Arkansas Recording Laws (2026): One-Party Consent Rules

Arkansas is a one-party consent state. That means a person taking part in a conversation or call may record it without telling the other people in it. The rule covers wire, landline, oral, telephonic, and wireless communications (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120(a)).

Recording a conversation without being a participant and without any party's consent is a crime. It is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine (§ 5-60-120(b)). The person recorded may also be able to sue under federal law.

Arkansas recording law at a glance

For statutes, penalties, and court decisions in depth, see the Arkansas recording laws in-depth section below.

Recording in-person conversations in Arkansas

For face-to-face conversations, Arkansas's consent rule runs through the "oral communication" category of the recording statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120(a)). The statute does not define "oral communication," and that leaves an open question about conversations held in public.

Federal law limits the term to conversations where the speakers expect privacy (18 U.S.C. § 2510(2)). Arkansas courts may read the state statute the same way, but we found no Arkansas decision saying so. With no Arkansas decision on the point, do not assume a conversation you are not part of is fair game just because it happens in public.

If you are part of the conversation, you can record it without informing anyone else. If you are not, you need at least one participant's prior consent.

Planting a hidden audio device to capture a conversation between people who did not consent is the clearest example of a § 5-60-120 violation. An employee recording a one-on-one meeting with a manager is lawful. A neighbor planting a microphone next door is a Class A misdemeanor.

Note that § 5-60-120 is an audio statute. It does not govern silent video recording in a public space with no reasonable expectation of privacy. Secret video of a person in a private area out of public view, such as a bathroom or bedroom, falls under the separate voyeurism statute at § 5-16-101, discussed below, whether or not the person is undressed.

Recording phone calls in Arkansas

As a participant, you can record any call you are part of without disclosing it. Section 5-60-120 covers landline, telephonic (including VoIP), and wireless calls. In practice that means landline, cell, VoIP (Zoom, Teams, Google Meet, FaceTime), conference calls, and push-to-talk messages when you are the sender or recipient.

For more detail on call-specific rules, see Arkansas Phone Call Recording Laws.

Interstate calls: use the stricter state's rule

The federal wiretap law, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), protects wire, oral, and electronic communications. Its one-party consent rule is a floor, not a ceiling: it sets a minimum, and a state may require more (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)). So when an Arkansas caller is on the line with someone in an all-party consent state, the more protective state's rule can apply from that end of the call, meaning the other person's state.

States that require all-party consent for at least some recording contexts include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington. Some of these states use the all-party rule only in part. Connecticut and Nevada apply it to phone calls, Oregon applies it to in-person conversations rather than calls, and Delaware's two recording statutes conflict.

When calling someone in those states, tell everyone at the start of the call that you are recording and get a clear yes. A short "this call may be recorded" announcement helps. But in some states, including California, courts have not settled whether a notice plus staying on the line counts as consent.

Hidden cameras, doorbells, and nanny cams

Arkansas's video voyeurism statute prohibits secretly observing, photographing, filming, or videotaping a person in a residence, school, place of business, or other structure when (1) the person is in a private area out of public view, (2) the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and (3) the person has not consented (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-16-101). All three elements must be present.

Bathrooms, locker rooms, fitting rooms, exam rooms, and guest bedrooms are the clearest cases. A common open workspace, a public lobby, or a store's retail floor typically does not satisfy the "private area out of public view" element.

A first or second offense under § 5-16-101(a) is a Class D felony, with up to 6 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. A third or subsequent offense is a Class C felony, with 3 to 10 years.

Separately, video voyeurism is a Class C felony whenever the victim is under fourteen years of age, no matter whether it is a first offense (§ 5-16-101(c)(1)(C)). These grades are far harsher than the audio-only Class A misdemeanor under § 5-60-120.

A felony video voyeurism conviction is also a "sex offense" under Arkansas's Sex Offender Registration Act (§ 12-12-903(13)(A)(i)). That triggers the act's registration requirements (§ 12-12-905).

Ring doorbells and exterior cameras pointed at a sidewalk, driveway, or porch are generally lawful, because the targeted area is not a "private area out of public view." Audio capture from the same device is still governed by § 5-60-120. Recording conversations of guests or service workers without any party's consent can be a § 5-60-120 violation.

For camera-specific rules, see Arkansas Security Camera Laws and Arkansas Voyeurism Laws.

Penalties for illegal recording in Arkansas

Arkansas's recording-law penalties split across several statutes, depending on what was recorded and how.

Each crime's class sets its range, and the ranges come from Arkansas's sentencing statutes. A Class A misdemeanor carries up to 1 year and a fine up to $2,500 (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-401(b)(1); § 5-4-201(b)(1)). A Class D felony carries up to 6 years and a fine up to $10,000 (§ 5-4-401(a)(5); § 5-4-201(a)(2)). A Class C felony carries 3 to 10 years (§ 5-4-401(a)(4)).

The Harassment Backstop

Arkansas's harassment statute serves as a catch-all for non-sexual video surveillance that is secret or repeated and does not fit the voyeurism statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-71-208).

The recording statute, § 5-60-120(b), reaches audio only. Section 5-16-101(a) reaches secret video of a person in a private area out of public view who has a reasonable expectation of privacy and has not consented, whether or not the person is undressed. Subsection (b) of § 5-16-101, the misdemeanor, is the provision aimed at concealed recording of a person's body.

Secret video in places that are not private areas out of public view, such as a shared hallway, may fall outside both statutes. Section 5-71-208 fills that gap when the recording is repeated, unwanted, serves no legitimate purpose, and is intended to harass, annoy, or alarm. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor, matching the audio penalty tier.

Together with the privacy claim for intrusion upon seclusion (Dunlap v. McCarty, described under Civil liability below), § 5-71-208 covers the non-sexual secret-video gap when the conduct is targeted and repeated.

Civil liability

Arkansas's eavesdropping chapter (Chapter 60) contains no civil damages provision. Section 5-60-120 is criminal-only. The section itself has no statutory damages, no attorney-fee provision, and no private right of action.

Arkansas has a general civil action for crime victims, Ark. Code Ann. § 16-118-107. It covers only conduct that would be a felony, so it does not reach illegal audio recording, which is a misdemeanor.

A plaintiff, the person who files a civil lawsuit, has five main routes after being harmed by illegal recording.

First, the federal ECPA lets a court award the greater of actual damages or statutory damages of $100 per day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and attorney fees (18 U.S.C. § 2520). Statutory damages are an amount already fixed by the statute, and here the statutory award is at the court's discretion. Punitive damages are extra money, on top of actual damages, in some circumstances where the defendant's behavior was especially harmful.

Second, Arkansas common-law invasion of privacy provides an intrusion-upon-seclusion claim (Dunlap v. McCarty, 284 Ark. 5, 678 S.W.2d 361 (1984)).

Third, a 2025 law provides a civil cause of action for synthetic intimate imagery, meaning sexual deepfakes. A plaintiff can seek actual, compensatory, and punitive damages under it, plus injunctive relief and attorney fees (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-118-119, Act 827 of 2025, SECTION 2, codified as enacted). Act 597 of 2025 enacted a different section under the same number, so two 2025 laws each created a § 16-118-119.

Fourth, hidden-camera video voyeurism under § 5-16-101(a) is a felony, and Ark. Code Ann. § 16-118-107 lets anyone injured by conduct that would be a felony sue for damages. The plaintiff must prove the conduct by a preponderance of the evidence. A plaintiff who prevails recovers costs and attorney's fees.

The fifth route is a 2025 drone law. Using a drone to capture an image of a person or private property in order to surveil them is a Class C misdemeanor under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-103(e), added by Act 597 of 2025. The act defines "image" to include captured sound waves.

The same act lets an owner or tenant of private property sue a person who, in violation of § 5-60-103, captured an image of the property, or of the owner or tenant while on it with a reasonable expectation of privacy. It sets $5,000 for all images captured in a single episode, $10,000 for disclosing or using images from a single episode, actual damages for a malicious disclosure, and court costs and attorney's fees for the prevailing party.

Suit must be filed within two years. That action was enacted as § 16-118-119, the same number Act 827 used for deepfakes, so confirm the codified number before citing it.

Recording the police in Arkansas

Recording on-duty police in Arkansas is permitted in principle. But the federal appeals court for Arkansas has not decided whether the First Amendment protects it. On recording police, it has ruled only on qualified immunity, meaning whether the officers could be sued, and not on whether a right to record police exists.

That court is the Eighth Circuit, which covers Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Its court of appeals reviews cases decided by the federal district courts in those states. Eight other federal appeals courts have held that the First Amendment protects recording police in public. Next to them, the 8th Circuit's posture on civilian recording of on-duty police is more restrictive than most other federal circuits.

In Molina, the court held that, even assuming the First Amendment protects observing and recording police, that right was not clearly established in 2015, and it granted the officers qualified immunity on those claims (Molina v. Book, 59 F.4th 334 (8th Cir. 2023)). Qualified immunity protects a government official from lawsuits over violating someone's rights, except where the right was "clearly established." The court did not decide whether the right exists, so the question is still open in the Eighth Circuit. The full Eighth Circuit declined to rehear the case, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review it (reh'g en banc denied, 65 F.4th 994 (8th Cir. 2023), cert. denied, No. 23-227 (U.S. Feb. 20, 2024)).

An earlier case, Chestnut, recognized a clearly established right to watch police-citizen interactions at a distance without interfering. That ruling rested on the Fourth Amendment, not the First, and it is a narrower proposition than a stand-alone right to record (Chestnut v. Wallace, 947 F.3d 1085 (8th Cir. 2020)). In a third case, Robbins, the court granted the officers qualified immunity on the First Amendment claims while reversing it on Fourth Amendment seizure grounds (Robbins v. City of Des Moines, 984 F.3d 673 (8th Cir. 2021)).

In practice, stand at a reasonable distance, do not interfere with an active scene, comply with lawful step-back orders, and avoid trespass. If it comes to a lawsuit, pair any First Amendment claim with a Fourth Amendment claim where the facts support it. Fourth Amendment claims, such as unlawful seizure of equipment or false arrest, have fared better in 8th Circuit cases.

For a deeper treatment, see Arkansas Laws on Recording Police.

Special topics in Arkansas

Public meetings and the Arkansas FOIA

Arkansas's Sunshine Law, part of the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), requires meetings of municipalities, counties, school districts, and state boards supported wholly or partly by public funds to be open (Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-106). It also requires the public body itself to record each open meeting and keep the recording for at least one year (§ 25-19-106(d); Act 505 of 2025 moved the retention rule to (d)(3)).

Act 310 of 2021 (SB 194) is a public-records provision. It amended § 25-19-105 so that citizens may copy public records through image capture, including still and moving photography and video and digital recording.

No statute expressly gives attendees a right to record a meeting. But the Arkansas Attorney General has advised that citizens may videotape public meetings as long as the videotaping does not disrupt the meeting (Op. Att'y Gen. 2012-022, as summarized in the Attorney General's 2026 FOIA Handbook).

The FOIA also has a civil enforcement route. It provides an immediate appeal to circuit court, a hearing set within seven days, contempt for refusing to comply with the court's order, and fee-shifting (Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-107).

The criminal penalty sits in a different section. Any person who negligently violates the chapter is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor (Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-104, "Penalty"). That carries up to 30 days and a fine up to $500 (§ 5-4-401(b)(3); § 5-4-201(b)(3)).

Workplace recording and NLRA

Arkansas is one-party consent for workplace audio. An employee can record any conversation they participate in, including one-on-ones with managers, HR meetings, performance reviews, and disciplinary interviews.

Federal labor law adds a separate layer for private-sector employers. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is the federal agency that protects employees' rights to organize and acts against unfair labor practices by private sector employers and unions.

Private-sector employers covered by the National Labor Relations Act must evaluate no-recording handbook rules under a 2023 Board decision, Stericycle. Under that decision, a blanket no-recording rule is presumptively unlawful under Section 8(a)(1) unless the employer shows a substantial business interest achievable by no narrower rule (Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (Aug. 2, 2023)).

NLRB GC 25-05 (Feb. 14, 2025) rescinded certain General Counsel memoranda but did not overrule Stericycle. In a June 25, 2025 memo (GC 25-07), the NLRB's Acting General Counsel told regional offices to treat secretly recording collective-bargaining sessions as a per se unfair labor practice. That memo is enforcement guidance, not a Board decision. See Arkansas Workplace Recording Laws for the full analysis.

Deepfake and synthetic intimate imagery

Act 827 of 2025 (signed April 17, 2025) created two linked statutes.

The first criminalizes unlawful creation or distribution of deepfake visual material of a sexual nature without the depicted person's consent (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-139). A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor, and a second or subsequent offense is a Class D felony.

The second establishes a civil cause of action. A plaintiff can seek actual, compensatory, and punitive damages under it, plus injunctive relief and attorney fees (Ark. Code Ann. § 16-118-119, codified as enacted; Act 597 of 2025 also enacted a § 16-118-119, for drone images).

A separate statute, now titled "Unlawful distribution of an intimate image," covers non-consensual distribution of intimate images (Ark. Code Ann. § 5-26-314). Act 981 of 2025 rewrote the offense and removed the two elements that used to narrow it.

A person eighteen or older now commits it by purposely distributing an intimate image of an identifiable person without that person's consent. No harassment purpose is required, and no family, household, or dating relationship is required between actor and victim.

Section 5-26-314 does not say whether it covers AI-generated images, so a sexual deepfake could be charged under § 5-14-139 and possibly under § 5-26-314 as well.

Federal overlays

Federal law sets a one-party consent floor, and Arkansas's § 5-60-120 matches it (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)).

The TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. No. 119-12, signed May 19, 2025) criminalizes knowing publication of non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI deepfakes. It also requires covered platforms to remove flagged content within 48 hours (compliance deadline May 19, 2026).

Body-worn camera footage is governed by the Arkansas FOIA, § 25-19-101 et seq. It is presumptively a public record, subject to that chapter's exemptions.

One of those narrow exemptions makes a record depicting or recording the death of a law enforcement officer confidential and exempt from FOIA disclosure. Its statute is titled "Confidentiality of certain law enforcement records," and it is not a general body-camera statute (Ark. Code Ann. § 12-6-701). It allows limited family access and a circuit-court petition route for everyone else.

Arkansas has no statewide body-cam mandate. HB 1219 of the 2025 session was withdrawn by the author February 6, 2025.

Recent legal developments

• April 17, 2025: Governor Sanders signed HB 1529 / Act 827 of 2025. It created the deepfake criminal offense at Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-139 and the civil cause of action enacted as § 16-118-119. Its effective date follows the general 90-day-after-sine-die schedule.
• May 19, 2025: President Trump signed the federal TAKE IT DOWN Act (Pub. L. No. 119-12). It added a federal crime and a duty for platforms to take down flagged content within 48 hours. The platform-compliance deadline was May 19, 2026.
• January 24, 2025: The Eleventh Circuit decided Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, 127 F.4th 303 (11th Cir. 2025). It vacated (set aside) Part III.D of the FCC's 2023 Order (38 FCC Rcd. 12247), which had amended 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(9) to impose both the one-to-one-consent restriction and the "logically and topically associated" restriction.
• February 20, 2024: The U.S. Supreme Court denied review in Molina v. Book (No. 23-227). That left in place the 8th Circuit's ruling that any right to record police was not clearly established in 2015.
• February 6, 2025: HB 1219 (statewide body-worn camera mandate) was withdrawn by the author and did not become law. Body-cam adoption in Arkansas remains agency-by-agency.

Arkansas recording laws in depth

The pages below each cover a specific recording context in greater depth than this hub can.

By type of recording

• Arkansas Audio Recording Laws: One-Party Consent Rules and Penalties (2026)
• Arkansas Video Recording Laws: Public Filming, Private Property, and Consent (2026)
• Arkansas Phone Call Recording Laws: Landline, Cell, and VoIP Rules (2026)
• Arkansas Voyeurism Laws: Hidden Cameras, Penalties, and Defenses (2026)
• Arkansas Dashcam Laws: Mounting, Audio, and Legal Uses (2026)

By place or relationship

• Arkansas Laws on Recording Police: Your Rights and Limits (2026)
• Arkansas Workplace Recording Laws: Employee and Employer Rights (2026)
• Arkansas Laws on Recording in Public: Your Complete Guide (2026)
• Arkansas Security Camera Laws: Home, Business, and HOA Rules (2026)
• Arkansas Landlord-Tenant Recording Laws: Cameras, Audio, and Privacy Rights (2026)
• Arkansas Medical Recording Laws: Patient Rights, HIPAA, and One-Party Consent (2026)
• Arkansas School Recording Laws: Student Privacy, FERPA, and Classroom Rules (2026)

More Arkansas laws

• Arkansas Alimony Laws
• Arkansas At-Will Employment Laws
• Arkansas Data Privacy Laws
• Arkansas Divorce Laws
• Arkansas Expungement 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 Arkansas attorney.

More Arkansas Laws

• Arkansas AI Meeting Recording Laws
• Arkansas Dashcam Laws
• Arkansas Data Privacy Laws
• Arkansas Deepfake Laws
• Arkansas Employee Monitoring Laws
• Arkansas GPS Tracking Laws
• Arkansas Police Bodycam Laws
• Arkansas Smart Glasses Recording Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Arkansas is a one-party consent state. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120(a), a participant in any wire, landline, oral, telephonic, or wireless communication may record it without telling the other party. Arkansas is not a two-party or all-party consent state for audio recording.

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

Yes, if you are a participant in the call. The one-party rule covers landline calls, cell phone calls, VoIP calls, and conference calls. If the other party is in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Washington, or another all-party state, the safer practice is to disclose at the start of the call and get everyone's consent.

What is the penalty for illegally recording someone in Arkansas?

Illegal audio interception under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120 is a Class A misdemeanor, with up to 1 year in jail and a fine up to $2,500. Hidden-camera video voyeurism under § 5-16-101(a) is more serious. It is a Class D felony for a first or second offense (up to 6 years) and a Class C felony on a third or subsequent offense (3 to 10 years). Section 5-16-101(c)(1)(C) also makes it a Class C felony on any offense where the victim is under fourteen.

Can I sue someone for illegally recording me in Arkansas?

Yes. Section 5-60-120 itself is criminal-only, and because illegal audio recording is a misdemeanor, Arkansas's civil action for felony victims (§ 16-118-107) does not cover it. For audio, plaintiffs typically sue under the federal ECPA (18 U.S.C. § 2520). There a court may award the greater of actual damages or statutory damages of $100 per day or $10,000, plus punitive damages and attorney fees. Plaintiffs typically add a common-law intrusion-upon-seclusion claim under Dunlap v. McCarty, 284 Ark. 5 (1984). Hidden-camera video voyeurism under § 5-16-101(a) is a felony, so its victims can also sue under § 16-118-107, which awards costs and attorney's fees to a plaintiff who prevails.

Are Ring doorbells and nanny cams legal in Arkansas?

Outdoor cameras pointed at a sidewalk, driveway, or porch are generally lawful, because that area is not a 'private area out of public view' under § 5-16-101. Audio capture from the same device is governed by § 5-60-120. If the device records conversations of guests or service workers without any party's consent, that can be a violation. A hidden camera in a bathroom, locker room, or other private area is generally video voyeurism. That is a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the person filmed is under 14 or on a third offense. Section 5-16-101(d) exempts security monitoring by a home's occupant or a business owner, but we found no Arkansas decision applying that exemption to a camera in a bathroom.

Can I record at a city council or school board meeting in Arkansas?

Generally yes, though the right comes from the Attorney General rather than a statute. Op. Att'y Gen. 2012-022 advises that citizens may videotape public meetings as long as the videotaping does not disrupt the meeting, and an AG opinion is not binding on courts. Ark. Code Ann. § 25-19-106 requires these meetings to be open. It also requires the public body itself to record each open meeting and keep the recording for at least one year (§ 25-19-106(d)(3), as amended by Act 505 of 2025). Act 310 of 2021 lets you photograph or video-record public records when you copy them (§ 25-19-105), but it does not address meetings. If you are denied access to an open meeting or its recording, § 25-19-107 provides a fast circuit-court route with fee-shifting.

Can I record on-duty police in Arkansas?

You can in principle, but the Eighth Circuit has not decided whether the First Amendment protects recording police. In Molina v. Book, 59 F.4th 334 (8th Cir. 2023), cert. denied, No. 23-227 (U.S. Feb. 20, 2024), the court held that any right to observe and record police was not clearly established in 2015. It granted the officers qualified immunity on those claims. Qualified immunity protects officials from suit unless the right was clearly established. It let one protester's separate retaliation claim go forward. Stand at a reasonable distance, do not interfere, and comply with lawful step-back orders. If it comes to a lawsuit, pair any First Amendment claim with a Fourth Amendment claim where the facts support it.

Can my employer record me in Arkansas?

An Arkansas employer can record audio in common workspaces under one-party consent if the employer is party to the conversation or a participating employee has consented. A hidden camera in a bathroom, locker room, or changing area is generally video voyeurism under § 5-16-101. That is a Class D felony, or a Class C felony if the person filmed is under 14 or on a third offense. We found no Arkansas decision applying the statute's exemption for business security monitoring (§ 5-16-101(d)(3)) to such a camera. Federal labor law adds a separate layer for private-sector employers. Under Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023), a blanket no-recording handbook rule is presumptively unlawful under NLRA Section 8(a)(1) unless the employer proves the rule advances a legitimate and substantial business interest that a more narrowly tailored rule could not advance.