Is Vermont a one-party consent state?

Vermont has no state statute on recording phone calls between private parties. Federal law fills the gap. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), a person may record a call they are a party to, or one where a party has given prior consent, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act.

The court held that Article 11 bars police from secretly recording, without a warrant, an interview they conduct in a suspect's home.

The Vermont Supreme Court has limited secret recording by police under Chapter I, Article 11 of the state constitution. That provision restrains the government, and no Vermont statute or appellate case sets a consent rule for a business recording its own calls.

Vermont has no state wiretap statute, so it sets no state criminal penalty and no state civil remedy for recording a call. Under federal law, which allows one-party consent, the penalty applies to recording a call you are not a party to when no party has consented (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)). That interception is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine (18 U.S.C. § 2511(4)(a)) of up to $250,000 for an individual (18 U.S.C. § 3571(b)). The person recorded can sue under 18 U.S.C. § 2520 for actual damages plus the violator's profits, or statutory damages of $100 a day or $10,000, whichever is higher, plus punitive damages and attorney fees.

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.

Federal 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.

A telemarketer must register with the state before making a telephone solicitation to a Vermont number (§ 2464a(b)(1)), and soliciting without registering can bring up to 18 months in prison or a 10,000 dollar fine per call (§ 2464a(d)). Vermont makes a violation of the federal do-not-call rules a violation of state law (§ 2464a(b)(2)). The caller must send its number, and its name when the carrier allows, to caller ID (§ 2464a(b)(3)).

Vermont bars autodialed or prerecorded calls to Vermont consumers that violate the federal TCPA or Telemarketing Sales Rule. A person who gets such a call can sue for damages or a civil penalty of $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each later one, plus attorney fees (§ 2464e(c)).