Recording Law for Employers & Businesses in Georgia

Georgia splits recording rules into two parts. For audio of a conversation, you only need your own consent — even if other people are talking. This comes from O.C.G.A. § 16-11-66(a), which says you can record a "wire, oral, or electronic communication" if you are part of it or one party agreed. Georgia’s definition of a "private place" — O.C.G.A. § 16-11-60(3) — matters here because both halves of the state’s wiretapping statute hinge on whether the communication or activity occurs in such a location. For video or photos of activities, the rule is stricter: you must get everyone’s okay if the activity happens in a private place where people reasonably expect privacy. If the activity is in public — like a store aisle or street — the video rule does not apply at all. The key for employers is to treat audio and video differently. If you want to record both audio and video of an employee-customer talk, you must follow the stricter rule for the video part. If you only need audio, one-party consent is enough.

Georgia gives homeowners leeway to record activity right outside their own home without asking anyone’s permission. This exception, added by the 2022 law SB 539, lets residents, owners, security-system subscribers, or family members record activities in their own home or curtilage. But it only loosens the rule for visual recording of activities — not for secretly recording private conversations. So if your employee is wearing smartglasses in a customer’s home, the exception does not apply. It only covers the wearer’s own home. Outside that specific setting, the normal all-party consent rule for video in a private place still applies. If the space is not the wearer’s own home — like a hotel room, a rented Airbnb, or a neighbor’s house — treat it as a private place and get all-party consent before recording.

This exception has a contested history. It was originally enacted in 2000 through two conflicting bills (House Bill 1576 and Senate Bill 316), and the Georgia Supreme Court held in Rutter v. Rutter, 294 Ga. 1, 749 S.E.2d 657 (2013), that the two acts were in "irreconcilable conflict" and the curtilage exception did not survive. The exception was only restored by the 2022 SB 539 amendment, meaning there was no valid home-recording exception from 2013 until July 1, 2022.

Georgia’s all-party consent rule for video recording applies to any private place where a reasonable expectation of privacy exists, not just the wearer’s own home. This includes customer homes, hotel rooms, rented Airbnbs, or any other private space where the wearer does not qualify for the homeowner exception. O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62(2) bars recording activities in such locations without the consent of all persons observed. The exception added by SB 539 only applies to the wearer’s own home and does not extend to third-party private spaces. Employers should obtain explicit consent before recording in any private location outside the wearer’s own home, regardless of the wearer’s status as resident, owner, subscriber, or family member.

Georgia’s recording laws do not restrict video or photos taken in public places. The state’s main surveillance statute, O.C.G.A. § 16-11-62, only applies to conduct that happens in a "private place" out of public view. A Georgia appeals court made this clear in Gary v. State, 338 Ga. App. 403, 790 S.E.2d 150 (Ga. Ct. App. July 15, 2016), docket A16A0666, reversing a conviction where someone filmed a person in a publicly accessible grocery store. So if your employee is wearing smartglasses on a public sidewalk, in a store aisle, or in a parking lot, you can record without worrying about Georgia’s all-party video rule. The same goes for audio in public — one-party consent is enough under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-66(a). The only limits are reasonable time, place, and manner rules set by property owners or local ordinances.

Offices, break rooms, conference rooms, and similar indoor workspaces are typically private places under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-60(3), meaning any video recording of activities requires the consent of all persons observed. This applies even if the recording device is worn by an employee who is part of the activity. Audio recording of workplace conversations follows the one-party consent rule under O.C.G.A. § 16-11-66(a), but employers should still consider workplace policies and union agreements that may impose additional notice or consent requirements. Georgia courts have not created a multi-factor test for what counts as a private workplace; instead, they apply the statutory definition directly: a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy. Courts have held that areas accessible to the public, such as a retail sales floor, do not qualify as private places, but areas restricted to employees generally do. Employers should obtain explicit consent before recording in any private workplace area, and should post clear signage to put employees and visitors on notice.

Recording where you shouldn’t in Georgia can be a felony. O.C.G.A. § 16-11-69 says violations are punishable by 1 to 5 years in prison and/or a fine up to $10,000. The statute applies to both audio and video violations, though the one-party consent rule for audio reduces the risk of accidental felony liability in conversational recordings. You can also face a civil lawsuit for invasion of privacy. Georgia courts have recognized claims based on illegal recordings under common-law invasion-of-privacy torts (Pavesich v. New England Life Ins. Co., 122 Ga. 190 (1905)), even though the wiretapping statute itself does not spell out a private right of action. The risk is real: if an employee records a customer in a private place without consent, the customer could sue for damages. Punitive damages are not expressly authorized by statute, but have been permitted in some invasion-of-privacy cases where the conduct was willful or malicious. The best protection is a clear policy, visible signs, and a consent process for any recording in private spaces. Employers should also train employees on Georgia’s hybrid consent regime to avoid unintentional violations.

Imagine your store gives employees smartglasses that can record audio and video. In the stockroom, which is a private place, you must tell customers you record and get their okay before turning on the glasses. On the sales floor, where it’s public, you can record without asking. At a customer’s home for a repair call, you must get consent before recording, because it’s a private place and not the employee’s own home. At the employee’s own house during a training session, the homeowner exception lets the employee record activity without asking coworkers, but not private conversations. A clear policy that turns the glasses on only in public areas or after a consent prompt can keep you out of trouble.

Georgia has no law that stops you from recording on-duty police in public. The Eleventh Circuit, which covers Georgia, has said the First Amendment protects recording police performing their duties in public view (Smith v. City of Cumming, 212 F.3d 1332 (11th Cir. 2000)). But a later case, Crocker v. Beatty, 995 F.3d 1232 (11th Cir. 2021), shows that officers who interfere with or seize a recorder may still escape civil liability under qualified immunity. So while you can record, officers may still order you to stop or take your device without facing damages. Always follow officer instructions in the moment, and challenge any seizure later in court. The Eleventh Circuit has continued to narrow the practical contours of the right to record in recent decisions, such as DeWitt v. Haney (11th Cir. 2025), which further limits the right in government-facility contexts.