Recording Law for Family Law in Maine

In Maine, you can legally record any conversation you're part of without telling the other person. This is because Maine is a one-party consent state. The law says you can record if you're a participant in the conversation, whether it's in person or over the phone. The key statute is 15 M.R.S. § 709(5), which defines an "oral communication" as one "uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying such expectation." If someone is speaking loudly in public or making no effort to keep their words private, they don't have that justified expectation, so recording isn't restricted by this law at all. The one-party consent framework comes from the definition of "intercept" in 15 M.R.S. § 709(4), which excludes from liability a participant in the conversation, and from the offense/penalty provision in 15 M.R.S. § 710, which makes it a crime to intercept wire or oral communications without consent.

Maine's privacy law, 17-A M.R.S. § 511, makes it illegal to record images in a "private place" without consent. A private place is defined as "a place where one may reasonably expect to be safe from surveillance, including, but not limited to, changing or dressing rooms, bathrooms and similar places." If you're recording in your own home, the law looks at the specific room, not the fact that it's your house. A kitchen or living room where people gather openly isn't a private place, but a closed bedroom or bathroom is. Recording someone changing clothes or using the toilet without their knowledge violates this law, even if you're in your own home. The law applies to both video and still images, but only when captured in a private place as defined by statute.

Federal courts covering Maine have ruled that recording on-duty police officers performing their duties in public is protected by the First Amendment. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit decided this in Glik v. Cunniffe, 655 F.3d 78 (1st Cir. 2011), and extended it to covert recording in Project Veritas Action Fund v. Rollins, 982 F.3d 813 (1st Cir. 2020). Since Maine is a one-party consent state, you can record police interactions without their knowledge as long as you're part of the encounter. No Maine statute specifically prohibits recording police in public, and the First Circuit's precedents protect both open and secret recording of on-duty officers in public spaces.

If you're involved in a custody exchange or family dispute, you can record the conversation as long as you're part of it. This includes in-person arguments, phone calls, or video calls. The one-party consent rule applies whether you're the one speaking or just present during the conversation. However, if the conversation moves into a private area like a bathroom or bedroom, silent video recording could violate privacy laws. Recording in a public park or street during a dispute is generally allowed. If you're unsure whether a location is private, assume it might be and avoid recording there without consent.

Imagine you're at a public park with your partner during a heated argument about custody arrangements. You're both speaking loudly enough that nearby parents can hear. You discreetly start recording on your phone. This recording is legal under Maine law because you're part of the conversation, it's happening in a public place where no one has a reasonable expectation of privacy under 15 M.R.S. § 709(5), and you're not recording in a private place as defined in 17-A M.R.S. § 511. The recording could be retained for your records or shared with a lawyer if needed. This is different from recording someone changing in a bedroom or using the toilet, which would violate privacy laws even in your own home.

While recording conversations you're part of is legal in Maine, there are limits. Illegally recording someone in a private place can lead to criminal charges under 17-A M.R.S. § 511, which is a Class D crime, and a private civil action under 17-A M.R.S. § 511 for violation of privacy. If you record someone in a private place without consent, they can also sue you for damages. Always check the location before recording—if it's a bathroom, bedroom, or similar private space as defined in 17-A M.R.S. § 511, don't record there without consent. Even in public, if someone makes clear they're speaking privately (like in a hushed tone away from others), recording might cross into illegal territory.