Alaska is a one-party consent state: you may record a phone call or conversation you are part of, without telling the other person.
A recording you took part in can generally be used as evidence in an Alaska custody case, but the same law makes it a crime to record — or later divulge — a private conversation you were never part of.
You may record a call or conversation you are part of.
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The short answer: Alaska is a one-party consent state
If you are a parent in Alaska trying to keep an honest record of a difficult co-parenting call, here is the direct answer: yes, you may record it. Alaska law only requires the consent of one party to a conversation, and you count as that party. You do not have to warn the other parent, and you do not need a lawyer’s permission before you press record on your own phone call.
What the statute actually says
Alaska’s eavesdropping law lives in Title 42 of the Alaska Statutes, in the chapter labeled “Telegraph and Telephone Systems and Cable Lines; Eavesdropping.” The operative rule is AS 42.20.310(a)(1): a person may not “use an eavesdropping device to hear or record all or any part of an oral conversation without the consent of a party to the conversation.” The statute defines an “eavesdropping device” broadly, as any device capable of recording a conversation “conducted in person, by telephone, or by any other means” — so a phone call is squarely covered. Because the law only asks for a party’s consent, and you are a party to your own call, your own consent satisfies it. A neighboring section, AS 42.20.300, separately bars someone who receives or transmits a private communication (think a phone operator or an eavesdropper) from divulging or publishing it through unauthorized channels — a related but distinct rule about disclosure rather than recording. The Alaska Supreme Court has also read the eavesdropping statute as aimed at third-party interception, not at a participant recording their own conversation, reinforcing the one-party reading.
Federal law reaches the same conclusion. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d), it is not unlawful for a person who is a party to a communication to intercept it, so long as the purpose is not criminal or tortious. A parent recording their own call in Alaska is protected twice over: once by Alaska’s own eavesdropping statute, and once by the federal wiretap act that sets the nationwide floor for one-party consent.
The penalty for getting it wrong
Violating AS 42.20.300 or .310 — for example, planting a recorder to capture a conversation you are not part of, or later publishing a conversation you know was illegally obtained — is a class A misdemeanor. Under Alaska’s general sentencing statute (AS 12.55.035 and AS 12.55.135), that carries up to a year in jail and a fine of as much as $25,000 for an individual. None of that applies to a call you are actually on: your own participation is the consent the law asks for.
Notable exceptions and limits
The one-party rule protects you only for conversations you are actually part of. It does not let you bug a room you have left, tap a line you are not on, or record your children’s other parent talking to someone else when you are not on the call. It also does not give you the right to publish or distribute a recording you obtained illegally — that is a separate violation of AS 42.20.300 even if someone else did the actual recording. If you are ever unsure whether you are truly “a party” to a conversation (for example, a three-way call where you join late, or a voicemail left for someone else), the safer move is to record only what you are personally, directly part of.
Using a recording in an Alaska custody case
A lawful, one-party-consent recording you made of your own conversation with a co-parent is generally admissible in an Alaska custody or divorce matter, subject to the same relevance and reliability rules that apply to any other evidence. Judges tend to trust recordings that are complete, continuous and clearly dated over short, cropped clips, and they are rightly suspicious of anything that looks edited. Keep the original audio file untouched, note the date, time and who was on the line, and let the recording speak for itself rather than narrating over it. Admissibility is always the court’s call, so treat a solid recording as strong supporting evidence, not a substitute for your attorney’s judgment.
Recording across state lines: the strictest-rule caveat
Alaska’s one-party rule only protects you inside Alaska. If your co-parent lives in California, Illinois, Pennsylvania or any other all-party consent state, and the two of you are on a call together, the safest practice is to follow the strictest rule that could apply — meaning you announce the recording rather than relying on Alaska’s one-party rule alone. Courts and prosecutors in the other parent’s state may apply their own law to the call, regardless of where you were sitting. See our full breakdown of call-recording laws in all 50 states for the rule in every state before you rely on a one-party assumption in a call that crosses state lines.
How to document it so it holds up
Beyond the single phone call, the strongest record is the one you build consistently over time: preserve full text threads instead of cropped screenshots, keep voicemails in their original file format, and store every recording somewhere you control rather than only on a phone that could be lost, upgraded or reset. Attach a reliable date and time to everything, and resist the temptation to compile a “highlight reel” — a continuous, unedited history across weeks or months is far harder for a co-parent’s attorney to dismiss than a single dramatic clip, and it is what shows a judge a pattern rather than one bad afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
Can I record a phone call with my co-parent in Alaska without telling them?
Yes. Because you are a party to the call, your own consent is enough under AS 42.20.310. You are not required to announce the recording, though announcing it never hurts your case.
Can I record a conversation between my child and their other parent if I am not on the call?
No. If you are not a party to that conversation and nobody on the call has consented, recording it can be a class A misdemeanor, and it is unlikely to help your case even if you do.
Does Alaska law let me publish or share a recording I made?
Sharing a recording you lawfully made as a participant is different from divulging one you obtained through someone else’s illegal eavesdropping — the latter is what AS 42.20.300 targets. Share your own recordings responsibly and talk to your attorney before posting anything publicly.
Will a judge automatically accept my recording as evidence?
No. Lawful under Alaska’s recording statute is not the same as automatically admissible. A judge still weighs relevance, completeness and how the recording was obtained before letting it into evidence.
Bottom line
In Alaska, you may record your own calls and conversations with a co-parent, and a complete, well-preserved recording can support your custody case. Keep it unedited and dated, watch for the stricter-state caveat on interstate calls, and read how to document a co-parenting conflict for court for how to turn a single recording into a court-ready archive.
How Copareo Secure Line helps in Alaska: Because Alaska’s one-party rule (AS § 42.20.310) already lets you keep the calls you are on, the real work is turning them into something a court will trust. Copareo is a one-time $9.90 — no subscription, nothing to cancel — that records and transcribes your calls and texts with your co-parent, then time-stamps them into a tamper-evident, exportable archive with an admissibility one-pager for your attorney.
Not legal advice. This page summarizes Alaska law for general information and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed Alaska attorney. Recording and evidence rules change and courts decide admissibility case by case. Verify against the official statute (AS 42.20.300 and .310) and consult an attorney about your situation.