Can I record a contractor or tradesperson?
The consent question depends on where you both are, and on a site visit that is usually the same place. What is specific here is that a recording of a verbal promise is weaker documentation than the same promise written down — and getting it written down is almost always available to you.
Check your own situation
The answer depends on where you are, where everyone else is, and what you plan to do with the recording. The checker runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Check Recording RulesThe consent question first
On a site visit you and the contractor are typically in the same place, so a single rule applies. In several jurisdictions every participant's agreement appears likely to be required for a private conversation; in others a participant exception exists. Check your location in the checker.
If you are on a call rather than on site — quotes and variations are often agreed by phone — the other person may be somewhere else, which can bring more than one rule into play.
Written beats recorded
The reason people want to record a contractor is almost always that a promise was made verbally and later denied. The fix for that is not better audio; it is not relying on verbal promises:
- Get the quote in writing, itemised, with what is and is not included.
- Confirm changes by message. "Just to confirm what we agreed today: …" sent the same afternoon is worth more than a recording of the conversation, and takes less explaining.
- Photograph progress, dated, at each stage.
- Keep invoices, receipts and payment records in one place.
A recording of someone saying "yes, that's included" is useful. A message where they wrote it, and did not dispute it at the time, is better, because it does not require anyone to interpret a recording.
Site visits capture more than you intend
A continuous recording on a building site picks up other trades, neighbours and passers-by having conversations that have nothing to do with your job. That is a different situation from recording your own conversation with the contractor, and a worse one. Record the conversation you are in, not the site.
Using it later
Whether a recording can be relied on in a claim is for the court or tribunal to decide under its own rules, and how it was obtained is part of that. Sharing a recording with an insurer, a trade body or a review site is a further step again, with its own considerations — publishing a recording of an identifiable person can raise privacy and defamation questions on top of the recording rules.
This page is general legal information, not legal advice. Rules differ by location and change over time, and an important situation deserves a qualified local lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I record a contractor giving me a quote?
It depends where you both are; on a site visit that is usually one location and one rule. Asking first is straightforward, and asking for the quote in writing is better documentation anyway.
Is a recorded verbal agreement binding?
Whether an agreement was formed and what its terms are depends on contract law in your jurisdiction, not on whether it was recorded. A recording is evidence of what was said, not proof that a contract exists.
Can I record a contractor working when I am not there?
That captures conversations you are not part of, which is the situation interception statutes are aimed at. It also picks up other people who have no connection to your dispute.
Can I post a recording of a contractor in a review?
Publishing is a separate step from recording, and several jurisdictions restrict it separately. It can also raise privacy and defamation questions. Take advice before publishing a recording of an identifiable person.
Related guides
Go deeper
After consent is handled
BlackBox records and transcribes on your device without automatically uploading conversations to BlackBox servers. That limits how far audio travels — it does not replace consent, workplace, privacy or disclosure obligations.