Can you record an HOA board meeting?
Reviewed by the OurHOA team · Updated June 2026
Whether you can audio- or video-record an HOA board meeting, when state law protects recording open meetings, the executive-session and two-party-consent limits, and the rules a board can set.
The short answer: usually yes for open meetings
In most communities a member may record the open portion of a board meeting, and a growing number of states protect that right by statute. The logic is simple: board meetings of a homeowners association are generally required to be open to the members, and a meeting you are entitled to attend and observe is one you can usually document. Florida is the clearest example - Fla. Stat. 720.303(2)(b) expressly gives owners the right to tape record or videotape board meetings, subject to reasonable rules. The catch is that 'usually yes' is not 'always': the right is almost always tied to the open portion of the meeting and subject to reasonable, content-neutral rules the board may adopt.
Open meetings are recordable; executive session usually is not
The right to record tracks the right to attend, so it stops where the open meeting stops. Most state HOA statutes let a board meet in a closed 'executive session' for a short list of sensitive topics - pending litigation, contracts under negotiation, personnel matters, and individual member discipline or delinquency. Because members have no general right to attend executive session, they generally have no right to record it either. If you are the member whose disciplinary matter is being heard, you may have a right to be present for your own hearing, but that exception is narrow. For what can and cannot be discussed behind closed doors, see our guide on what an HOA executive session is, and for the open-meeting rules generally, our guide on HOA open meeting and quorum rules.
Two-party-consent and wiretap laws
Separate from HOA law, every recording is also governed by your state's wiretap or eavesdropping statute. Most states are 'one-party consent,' meaning anyone who is part of the conversation can record it. About a dozen are 'all-party' (sometimes called two-party) consent states - California (Penal Code 632), Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington and others - where everyone being recorded must agree. The important nuance is that these laws protect confidential communications, and an open meeting that everyone knows is open and being observed is generally not confidential - so recording the open session usually does not violate them. The risk is higher for private side conversations, hallway exchanges, or a closed executive session, where an expectation of privacy exists. When in doubt, announce that you are recording; open notice removes most of the legal question.
What rules a board can reasonably set
Even where recording is protected, the board can adopt reasonable rules about how - not whether - you record. Statutes and governing documents generally let a board require that equipment be set up in advance, not block aisles or exits, not disrupt the meeting, and stay in a designated area, and some communities ask that you give notice that you intend to record. What a board generally cannot do is ban recording of open meetings outright where state law protects it, single out one member, or apply a 'no recording' rule selectively to keep an inconvenient owner from documenting what was said. A rule has to be neutral and evenly applied. If the official written record is the real issue - you want to know what was actually decided - our guide on how to request HOA records explains your right to the minutes and other official documents.
How OurHOA helps
Most recording disputes start because a meeting felt opaque - an owner could not tell what was decided or why, so they reached for a phone. OurHOA reduces that friction by giving a self-managed board a clean way to post agendas and notices ahead of time and to publish accurate minutes afterward, so the official written record is reliable and members do not have to depend on a recording to know what happened. When the open record is good, recording becomes a backup rather than a battleground. OurHOA is software for running meetings and records transparently, not a law firm - for what your state allows and what your governing documents and local wiretap law require, check your statute and bylaws or ask a community-association attorney.
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These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.