Two rules, depending on the channel
Nevada treats calls and in-person talk differently. Parents who read a one-line summary often get this wrong.
For a phone call, everyone on the line must agree. For a conversation in the same room, one party's consent is enough, and that can be you.
Phone calls need everyone
The Nevada Supreme Court confirmed the phone rule in Lane v. Allstate Insurance (1998). NRS 200.620 bars recording a phone call without the consent of all parties.
The statute has an emergency route through a court. The court in Lane said that route is not a general permission. A parent who secretly records a call with the other parent risks a felony.
Mobile phones and texts are covered
Parents sometimes assume the rule only covers landlines. It does not.
The Nevada Supreme Court applied the statute to mobile phone calls and text messages in Sharpe v. State (2015). So recording a call on your mobile, or intercepting the other parent's texts, falls under the same rule.
In-person conversations need one party
For face-to-face talk, NRS 200.650 bans secretly recording a private conversation between other persons unless one of the parties authorizes it.
If you are in the conversation, you can give that consent. A recorder left in a room you are not in has no party's consent. That is the same offense.
The backpack case
In Pyankovska v. Abid (9th Cir. 2023), a father put a recording device in his child's backpack. It captured around twenty hours of private conversations between the child and the mother in the mother's home and car during a Nevada custody dispute.
The father argued vicarious consent, where a parent consents for a child. The court rejected that argument on these facts: he did not have physical custody when the recordings were made, and the recordings captured the mother's private conversations outside his control.
Filing the recordings made it worse
In the resulting case, the mother sued the father and his lawyer. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit held that filing allegedly illegal recordings in court was not automatically protected from a wiretap claim. It sent the claims back for further proceedings.
Earlier, the Nevada Supreme Court had allowed the recordings to be given to a custody psychologist without deciding whether they were lawfully made. That custody ruling was not a general license to intercept, use or disclose private conversations. A secret recording can turn one mistake into several legal questions.
Your child's calls
A call between your child and the other parent is one you are not part of. Nevada's phone rule needs everyone's consent anyway.
Vicarious consent, from cases like Pollock v. Pollock, needs a genuine, reasonable belief that recording is necessary for the child. The backpack case shows how narrow that is. Take advice before recording anything.
What to keep instead
Write events down the same day, with the clock time, the words in quotation marks and who was present. Nevada's phone rule does not apply to your own notes.
A call log for custody records keeps calls in order. A factual incident report covers single events. Take both to a Nevada family lawyer.
A Nevada custody note that works for calls and handovers
Nevada's rule changes with the channel. A written note works for both. Write it the same day.
Keep the Nevada record that needs no one's consent
Casewell keeps your dated entries, the words you heard and the files behind them in one private place. A note written on the day is stronger than a memory rebuilt later. Export a focused PDF for a Nevada lawyer.
Is Nevada a one-party or two-party consent state?
Both, depending on the channel. NRS 200.620 needs all parties' consent to record a phone call. NRS 200.650 needs one party's consent for an in-person conversation.
Can I record a phone call with my ex in Nevada?
Only with everyone's consent. Lane v. Allstate Insurance confirmed that NRS 200.620 bars recording a phone call without all parties' consent.
Can I put a recorder in my child's backpack in Nevada?
In Pyankovska v. Abid, the court agreed vicarious consent did not apply, because the father lacked actual custody at the time. Do not do it without advice.
What is the penalty for illegal recording in Nevada?
Recording in breach of NRS 200.620 or 200.650 is a felony. The person recorded can also sue for damages.
Does Nevada's phone rule cover texts?
The Nevada Supreme Court applied it to mobile phone calls and text messages in Sharpe v. State (2015).
Sources
This page describes NRS 200.620 and 200.650, the Nevada Supreme Court decision in Lane v. Allstate Insurance, and the Ninth Circuit decision in Pyankovska v. Abid. It explains the law and is not legal advice.
- Nevada Revised Statutes 200.620, 200.650 and 200.690 โ wire, private-conversation and penalty provisions checked
- Lane v. Allstate Insurance, 114 Nev. 1176 (1998) โ NRS 200.620 needs all parties' consent for phone calls checked
- Pyankovska v. Abid, 65 F.4th 1067 (9th Cir. 2023) โ official Ninth Circuit opinion checked
- Pyankovska v. Abid, 65 F.4th 1067 (9th Cir. 2023) โ a recorder in a child's backpack checked
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press โ Nevada recording guide, penalties and Sharpe v. State checked
- Pollock v. Pollock, 154 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1998) โ the vicarious consent doctrine checked