Is Illinois a One-Party Consent State? Recording Law

People usually ask this as a yes-or-no question: is Illinois a one-party or a two-party consent state? The accurate answer has two parts. For a private conversation, Illinois requires the consent of everyone in it before you secretly record it, even if you are one of the people talking. This page explains what those two words mean, what happens if you get it wrong in a divorce or custody case, and what to do if you think you are the one being recorded.

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

For private conversations, Illinois is an all-party consent state. The statute makes it a crime to knowingly and intentionally use an eavesdropping device "in a surreptitious manner, for the purpose of transmitting or recording all or any part of any private conversation to which he or she is a party unless he or she does so with the consent of all other parties" (720 ILCS 5/14-2(a)(2)). Recording a conversation you are not part of requires the consent of all of the parties (14-2(a)(1)).

Federal law is different. Under 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d), a private person who is a party to a communication, or who has one party's consent, may record it unless the purpose is to commit a criminal or tortious act. Federal one-party consent does not make a recording legal under Illinois law.

If you read older material describing Illinois as banning every recording without everyone's consent, it is out of date. In 2014 the Illinois Supreme Court struck down the former statute's recording provision as overbroad under the first amendment because it criminalized recording conversations in which no one had an expectation of privacy (People v. Clark, 2014 IL 115776). In the companion case, the court gave examples of conversations that "cannot be deemed private," starting with "a loud argument on the street" (People v. Melongo, 2014 IL 114852, ¶ 29). The legislature rewrote the law effective December 30, 2014 (P.A. 98-1142), adding the "private conversation" and "surreptitious" requirements that apply today.

What makes a conversation "private" and a recording "surreptitious"?

Private conversation. Any oral communication between two or more people, in person or "transmitted between the parties by wire or other means," when one or more of them "intended the communication to be of a private nature under circumstances reasonably justifying that expectation" (720 ILCS 5/14-1(d)). Phone and video calls are covered. A conversation between spouses at home will usually meet this definition. A shouting match in a parking lot may not.

Surreptitious. "Obtained or made by stealth or deception, or executed through secrecy or concealment" (720 ILCS 5/14-1(g)). Setting your phone on the table and saying "I'm recording this" is not surreptitious. Starting a recording in your pocket is.

A 2025 appellate decision shows how this plays out between co-parents. In People v. Francik, 2025 IL App (2d) 240585, a father's former wife found a small recording device in the pocket of their one-year-old's coat after a parenting exchange. It had captured hours of her conversations at home, including a speakerphone call with her mother. His eavesdropping conviction was affirmed, and the court held that the quality of the recording was "legally irrelevant" because the statute turns on using a device in a surreptitious manner for the purpose of recording a private conversation.

What are the penalties for secretly recording a spouse?

• Criminal. Eavesdropping is a Class 4 felony for a first offense and a Class 3 felony for a second or later offense (720 ILCS 5/14-4(a)).
• Sharing the recording. Using or disclosing information you know or should know came from an illegal recording is its own violation (14-2(a)(5)). Playing it for family, posting it, or sending it around can add exposure.
• Getting someone else to do it. A person who directs another to eavesdrop on their behalf, or knowingly benefits from the information, is a "principal" and is treated as an eavesdropper (14-1(b), (c)).
• Civil liability. Any party to the recorded conversation can seek an injunction, actual damages, and punitive damages (14-6(1)).
• Your case. The recording is inadmissible (14-5), and the conduct can become an issue in parenting decisions when it affects the child, for example by using the child to make the recording, or bears on a parent's willingness to support the child's relationship with the other parent (750 ILCS 5/602.7(b)(13), (c)).

Are there exceptions that allow recording without consent?

The exception people most often ask about is 720 ILCS 5/14-3(i). It exempts a recording made by, or at the request of, a person who:

• is a party to the conversation and is not a law enforcement officer or agent;
• has "reasonable suspicion that another party to the conversation is committing, is about to commit, or has committed a criminal offense against the person or a member of his or her immediate household"; and
• has "reason to believe that evidence of the criminal offense may be obtained by the recording."

Read that language closely before relying on it. It is built for situations like threats, violence, or abuse directed at you or someone in your household. Suspicion of an affair, or of hiding money in the divorce, does not fit it in the ordinary case. And if you are charged, you would be the one explaining why your suspicion was reasonable.

Recording "for the children." Article 14 has no exemption that lets a parent secretly record the other parent's conversations with a child. The provision people sometimes point to, 14-6(3), bars civil claims against a parent for monitoring their own minor child's electronic accounts. It does not create a criminal exemption and does not cover recording the other parent. If you suspect a child is being abused, call the DCFS Hotline at 1-800-25-ABUSE (1-800-252-2873), or 911 in an emergency, and tell your lawyer.

Other exemptions, such as court-authorized law enforcement recordings and recording police officers in public, rarely matter between spouses.

Can I use a secret recording in my Illinois divorce or custody case?

Generally no. Section 14-5 provides that "any evidence obtained in violation of this Article is not admissible in any civil or criminal trial, or any administrative or legislative inquiry or proceeding." There are two exceptions: relevant portions may be used in a criminal case against the person charged with eavesdropping, and the statute does not bar admission "if all parties to the private conversation or private electronic communication consent to admission of the evidence."

A recording made lawfully, for example openly or with everyone's consent, still has to be authenticated (Ill. R. Evid. 901(a)) and must be relevant. Courts regularly see better evidence than a secret recording: texts and emails you received, a written log kept at the time, police reports, photographs, and witnesses.

What about home security cameras, doorbells, and smart speakers?

Audio and video are governed by different statutes.

• Audio. A camera or smart speaker that secretly captures private conversations raises the same Article 14 issues as a phone recorder. During a divorce, turn off audio on indoor devices or make sure every adult in the home knows exactly what records sound.
• Video. It is a Class 4 felony to knowingly make a video record of another person "in that other person's residence without that person's consent" (720 ILCS 5/26-4(a-5), (d)(2)). Placing a device with that intent is a Class A misdemeanor (26-4(a-20)), and distributing such a recording is a Class 3 felony (26-4(a-25)). The statute does not carve out spouses or co-owners, and the marital home is your spouse's residence too.

If you want cameras for security during a separation, get advice before installing anything new inside the home, never place them in bedrooms or bathrooms, and put the arrangement in writing or in a court order if you can. The same thinking applies to location tracking, covered in GPS tracking a spouse in Illinois.

What if I find a hidden recorder or think I am being recorded?

1. Stay safe. If the recording is part of a pattern of control or threats, talk with an advocate before you confront anyone. The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-877-863-6338, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. In an emergency, call 911.
2. Preserve it. Photograph the device where you found it, note the date, time, and place, and do not erase or alter it.
3. Report it. Illinois requires a person who discovers physical evidence of an eavesdropping device they do not know to be legal to disclose it to the State's Attorney of the county where it was found within a reasonable time (720 ILCS 5/14-8). Your lawyer can help you do that and coordinate with the police.
4. Use it in your case. Your lawyer can move to bar the recording (14-5), seek an injunction against further recording (14-6), and, where the conduct is part of abuse or harassment, ask for an order of protection.

If you have already made a recording, do not play it, post it, or send it to anyone. Tell your lawyer it exists and follow their advice about what to do next.

When should I talk to a lawyer?

• Before you record anyone in a divorce or parenting dispute, including on a phone call.
• If you have already recorded your spouse or co-parent.
• If you have found a device, or learned that your spouse has recordings of you.
• If the other side is trying to use a recording against you.

Related reading: whether a spouse can legally read your texts and authenticating digital evidence in Illinois family cases.

To talk through your situation with Jonathan D. Steele, call (312) 621-4394 or reach out through the contact page.

Sources

• Criminal Code of 2012, 720 ILCS 5/14-1 through 14-8 (eavesdropping) and 5/26-4 (unauthorized video recording): ilga.gov
• Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act, 750 ILCS 5/602.7: ilga.gov
• 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d): law.cornell.edu
• Illinois Rule of Evidence 901: illinoiscourts.gov
• People v. Melongo, 2014 IL 114852: opinion
• People v. Clark, 2014 IL 115776: opinion
• People v. Francik, 2025 IL App (2d) 240585: opinion

This article explains general Illinois law as of October 2026. It is not legal advice about your situation, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Written by Jonathan D. Steele

Chicago divorce attorney with cybersecurity certifications (Security+, ISC2 CC, Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate). Illinois Super Lawyers Rising Star 2016-2025.

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