Is Massachusetts a one-party consent state?
No. Massachusetts is an all-party consent state for recording calls, under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 99.
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 Massachusetts
Massachusetts asks for the consent of everyone on a call before it is recorded. If the agent records the calls it answers, the usual practice is to tell each caller at the start.
Chapter 272, § 99 makes it a crime to willfully and secretly record a wire or oral communication without the prior authority of all parties.
Reporters Committee summary for MassachusettsThe statute targets secret recording, so the plan is to tell every caller at the start.
Secretly recording a call without the authority of every party is punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, up to 5 years in state prison or 2.5 years in a jail or house of correction, or both a fine and a prison term (ch. 272, § 99(C)(1)). A person recorded can sue for actual damages of at least $100 a day for each day of violation or $1,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and reasonable attorney fees and costs (§ 99(Q)).
General information, not legal advice. Citations checked October 2026. Ask a Massachusetts lawyer about your own calls.
Using an AI agent to answer your Massachusetts line
Massachusetts needs everyone's consent, so the recording notice goes in the agent's first sentence, before the caller says anything. Ask your lawyer whether the notice plus the caller staying on the line meets Massachusetts's standard for your industry.
“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 Massachusetts
An answering service mostly takes calls. Callbacks and reminders are outbound, and outbound calls follow the federal rules plus Massachusetts'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)Massachusetts bars unsolicited sales calls to numbers on the state do-not-call list, calls that reach the consumer between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time, and unsolicited sales calls made with a recorded message device (ch. 159C, § 3). Calls the consumer asked for and calls to existing customers are not unsolicited.
Statute textWhere Massachusetts callers are
Time zone: Eastern. You set your business hours in your own time zone, and the agent takes messages outside them.
339
Boston suburbs, with 781
413
Springfield
508
Worcester and Cape Cod
617
Boston
774
Worcester and Cape Cod
781
Boston suburbs
857
Boston, with 617
978
Lowell
States near Massachusetts
Enterprise-grade security
HIPAA compliant
SOC 2 Type 2
GDPR
Massachusetts call recording law FAQs
Is Massachusetts a one-party or all-party consent state for recording calls?
Massachusetts is an all-party consent state for recording calls, under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 99. The statute targets secret recording, so the plan is to tell every caller at the start. 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 Massachusetts?
Plan on yes. Massachusetts asks for every party's consent, so the agent should say the call is recorded at the start. The sample agent opens with "Thanks for calling. This is an AI assistant, and this call is recorded. How can I help?" and you can change the rest of the line. This is general information, not legal advice.
What if the caller is in a different state than my Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts?
Managed Agents cost $0.03/min, plus telephony and LLM usage. See pricing.
Which time zone and area codes cover Massachusetts?
Time zone: Eastern. Main area codes: 339, 413, 508, 617, 774, 781, 857, 978. The agent answers calls from any number, and you set your business hours in your own time zone.
Put an agent on your Massachusetts line
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