Security of Communications Act
OK SCA (wiretap)
Communications
Oklahoma's wiretap law makes it a felony to willfully intercept wire, oral, or electronic communications, or to disclose or use their contents knowing they were unlawfully obtained. Oklahoma is a one-party consent state: a private person may record a communication they are a party to, or with one party's prior consent, unless the purpose is to commit a crime. The act also governs court-ordered interception by law enforcement.
- Where
- Oklahoma
- Citation
- 13 O.S. §§ 176.1-176.14
- Status
- In force
- Last amended
- 2026-01-01
- Enforced by
- District attorneys and the Attorney General (criminal prosecution); courts for interception orders
- People can sue
- No
- Penalties
- Unlawful interception, disclosure, or use is a Class D1 felony punishable by a fine of at least $5,000, imprisonment, or both; interception devices may be seized and forfeited. Unlawfully intercepted communications are inadmissible as evidence.
- Applies to
- Any person who intercepts, discloses, or uses wire, oral, or electronic communications
- Communication common carriers and their employees
- Manufacturers, sellers, and possessors of interception devices
Practices it requires
- Do not willfully intercept, or procure another to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication, or use a device to intercept an oral communication.13 O.S. § 176.3(1)-(2)
- Do not disclose or use the contents of a communication knowing or having reason to know it was obtained in violation of the act.13 O.S. § 176.3(3)-(4)
- Do not mail, carry, manufacture, assemble, possess, or sell devices intended to be primarily useful for illegal interception.13 O.S. § 176.3(6)-(7)
- Communication common carriers may intercept only as a necessary incident of service or to protect their rights or property and may not use service observing or random monitoring except for mechanical or service quality control checks.13 O.S. § 176.4(1)
Other duties
- One-party consent: a person not acting under color of law may intercept a communication if a party to it or with one party's prior consent, unless intercepted to commit a crime.13 O.S. § 176.4(5)
- Law enforcement interception requires a court order under the act's application, sealing, inventory, and reporting procedures; evidence obtained in violation is suppressible.13 O.S. §§ 176.6-176.13
Sources
- Official text
- Oklahoma Statutes Title 13 (complete title PDF, Oklahoma Legislature, compiled Dec. 2025), §§ 176.1-176.14
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: effective_date left null: the act was added by Laws 1982, c. 343, and the compiled statute gives no effective date. | The Legislature's Title 13 PDF is compiled through the 2025 session; 2026 session amendments, if any, were not checked section by section (OSCN began returning a bot-verification page during research).
Research reference, not legal advice.