Call Recording Laws in Montana

Plain-English summary

Montana is an all-party-consent state, with an important exception: Mont. Code Ann. § 45-8-213(1)(c) makes it unlawful to record “a conversation by use of a hidden electronic or mechanical device that reproduces a human conversation without the knowledge of all parties.” If a recording is not hidden — for example, a phone visibly recording in the hand of a participant — the statute may not apply.

The Montana statute also exempts recordings made “by a person under explicit policies announced in advance,” which is how customer-service preambles satisfy the rule. The cautious practice in Montana is to obtain audible consent at the start of any phone recording.

Case law of note

No appellate decision in Montana has materially reshaped the participant-recording rule in recent decades. Lower-court decisions exist but do not change the analytical framework set by the statute and by general federal precedent under § 2511.

Edge cases and special rules

In-person vs. phone. Same rule — all-party
Voicemail. Leaving a message creates the recording at the recipient’s direction; reviewing one’s own voicemail is not interception.
Vicarious consent. Several federal courts have recognized a parental-consent doctrine permitting a parent to consent on behalf of a minor child (Pollock v. Pollock, 154 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1998)). State law varies; no controlling Montana appellate decision on the question.
Law enforcement. Court-authorized intercepts are governed by a separate framework and are outside the scope of this page.
Cross-border calls. Where any participant is in an all-party state, treat the stricter rule as the safer default. See cross-border calls.

Penalties and remedies

Criminal: Misdemeanor; up to 6 months and/or $500 (first offense).

Civil: Common-law claims; injunctive relief.

Evidence: a recording made in violation of the Montana statute is generally inadmissible in Montana proceedings. Federal § 2515 separately bars use of unlawfully intercepted communications in federal proceedings.

Practical guidance

If you are recording an ordinary phone call: obtain audible consent from every party at the start of the call.
Suggested opening: See our consent script templates for jurisdiction-specific language.
If the other party objects: stop recording. Continued recording over an objection is a separate factual question that no consent statute helps you with.
What to keep: the date and time of the call, the parties’ phone numbers, a description of the consent given (express verbal, continued participation after notice, etc.), and the audio file itself.