Is North Carolina a one-party consent state?
Yes. North Carolina is a one-party consent state for recording calls, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287.
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 North Carolina
North Carolina 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.
§ 15A-287(a) makes it a Class H felony to willfully intercept a wire, oral or electronic communication without the consent of at least one party to it. A party to the call can give that consent, so a participant may record.
Reporters Committee summary for North CarolinaNorth Carolina 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 (§ 15A-287(a)). That interception is a Class H felony. For a person with no prior record, the longest sentence is a 19-month maximum term, and any fine is set by the court with no statutory cap (§ 15A-1340.17(b) to (d)). The person recorded can sue for actual damages of at least $100 a day or $1,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and attorney fees (§ 15A-296(a)).
General information, not legal advice. Citations checked October 2026. Ask a North Carolina lawyer about your own calls.
Using an AI agent to answer your North Carolina line
North Carolina 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 North Carolina
An answering service mostly takes calls. Callbacks and reminders are outbound, and outbound calls follow the federal rules plus North Carolina'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)North Carolina bars telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. and to numbers on the do-not-call registry (§ 75-102(a), (f)). The caller must say who is calling at the start, end the call if the person objects, and may not send misleading caller ID (§ 75-102(c), (i)). The caller must also ask whether the person is under 18 and hang up if so, unless it has already screened minors out of its list (§ 75-102(g)).
Statute textNorth Carolina bans unsolicited calls made with equipment that dials stored or generated numbers and plays a prerecorded message (§§ 75-101(2), 75-104(a)). Exceptions include calls where a live operator identifies the caller and gets permission before the message plays, and calls about an existing debt, contract or appointment that include no sales pitch (§ 75-104(b)).
Statute textWhere North Carolina callers are
Time zone: Eastern. You set your business hours in your own time zone, and the agent takes messages outside them.
252
Greenville and the northeast
336
Greensboro and Winston-Salem
704
Charlotte
828
Asheville
910
Fayetteville and Wilmington
919
Raleigh and Durham
980
Charlotte, with 704
984
Raleigh and Durham, with 919
States near North Carolina
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North Carolina call recording law FAQs
Is North Carolina a one-party or all-party consent state for recording calls?
North Carolina is a one-party consent state for recording calls, under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-287. 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 North Carolina?
North Carolina 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 North Carolina 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 North Carolina?
Managed Agents cost $0.03/min, plus telephony and LLM usage. See pricing.
Which time zone and area codes cover North Carolina?
Time zone: Eastern. Main area codes: 252, 336, 704, 828, 910, 919, 980, 984. The agent answers calls from any number, and you set your business hours in your own time zone.
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