45-8-213 that is this page's main subject. No Montana Supreme Court decisions from 2024 through May 2026 specifically construing MCA 45-8-213 have been identified.

Montana dome security camera in the corner of an office ceiling, soft interior daylight
  • Ch. 686, Laws of 2025: Added AI deepfake intimate-image offenses to MCA 45-8-213, subsections (1)(d) and (1)(e). Recording-consent rules unchanged.
  • SB 282 (Ch. 382, L. 2025), effective October 1, 2025: Prohibits government data purchasing of communications and location data without a warrant. Private recording rules unaffected.
  • HB 32 (signed February 27, 2025, Ch. 6, L. 2025): Amended MCA 40-6-701 to permit government recordings at public events without separate parental consent for minors. Does not alter MCA 45-8-213 or private recording rules.
  • NLRB GC Memo 25-07 (June 25, 2025): Treats surreptitious recording in collective bargaining as a per se bad-faith bargaining violation.
  • FCC One-to-One Consent Rule (FCC 24-24): Vacated by the Eleventh Circuit, January 24, 2025; mandate issued April 30, 2025. Persuasive authority in the Ninth Circuit (Montana) only.

Montana recording laws in depth

By type of recording

By place or relationship

More Montana laws

This article is general legal information, not legal advice. Recording laws change and apply differently to each situation. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed Montana attorney.

More Montana Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Montana a one-party or two-party consent state?

Montana is neither. It is best described as an announcement-consent or all-party notification state. MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) prohibits recording with a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties. Any party who announces audibly that recording is occurring satisfies the statute under subsection (2)(a)(iii). No consent from the other party is required, only the announcement.

Can I record a phone call in Montana without telling the other person?

No. Recording a phone call with a hidden device without the knowledge of all parties violates MCA 45-8-213(1)(c). You must make an audible announcement before or at the start of recording. Once you say something like 'I am recording this call,' you may legally record the rest of the conversation under Montana law.

What is the announcement exception under Montana law?

The announcement exception is in MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(iii). The recording prohibition does not apply to persons who have been warned that a conversation is being recorded. Either party may give the warning. No agreement or response is required from the other party. The audible announcement alone removes the recording from the statute.

What happens if I secretly record someone in Montana?

A violation of MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) is a misdemeanor: up to 6 months in county jail and a fine up to $500. Unlike the harassment and extortion subsections, the recording violation carries a flat misdemeanor with no statutory escalation for repeat offenses. The statute itself contains no provision excluding an illegally made recording from evidence; admissibility is decided under Montana's rules of evidence.

Are Ring doorbells and nanny cams legal in Montana?

Video-only cameras pointing at your own exterior property are generally lawful. A camera that also captures audio from conversations engages MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) if it functions as a hidden device recording without all-party knowledge. Cameras aimed into spaces where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy, or upskirt-style recording in public, implicate MCA 45-5-223, Montana's voyeurism statute.

Can my employer record me in Montana?

An employer may record workplace conversations if employees have received the required announcement under MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(iii). Many employers satisfy this through written policy notices or call recording announcements. Blanket no-recording policies imposed on employees must also comply with the NLRB Stericycle standard (372 NLRB No. 113, 2023), which presumes such policies are unlawful if they chill Section 7 rights.

Can I record the police in Montana?

Yes, if you record openly. MCA 45-8-213(1)(c) reaches only conversations recorded with a hidden device, so a phone held in plain view during a traffic stop or arrest does not violate it and no announcement is required. The Ninth Circuit, which covers Montana, separately recognizes a First Amendment right to record law enforcement performing duties in public. Montana has no exception for secretly recording officers: the exemption in MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(i) covers officials and public employees who do the recording in the performance of official duty, not private citizens recording them. Do not interfere with police operations while recording.

What did the 2025 amendments to MCA 45-8-213 change?

Chapter 686, Laws of 2025 added two new criminal offenses: non-consensual distribution of intimate images including AI deepfakes under (1)(d), and possession-with-threat to extort under (1)(e). The definition of 'digitally fabricated' was added to cover AI-generated content. The recording-consent rules in (1)(c) and the announcement exception in (2)(a)(iii) were not changed.

Updates

Corrected the Montana public-official exception: MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(i) exempts officials and public employees who record in the performance of official duty, not the recording of officials, so the police section is now grounded on the statute's hidden-device element and the Ninth Circuit First Amendment right, and the unsupported claim that illegally made recordings are generally inadmissible has been replaced with an accurate statement that the statute contains no exclusionary provision.

Corrected the description of the State v. Allen case holding, fixed the HB 32 signing date (2025, not 2026), fixed a wrong statute pin-cite for the healthcare recording exception, and fixed a wrong NLRB docket link.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes

Governing law re-checked for recent changes

Corrected the subsection citation for Montana's recording-announcement exception (MCA 45-8-213(2)(a)(iii), not (2)(c), which does not exist) and the public-meetings exception ((2)(a)(ii), not (2)(b), which governs a different, unrelated intimate-image offense) throughout the page.

Corrected 3 more references to the nonexistent MCA 45-8-213(2)(c); the announcement exception is subsection (2)(a)(iii).

Governing law re-checked for recent changes

Reviewed and approved by an editor

Restructured page: added AEO lede, at-a-glance table, condensed special topics into tight subsections, added in-depth index with by-type and by-place groupings, refreshed FAQ to 8 questions, verified MCA 45-8-213 penalty structure (flat misdemeanor for (1)(c) confirmed; escalation tiers apply only to (1)(a)/(1)(b)/(1)(d)/(1)(e)), verified MCA 45-5-223 voyeurism statute, preserved all statutes and 2025 amendments.

Refreshed with 2025 amendments: added Ch. 686 AI deepfake provisions, SB 282 data broker warrant requirement, HB 32 MCA 40-6-701 framing, verified penalty structure from MCA 45-8-213(4), added NLRB GC Memo 25-07, CFPB Reg F retention, FERPA school guidance, and FCC vacatur with 9th Circuit persuasive-only caveat. Expanded from 2,880 to approximately 5,200 words.

Added wearable recording devices section and 2 FAQs

Sources and References

  1. MCA 45-8-213: Privacy in Communications (as amended by Ch. 686, Laws of 2025)(mca.legmt.gov).gov
  2. MCA 45-5-223: Surreptitious Visual Observation(mca.legmt.gov).gov
  3. 18 U.S.C. 2511: Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications(uscode.house.gov).gov
  4. Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (11th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025), mandate issued Apr. 30, 2025(courtlistener.com)
  5. SB 282 enrolled: archive.legmt.gov (Ch. 382, L. 2025)(archive.legmt.gov).gov
  6. Montana Supreme Court: Wiretap/Criminal section(courts.mt.gov).gov
  7. Montana AG Opinions Table: dojmt.gov(dojmt.gov).gov
  8. 47 CFR 64.501: Monitoring of telephone conversations(ecfr.gov).gov
  9. FCC 24-24 (One-to-One TCPA Consent Rule): VACATED by 11th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025(docs.fcc.gov).gov
  10. DOJ Justice Manual 9-7.302: Electronic Surveillance(justice.gov).gov
  11. NLRB GC Memo 25-07 (June 25, 2025): Surreptitious Recording in Collective Bargaining(nlrb.gov).gov
  12. Stericycle, Inc. and Teamsters Local 628, 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023)(nlrb.gov).gov
  13. 12 CFR 1006.100(b) (CFPB Regulation F): Call Recording Retention(consumerfinance.gov).gov
  14. HHS OCR, Guidance on HIPAA Rules and Audio-Only Telehealth (2022)(hhs.gov).gov
  15. USDOE Student Privacy Policy Office: FERPA and Audio/Video Recordings(studentprivacy.ed.gov).gov
  16. MCA 2-3-212: Audio recordings as official record of open meetings(leg.mt.gov).gov
  17. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press: Montana Recording Guide(rcfp.org)
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