Is Arkansas a one-party consent state?
Yes. Arkansas is a one-party consent state for recording calls, under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120.
General information, not legal advice. Laws change and we can get things wrong, so check with a lawyer before relying on any of this. Citations checked October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us.
Recording calls in Arkansas
Arkansas lets a call be recorded when one person on it agrees. The business is a party to every call its agent answers, so its own consent is generally enough under the statute.
§ 5-60-120(a) makes it unlawful to intercept or record a wire, landline, oral, telephonic or wireless communication, or to possess a recording of one, unless the person is a party to the communication or one of the parties has given prior consent.
Reporters Committee summary for ArkansasArkansas is a one-party consent state, so the penalty applies to recording a call you are not a party to when no party has consented (§ 5-60-120(a)). A violation is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 (§§ 5-60-120(b), 5-4-401(b)(1), 5-4-201(b)(1)). Arkansas's statute does not give the person recorded a right to sue, though federal law does for this kind of interception (18 U.S.C. § 2520).
General information, not legal advice. Citations checked October 2026. Ask a Arkansas lawyer about your own calls.
Using an AI agent to answer your Arkansas line
Arkansas only needs one party's consent, but a caller from California or Florida brings their state's stricter rule onto the call. So the agent opens every call by saying it is recorded.
“Thanks for calling. This is an AI assistant, and this call is recorded. How can I help?”
A Cartesia voice agent answers your business line, says this on every call, then takes messages or transfers the caller to your team.
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If the agent also calls out from Arkansas
An answering service mostly takes calls. Callbacks and reminders are outbound, and outbound calls follow the federal rules plus Arkansas's own.
Outbound calls that use an AI voice need the called party's prior express consent, unless the call is for an emergency or fits an FCC exemption. AI-voice calls that include telemarketing need prior express written consent. The FCC ruled in February 2024 (FCC 24-17) that an AI-generated voice is an artificial voice under the TCPA, so these calls must also identify the caller and, for telemarketing, offer a way to opt out.
47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B)47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2) and (a)(3)FCC ruling on AI voices, February 2024Federal rules allow telemarketing calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the called party's local time. Some states set a shorter window, listed below when they do.
16 C.F.R. § 310.4(c)Arkansas makes it a Class D felony to use an automated system that dials numbers and plays a recorded message to offer goods or services for sale or to solicit a sale (§ 5-63-204). The only exceptions are messages about delivery or the status of an order already placed, and recorded messages played in response to a call the person started. There is no consent exception for sales calls.
Statute textArkansas bars telephone solicitations to numbers on the Attorney General's do-not-call list, requires callers to check that list first, and bars solicitations that break the federal do-not-call rule in 16 C.F.R. § 310.4 (§ 4-99-405).
Statute textWhere Arkansas callers are
Time zone: Central. You set your business hours in your own time zone, and the agent takes messages outside them.
327
Eastern and southern Arkansas, with 870
479
Fort Smith and northwest Arkansas
501
Little Rock
870
Eastern and southern Arkansas
States near Arkansas
Enterprise-grade security
HIPAA compliant
SOC 2 Type 2
GDPR
Arkansas call recording law FAQs
Is Arkansas a one-party or all-party consent state for recording calls?
Arkansas is a one-party consent state for recording calls, under Ark. Code Ann. § 5-60-120. This is general information, not legal advice. Ask a lawyer about your own calls.
Do I have to tell callers an AI agent is recording in Arkansas?
Arkansas needs one party's consent, and the business is a party. Most businesses announce recording anyway, because a caller in an all-party state such as California or Florida can bring that state's rule into the call. The sample agent opens with "Thanks for calling. This is an AI assistant, and this call is recorded. How can I help?" This is general information, not legal advice.
What if the caller is in a different state than my Arkansas business?
The stricter state's rule can apply. In Kearney v. Salomon Smith Barney (2006), the California Supreme Court held that California's all-party rule governs, going forward, calls a Georgia office records with clients in California. A business that takes calls from other states usually announces recording on every call.
How much does a Cartesia agent cost to answer calls in Arkansas?
Managed Agents cost $0.03/min, plus telephony and LLM usage. See pricing.
Which time zone and area codes cover Arkansas?
Time zone: Central. Main area codes: 327, 479, 501, 870. The agent answers calls from any number, and you set your business hours in your own time zone.
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