Custody documentation guide

Can I record my co-parent in Utah?

for a participant

Generally yes, if you are one of the people talking.

Utah Code 77-23a-4 lets a party record, unless the recording is made for a criminal or tortious purpose. Recording outside that is a felony. The person recorded can also sue for actual damages plus profits or statutory damages of the greater of $100 per day of violation or $10,000, subject to the statute's terms.

Main statute: Utah Code § 77-23a-4
Main caution: Felony; $10,000 civil minimum

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Utah is a one-party consent state. Utah also has an unusual place in this area of law. A 1993 federal Utah custody case supplied the modern vicarious-consent standard that other courts have considered when a parent records a child's calls.

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One party, and you can be it

Utah needs the consent of one person in the conversation. If you are on the call, you have given it.

So recording your own call with the other parent is generally lawful. The Utah Supreme Court described the rule in State v. Wood (2023). A person may record an oral communication "if that person is a party to the communication".

The purpose condition

The exemption in Utah Code 77-23a-4 ends if the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act. A tortious act is a civil wrong, such as invasion of privacy.

A recording shared online to shame the other parent can look like that. So can one used to pressure them. Keep any recording between you and your lawyer.

In Thompson v. Dulaney, 838 F. Supp. 1535 (D. Utah 1993), a federal court in Utah heard a wiretap claim between separated parents. A mother had recorded her young children's calls with their father.

The court held a parent could sometimes consent on the child's behalf, but carefully tied that conclusion to the specific facts. It requires a good-faith, objectively reasonable basis for believing the recording is necessary and in the child's best interest. The Sixth Circuit later adopted that standard in Pollock v. Pollock.

What that does and does not mean in Utah

Thompson was a federal decision about federal law. It shaped courts across the country, but it does not settle how Utah's own statute applies to your facts.

The standard is also strict. A wish to gather evidence for a custody case is not the same as a genuine concern for the child. Take advice before you record anything involving your child.

The cost of crossing the line

Recording a conversation you are not part of, with no party's consent, is a felony. Using spyware on the other parent's phone falls in the same place.

The person recorded can also sue under Utah Code 77-23a-11. In the ordinary case, the court may award the greater of actual damages plus profits, or statutory damages of the greater of $100 per day of violation or $10,000. Punitive damages and legal fees can be added.

In-person conversations

Utah protects oral communications where the speaker expects privacy. A quiet talk at a doorstep will usually qualify.

A shouted exchange in a busy car park may not. That is judged afterwards by someone else. If you are part of the conversation, the one-party rule is the simpler footing.

What a Utah court is weighing

Utah decides custody on the child's best interests. The factors include which parent is more likely to allow the child frequent and meaningful contact with the other.

A lawful recording can still look like a parent building a case. A clear written record carries the same facts without that impression.

What to keep instead

Write events down the same day, with the clock time, the words in quotation marks and who was present.

A call log for custody records keeps calls and voicemails in order. A factual incident report covers single events. Take both to a Utah family lawyer.

A Utah parent-time note with no purpose question

Utah asks why a recording was made. A written note avoids the question. Write it the same day.

Time it to the minuteNote the date and clock time you are writing, and the date and clock time of the event itself.
Quote, don't summarisePut the words you actually heard inside quotation marks. Mark anything you are paraphrasing as a paraphrase.
Name who else was thereList every adult and child present, and anyone within earshot who is not part of the family.
Separate what your child saidRecord a child's words as reported speech, and never question a child again to sharpen a quote.
Link it to parent-timeName the parent-time period the event touched, and how your child was affected.
Point at the corroborationName the message, receipt, school note or third party that supports the entry, and say where it is kept.

Keep the Utah record that speaks for itself

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 Utah lawyer.

Is Utah a one-party consent state?

Yes. Utah Code 77-23a-4 lets a party to a conversation record it, unless the recording is made for a criminal or tortious purpose.

Can I record my child's calls with their other parent in Utah?

Thompson v. Dulaney, a federal case from Utah, supplied the standard later considered by other courts. It needs a good-faith, objectively reasonable belief that recording is necessary for the child. Take advice before relying on it.

What is the penalty for illegal recording in Utah?

Recording outside the exemption is a felony under Utah Code 77-23a-4.

Can my ex sue me for recording them in Utah?

If the recording broke the statute, yes. Utah Code 77-23a-11 allows actual damages plus profits or statutory damages of the greater of $100 per day of violation or $10,000, subject to the statute's terms.

Do I have to tell my co-parent I am recording in Utah?

Not when you are one of the people talking and your purpose is lawful. Whether it helps your case is a separate question.

Sources

This page describes Utah Code 77-23a-4 and 77-23a-11, the Utah Supreme Court decision in State v. Wood, and the federal decision in Thompson v. Dulaney. It explains the law and is not legal advice.

Utah Code 77-23a-4 — interception prohibited, and the party exemption checked September 2026
State v. Wood, 2023 UT 15 — the party rule under Utah's statute checked September 2026
Thompson v. Dulaney, 838 F. Supp. 1535 (D. Utah 1993) — the origin of the vicarious consent standard checked September 2026
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press — Utah recording guide, penalties and civil damages checked September 2026
Pollock v. Pollock, 154 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1998) — the vicarious consent doctrine checked September 2026
18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) — the federal one-party consent floor and its criminal-or-tortious-purpose proviso checked September 2026