Short answer
For compliance, use policy-based compliance recording through a Microsoft certified recording solution, not the record button in Teams. A Teams compliance recording policy assigned to the right users makes the recorder join their calls automatically, and the vendor stores recordings under your retention and access rules. Add consent notices, retention policies and a tested retrieval process.
Key facts
- Convenience recording is started by a user, can be skipped, and saves to OneDrive or SharePoint; it is not designed for regulatory capture.
- Policy-based compliance recording uses a certified third-party recorder that Teams invites to calls automatically.
- Compliance recording is assigned per user through a Teams compliance recording policy.
- Consent rules differ by state, and some states require every party to consent to a recording.
- Your regulator, counsel and assessor decide what must be recorded and kept; the technology only enforces the decision.
Convenience recording vs compliance recording
Teams has two very different kinds of recording. Convenience recording is what users see in a meeting or call: someone clicks Record, a banner tells participants, and the file lands in the organizer's OneDrive or the channel's SharePoint site. It is useful for training and knowledge sharing, but users choose whether to record, so it cannot guarantee capture.
Compliance recording is policy driven. An admin assigns a compliance recording policy to specific users, and a certified recording bot joins their calls and meetings automatically. Users cannot skip it, and recordings go to the vendor's storage with its search, retention and audit features. Regulated roles, such as trading, financial advice, collections or some healthcare and public safety lines, generally need this model.
| Area | Convenience recording | Compliance recording |
|---|---|---|
| Who starts it | A user | Policy, automatically |
| Can users skip it | Yes | No |
| Where it is stored | OneDrive or SharePoint | Recording vendor's storage |
| Scope | Meetings and calls where someone presses Record | All calls for assigned users |
| Typical use | Training, notes, internal meetings | Regulated communications |
Choose a certified recording solution
Microsoft certifies compliance recording partners that integrate with Teams through its recording APIs. Shortlist vendors that support the call types you need, such as PSTN calls, internal calls, meetings and screen share, and that meet your storage location, encryption and retention requirements.
Licensing for compliance recording has two parts: the vendor's own subscription and any Microsoft licensing Microsoft requires for policy-based recording. Confirm both with the vendor and your Microsoft licensing source before you commit, because requirements have changed over time.
- Which call and meeting types are captured, including PSTN and mobile.
- Where recordings are stored and in which region.
- Retention, legal hold, export and chain-of-custody features.
- What happens to a call if the recorder is unavailable.
- Search, playback permissions and audit logging.
Configure policies and users
Once the vendor's recorder is set up, it is represented in Teams by an application instance tied to a compliance recording policy. Admins create the policy with PowerShell and assign it to users or groups who must be recorded. Keep assignment group based so new hires in a recorded role are covered from day one.
Decide whether a call should continue if the recorder fails. Some regulated roles need calls blocked when recording is not possible; others prefer the call to proceed with an alert. The policy and vendor settings control this, so write the rule down and test it.
Consent, notices and retention
Recording laws vary. Federal law and many states allow recording with one party's consent, while some states require all parties to consent. Many organizations play a recording notice on inbound lines through the auto attendant and train staff to tell outside parties on outbound calls. Counsel should approve the wording.
Retention is a policy decision first. Set how long recordings are kept, who can search them, and how legal holds work, then configure it in the vendor's platform. For convenience recordings in OneDrive and SharePoint, Microsoft Purview retention policies and labels can apply, and recordings also have an expiration setting in Teams that admins can manage.
Test and prove it works
A recording program is only as good as its last retrieval. Before go-live, test every call path: inbound PSTN, outbound PSTN, internal calls, transfers, call queues, mobile calls and meetings. Then retrieve a recording the way a compliance officer would, with search by user, number and date.
After go-live, run a periodic check that every user in scope has the policy and that recent calls appear in the archive. Gaps usually come from new hires missing a group or users calling from an unrecorded channel.
How Accred Consulting approaches it
Accred Consulting configures the Microsoft 365 and Teams side of compliance recording; the client, its counsel and its assessor own the compliance requirements. Discovery covers which roles must be recorded, call paths, retention needs and any vendor already chosen, and the proposal sets scope, fixed price and timeline. The US-based specialists assigned to your engagement set up Teams Phone, compliance recording policies and group-based assignment, coordinate with the recording vendor, configure notices in auto attendants and test every call path. Handover includes documentation and knowledge transfer, with optional support retainers.
Track record: 475+ client projects, 2,000+ migration workstreams and 210,000+ users migrated by a US-based team. Company facts · Case studies
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