Pen. Code, § 636 · Chapter 1.5. Invasion of Privacy
Pen. Code, § 636
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) Every person who, without permission from all parties to the conversation, eavesdrops on or records, by means of an electronic device, a conversation, or any portion thereof, between a person who is in the physical custody of a law enforcement officer or other public officer, or who is on the property of a law enforcement agency or other public agency, and that person’s attorney, religious adviser, or licensed physician, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
(b) Every person who, intentionally and without permission from all parties to the conversation, nonelectronically eavesdrops upon a conversation, or any portion thereof, that occurs between a person who is in the physical custody of a law enforcement officer or other public officer and that person’s attorney, religious adviser, or licensed physician, is guilty of a public offense. This subdivision applies to conversations that occur in a place, and under circumstances, where there exists a reasonable expectation of privacy, including a custody holding area, holding area, or anteroom. This subdivision does not apply to conversations that are inadvertently overheard or that take place in a courtroom or other room used for adjudicatory proceedings. A person who is convicted of violating this subdivision shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or by a fine not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) This section shall not apply to any employee of a public utility engaged in the business of providing service and facilities for telephone or telegraph communications while engaged in the construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation of the service or facilities of that public utility who listens in to conversations for the limited purpose of testing or servicing equipment.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 15, Sec. 429. (AB 109) Effective April 4, 2011. Operative October 1, 2011, by Sec. 636 of Ch. 15, as amended by Stats. 2011, Ch. 39, Sec. 68.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=636.
- Text hash
- sha256 41f1c540e5472e20060d89b785350bc586889972b78d9c550516336f3b6e3d0e
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Penal Code
Cited by 6 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 636. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 631Printed as Section 632, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636
- Pen. Code, § 632Printed as Section 631, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636
- Pen. Code, § 632.5Printed as Section 631, 632, 632.6, 632.7, or 636
- Pen. Code, § 632.6Printed as Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.7, or 636
- Pen. Code, § 632.7Printed as Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 636
- Pen. Code, § 634Printed as Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.