Is North Dakota a one-party consent state?
Yes. North Dakota is a one-party consent state for recording calls, under N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-15-02.
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 Dakota
North Dakota 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.
§ 12.1-15-02(1) makes it a class C felony to intentionally intercept a wire or oral communication. § 12.1-15-02(3)(c) gives a defense when the person recording is a party to the call or one party has consented, unless the recording is made to commit a crime or other unlawful harm.
Reporters Committee summary for North DakotaNorth Dakota 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, or recording to commit a crime or other unlawful harm (§ 12.1-15-02(3)(c)). That interception is a class C felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both (§ 12.1-32-01(4)). An organization can be fined up to $50,000 (§ 12.1-32-01.1(3)). North Dakota'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 North Dakota lawyer about your own calls.
Using an AI agent to answer your North Dakota line
North Dakota 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 Dakota
An answering service mostly takes calls. Callbacks and reminders are outbound, and outbound calls follow the federal rules plus North Dakota'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 Dakota bars delivering a prerecorded or synthesized voice message, or using an automatic dialing-announcing device, unless the person called has agreed to receive it or a live operator gets their consent first (§ 51-28-02). The rule covers all such messages, not only sales calls, and names synthesized voices as well as recordings. It does not apply to a person with whom the caller has a current business relationship, among a few other exceptions.
Statute textAutomated calls and telephone solicitations may run only from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the subscriber's location (§ 51-28-05). Solicitations to numbers on the state or national do-not-call list are barred (§ 51-28-06), and the caller must give their first and last name, phone number, city and state, and the business name at the start of the call (§ 51-28-07).
Statute textWhere North Dakota callers are
Time zone: Central, with the southwest on Mountain. You set your business hours in your own time zone, and the agent takes messages outside them.
701
Statewide
States near North Dakota
Enterprise-grade security
HIPAA compliant
SOC 2 Type 2
GDPR
North Dakota call recording law FAQs
Is North Dakota a one-party or all-party consent state for recording calls?
North Dakota is a one-party consent state for recording calls, under N.D. Cent. Code § 12.1-15-02. 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 Dakota?
North Dakota 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 Dakota 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 Dakota?
Managed Agents cost $0.03/min, plus telephony and LLM usage. See pricing.
Which time zone and area codes cover North Dakota?
Time zone: Central, with the southwest on Mountain. Main area codes: 701. The agent answers calls from any number, and you set your business hours in your own time zone.
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