Recording is off by default on every Vocatech account. It has to be turned on deliberately, one extension at a time, and only after the customer has given written authorization. This is a policy, not a technical limit, and we do not bend it.
Here is how to activate recording and what you need to know about consent before you do.
Default state
No extension records by default. A new account has zero extensions with recording enabled. Adding a user does not enable recording on their extension. Upgrading the plan does not enable recording. Nothing about provisioning turns it on automatically.
This is intentional. Recording is a legal and privacy matter. It should never turn on without someone at the customer explicitly asking for it.
Written authorization
To enable recording, an authorized contact at the customer must send a written request to Vocatech support. Email is enough. The request should name the extensions and confirm the company's legal authority to record calls on those lines.
Vocatech keeps the request on file. If there is ever a dispute about who authorized what, the email is the record.
Per-extension activation
Recording is enabled per extension. You can record the entire company or a single user. Common patterns include recording customer-facing teams and not recording back-office roles.
- One extension, one setting
- Changes take effect immediately after support enables
- Can be turned off at any time with another written request
Consent rules by state
Call recording consent law is split across the United States. Some states are one-party consent, meaning only one person on the call needs to know. Others are two-party consent, meaning every participant must be notified.
One-party consent. The majority of US states. If your business is in a one-party state and your employee knows the call is recorded, you are legally covered.
Two-party consent. California, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Washington. In these states you must inform the other party. A recorded consent announcement at the start of the call is the standard way to comply.
If you do business across state lines, assume the stricter rule applies to any interstate call. The safe default is to announce that calls are recorded on every line.
Consent announcements
A consent announcement is a short audio clip that plays before the call connects. Something like this call may be recorded for quality and training purposes. The announcement can be attached to the auto attendant, to the hunt group, or to the individual extension.
Vocatech can help you record or generate the announcement. Use the AI greeting generator for speed, or upload a professional recording if you have one. See auto attendants for how greetings and key presses work.
Turning recording off
Turn off recording with the same process. Email support, name the extensions, confirm you want recording disabled. The change is immediate.
Existing recordings stay in storage for the retention period. Disabling recording does not delete the back catalog. It only stops capturing new calls. See playback and retention for how long recordings are kept.