Recording Law for Employers & Businesses in Oregon

Oregon makes it illegal to record an in-person conversation unless every person taking part is told the conversation is being recorded. This is a bright-line rule, not a test about whether people expected privacy. The law says you can’t obtain "the whole or any part of a conversation by means of any device, contrivance, machine or apparatus, whether electrical, mechanical, manual or otherwise, if not all participants in the conversation are specifically informed that their conversation is being obtained." ORS 165.540(1)(c). The courts have confirmed this applies regardless of location, even in public places like cafes or parks, but the only way around it is a narrow list of specific public or semi-public events listed in the law, such as public hearings, classes, or meetings where everyone should reasonably expect to be recorded. If you’re using smartglasses to capture audio of an employee talking to a customer at a counter, the customer must be told the conversation is being recorded.

Oregon treats phone calls and video calls differently. For ordinary phone calls, Oregon follows a one-party rule: any participant in the call can record the call without telling the other person. ORS 165.540(1)(a). But video calls are treated like in-person conversations. If you’re using smartglasses to join a Zoom or Teams call, the law now says that counts as a "conversation," and everyone on the call must be told it’s being recorded. This change was made by a 2021 amendment that moved video-conferencing calls out of the one-party-friendly 'telecommunication'/'radio communication' bucket and into the all-party-notice 'conversation' bucket. ORS 165.535(1) defines "conversation" to expressly 'include[] a communication occurring through a video conferencing program.' So if your employee is on a video call with a client, the client must be informed the call is being recorded.

Oregon does not restrict silent video-only recording at all. If your smartglasses capture video without audio, you can use them freely in most places. The law only regulates audio recording of in-person conversations. There are also narrow exceptions for specific situations. You can openly record an on-duty police officer from a lawful vantage point where the recording is plainly visible, the audio is audible to normal unaided hearing, and the recording is made from a place the recorder may lawfully be. ORS 165.540(5)(b). You can also record inside your own home if you are a subscriber to a telecommunication or radio service or a member of that subscriber’s family, even if the conversation is between others. State v. Evensen, 298 Or App 294, 447 P3d 23 (2019); State v. Rainey, 294 Or App 284, 431 P3d 98 (2018); Checkley v. Boyd, 198 Or App 110, 107 P3d 651 (2005). Outside those situations, the all-party notice rule applies.

You can record a police officer who is on duty, but only if you do it openly. The recording must be in plain view, the audio must be audible to normal unaided hearing, and it must be made from a lawful vantage point. Secret recording of an on-duty officer remains a Class A misdemeanor. The law was upheld by the Ninth Circuit in 2025, which confirmed that Oregon’s rule allows open recording but bans covert recording of police. ORS 165.540(5)(b); Project Veritas v. Schmidt, No. 22-35271 (9th Cir. Jan. 7, 2025) (en banc).

Imagine your employee wears smartglasses while assisting a customer at a retail counter. The glasses capture both video and audio of the conversation. Under Oregon law, this is an in-person conversation because the statute regulates audio only. The employee must inform the customer before or during the conversation that it is being recorded. If the employee doesn’t tell the customer, the audio recording is illegal, even if the customer is in a public place. The video-only portion is unrestricted. If the employee later uses the recording for training or to resolve a dispute, the customer’s prior notice is essential to avoid violating the law. If the employee instead joins a video call with the customer via Zoom or Teams, Oregon treats that as a "conversation" requiring all-party notice, so the customer must be told the call is being recorded. A 2021 amendment moved video-conferencing calls into the all-party-notice bucket, so the same smartglasses policy must account for this channel split.

Recording an in-person conversation without all-party notice is a Class A misdemeanor in Oregon. ORS 165.540(9). The law does not create a private right of action, so individuals generally can’t sue you for damages, but law enforcement can bring criminal charges. The statute also includes several narrowly drawn exceptions that do not depend on a reasonable expectation of privacy, including recordings made in the recorder’s own home by a subscriber or family member, recordings of on-duty police made openly from a lawful vantage point, recordings made to capture evidence of unlawful activity in coordination with law enforcement, and recordings of specific public or semi-public proceedings such as public hearings, classes, or meetings where everyone should reasonably expect to be recorded. ORS 165.540(3), (5)(b), (6)(a), (6)(b). Separately, the Oregon Consumer Privacy Act may also apply if your smartglasses process voiceprints or other biometric data. That law requires opt-in consent before processing sensitive biometric data and gives consumers a way to revoke consent. ORS 646A.578(2)(b); ORS 646A.589.