Your own calls
If you are on the call, you are a receiver or sender. Indiana's wiretap law does not cover your recording of it.
So a parent recording their own phone call with the other parent is generally lawful. You do not have to tell them. If the other parent lives in an all-party state, ask a lawyer whether that state's law matters too.
How Indiana defines interception
The definition in Indiana Code 35-31.5-2-176 does the work. Interception means recording or acquiring an electronic communication by someone other than a sender or receiver, without the consent of the sender or receiver.
Electronic communication is defined broadly. It covers phone calls, texts, emails and messages sent by wire or radio.
Someone else's calls are a felony
Recording a call between the other parent and someone else is the clear offence. So is using spyware to read their messages, or forwarding their calls to your phone.
Under Indiana Code 35-33.5-5-5, that can be a Level 5 felony. The person recorded can also sue for damages, punitive damages and legal fees.
Face-to-face talk is not a loophole
Indiana's wiretap law does not address ordinary in-person conversations. In Whitt v. Town of New Carlisle, 171 N.E.3d 1025 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021), the Court of Appeals explained that the Indiana Wiretap Act applies when what is recorded is electronic in nature. The decision was about the statute's scope, not a blanket license for hidden recording.
Federal law and other Indiana laws may still matter. A device recording a room you have left has no party's consent and can raise federal, privacy, trespass or surveillance issues even where Indiana's wiretap statute is silent.
The unattended device rule
Indiana has a separate law aimed at hidden recorders. Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1 covers a camera or device recording "images or data of any kind". Leaving one unattended on someone else's private property without consent is a misdemeanor.
A recorder slipped into the other parent's car, bag or home may fall within that provision, depending on who owns or occupies the property and how the device is used. Whether "data of any kind" includes audio contents has not been settled. It is not a risk worth taking in a custody case.
Your child's calls
A call between your child and the other parent is one you are not part of. The sender-or-receiver rule does not cover you.
Some courts let a parent consent for a young child under Pollock v. Pollock. That needs a genuine, reasonable belief that recording is necessary for the child's welfare. Indiana has not clearly settled this, so get advice first.
What an Indiana judge is weighing
Indiana custody decisions look at the child's best interests. The court also weighs how each parent interacts with the child and supports the relationship with the other parent.
A lawful recording can still count against you. It can suggest a parent collecting evidence rather than co-parenting. A clear written record makes the same point without that risk.
What to keep instead
Write events down the same day. Note the clock time, the words in quotation marks, and who was present.
Save messages properly with a guide to text messages as evidence. Use a factual incident report for single events. Then take a few weeks of notes to an Indiana family lawyer.
An Indiana parenting-time note you can keep without doubt
Indiana's rules differ for calls and in-person talk. A written note sidesteps both. Write it the same day.
Keep the Indiana record that needs no loophole
Casewell keeps your dated entries, the words you heard and the screenshots behind them in one private place. Writing on the day makes a record more reliable. Export a focused PDF for an Indiana lawyer when you need one.
Is Indiana a one-party consent state?
For phone and electronic communications, yes. Indiana's wiretap law only makes a recording an interception when it is made by someone other than a sender or receiver, without their consent.
Can I secretly record an in-person conversation in Indiana?
Indiana's wiretap law does not address ordinary face-to-face conversations. Whitt supports that limited reading, but it is not a blanket permission slip: federal law and other Indiana laws still apply. A recorder left in a room you are not in has no party's consent, so take advice first.
Is it illegal to put a recorder in my ex's car in Indiana?
Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1 makes it a misdemeanor to leave a device recording data unattended on another person's private property without consent. Federal law may also apply.
What is the penalty for intercepting calls in Indiana?
Unlawful interception can be a Level 5 felony. The person recorded can also sue for damages and legal fees.
Can I record my child's calls with their other parent in Indiana?
That is a conversation you are not part of. Vicarious consent is not clearly settled in Indiana, so speak to a lawyer first.
Sources
This page describes Indiana Code 35-31.5-2-176, 35-33.5-5-5 and 35-46-8.5-1, with context from Whitt v. Town of New Carlisle and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. It explains the law and is not legal advice.
- Indiana Code 35-31.5-2-176 โ the definition of interception checked
- Indiana Code 35-33.5-5-5 โ unlawful interception checked
- Indiana Code 35-46-8.5-1 โ unattended surveillance equipment on another person's private property checked
- Whitt v. Town of New Carlisle, 171 N.E.3d 1025 (Ind. Ct. App. 2021) โ Indiana Wiretap Act scope checked
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press โ Indiana recording guide, including in-person conversations and unattended devices checked
- 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) โ the federal one-party consent floor and its criminal-or-tortious-purpose proviso checked
- Pollock v. Pollock, 154 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1998) โ the vicarious consent doctrine checked