Am I allowed to record a conversation in Norway?
Yes — you may record a conversation you take part in, even without saying so. Norway has one-party consent. Under Penal Code §205 it is a crime to secretly record a conversation "that he does not himself take part in" — that is, between others. If you take part, the ban does not reach you, and you have no duty to warn the other party. The penalty for unlawful interception is a fine or up to 2 years prison. The trap lies in what happens next: it is one thing to be allowed to record the conversation, quite another to share or publish it. Then the privacy rules (GDPR) apply, and publishing the image of an identifiable person usually needs consent. A lawful recording can become unlawful the moment you post it.
📋 The rules
- One-party consent: record your own conversations without saying so
- A crime to record conversations you do not take part in (§205)
- Unlawful interception: fine or up to 2 years prison
- Filming in public is generally allowed
- Sharing or publishing the recording is a separate matter (GDPR)
🔓 Exceptions
- Police may intercept communications with court approval
- The GDPR private-use exemption applies until you spread the material
- Publishing the image of an identifiable person usually needs consent
⚠️ Penalties & fines
Unlawful interception under Penal Code §205 brings a fine or up to 2 years prison, and it catches recordings of conversations you are not part of — a microphone left in a room, say. But most fall into a different trap: the recording was lawful, while what they do with it afterwards is not. Sharing or publishing a recording can breach the privacy rules enforced by the Data Protection Authority, or amount to defamation, and the GDPR exemption for purely private use falls away the moment you spread the material. A lawful recording gives you no right to publish it.
📎 Official sources
- Penal Code §205 · Lovdata →
- Data Protection Authority · Audio recording →
- Copyright Act §104 · Lovdata →
❓ Frequently asked
Can I record my own phone call?
Yes. You may secretly record a conversation you take part in, without telling the other party, because Norway has one-party consent. That holds for a call with a company or a public authority too.
Must I say I am recording?
No, not as a private person in a conversation you are part of — the law does not require you to give notice. The ban in Penal Code §205 reaches only conversations between others, which you do not take part in, and there a secret recording is a crime.
Can I secretly record other people's conversations?
No. Secretly recording a conversation you do not take part in is unlawful interception under Penal Code §205, with a fine or up to 2 years prison. What decides it is whether you are in the conversation, not who owns the room or the equipment.
Can I publish the recording?
Not freely. Even if the recording itself was lawful, sharing or publishing it can breach the privacy rules enforced by the Data Protection Authority, or amount to defamation. The exemption for purely private use falls away the moment you spread the material.
Can I film in a public place?
Yes, filming in a public place is generally allowed. But publishing the image of an identifiable person usually needs consent, so what stops you is not the recording itself, but what you do with it afterwards.
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