# Justice Manual § 9-7.301: Consensual Monitoring—General Use

> Federal · Agency guidance · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.301

## Section

- **Citation:** Justice Manual § 9-7.301
- **Heading:** Consensual Monitoring—General Use
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Agency guidance
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** August 14, 2026
- **Source:** Compiled text
- **Location:** DOJ Justice Manual / Title 9: Criminal / 9-7.000 - Electronic Surveillance / Justice Manual § 9-7.301

## Text

Section 2511(2)(c) of Title 18 provides that "It shall not be unlawful under this chapter for a person acting under color of law to intercept a wire, oral, or electronic communication, where such person is a party to the communication or one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent to such interception...."
See
United States v. White
, 401 U.S. 745 (1971). As such, consensual interceptions need not be made under Title III procedures, interception orders under § 2518 are not available, and should not be sought in cases falling within §  2511(2)(c).

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 U.S.C. § 2510,
et seq.
), and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (50 U.S.C. 1801,
et seq.
) permit government agents, acting with the consent of a party to a communication, to engage in warrantless interceptions of telephone communications, as well as oral and electronic communications.
White
,
supra
;
United States v. Caceres
, 440 U.S. 741 (1979). Similarly, Title III, by its definition of oral communications, permits Federal agents to engage in warrantless interceptions of oral communications when the communicating parties have no justifiable expectation of privacy. 18 U.S.C. § 2510(2). (No similar exception is contained in the definition of wire communications and, therefore, the nonconsensual interception of wire communications violates 18 U.S.C
y, Title III, by its definition of oral communications, permits Federal agents to engage in warrantless interceptions of oral communications when the communicating parties have no justifiable expectation of privacy. 18 U.S.C. § 2510(2). (No similar exception is contained in the definition of wire communications and, therefore, the nonconsensual interception of wire communications violates 18 U.S.C. §  2511 regardless of the communicating parties' expectation of privacy, unless the interceptor complies with the court authorization procedures of Title III or with the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978.) Since such interception techniques are particularly effective and reliable, the Department of Justice encourages their use by Federal agents for the purpose of gathering evidence of violations of Federal law, protecting the safety of informants and undercover law enforcement agents, or fulfilling other compelling needs. While these techniques are lawful and helpful, their use is frequently sensitive, so they must remain the subject of careful self-regulation by the agencies employing them.

The Department developed guidelines for the investigative use of consensual monitoring, which were promulgated most recently by the Attorney General on May 30, 2002. The guidelines do not apply to consensual monitoring of telephone conversations or radio transmissions. It was left to the enforcement agencies to develop adequate internal guidelines for the use of those aspects of this investigative tool. The following guidelines cover the investigative use of devices which intercept and record certain consensual verbal conversations where a body transmitter or recorder or a fixed location transmitter or recorder is used during a face-to-face conversation. In certain specified sensitive situations, under the regulations, the agencies must obtain advance written authorization from the Department of Justice
lowing guidelines cover the investigative use of devices which intercept and record certain consensual verbal conversations where a body transmitter or recorder or a fixed location transmitter or recorder is used during a face-to-face conversation. In certain specified sensitive situations, under the regulations, the agencies must obtain advance written authorization from the Department of Justice. The guidelines on consensual monitoring set forth in the Attorney General's Memorandum of May 30, 2002, on that subject are contained in
JM 9-7.302
.

[updated September 2004]

## Nearby sections

- [Justice Manual § 9-7.010 Introduction](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.010.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.100 Authorization of Applications for Wire, Oral, and Electronic Interception Orders—Overview and History of Legislation](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.100.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.110 Format for the Authorization Request](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.110.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.111 Roving Interception](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.111.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.112 Emergency Interception](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.112.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.200 Video Surveillance—Closed Circuit Television—Department of Justice Approval Required When There Is A Reasonable Expectation of Privacy](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.200.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.250 Use and Unsealing of Title III Affidavits](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.250.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.301 Consensual Monitoring—General Use](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.301.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.302 Consensual Monitoring—Procedures for Lawful, Warrantless Monitoring of Oral Communications](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.302.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.400 Defendant Motion or Discovery Request for Disclosure of Defendant Overhearings and Attorney Overhearings](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.400.md)
- [Justice Manual § 9-7.500 Prior Consultation with the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section of the Criminal Division (CCIPS) for Applications for Pen Register and Trap and Trace Orders Capable of Collecting Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.500.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/JM_S9-7.301. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.