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How to ask a professor for permission to record a lecture

Most instructors say yes when they are asked properly. Here is how to check the rules, what to say, and an email you can copy.

5 minute read · Updated October 2026

Why you should ask

A lecture is your instructor’s work and contains other people’s voices. Many colleges and universities, including many in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom, have a policy that recording needs the instructor’s permission, and some treat recording without it as misconduct. The law on recording conversations also differs from place to place. Asking takes two minutes and removes the doubt.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your school’s own policy is what counts.

Step 1: check what already applies

  • Read the course outline. Many say outright whether recording is allowed and on what terms.
  • Search your school’s site for “recording lectures policy”. Some schools allow recording for personal study by default; many require permission.
  • If you have an accommodation for a disability or a learning difference, recording may already be approved for you. Your accessibility office arranges this with your instructors, so start there instead of asking on your own.

Step 2: ask in writing, before the lecture

An email is better than a word in the corridor, because you both have a record of what was agreed. Say what you want to do, why, and what you will not do with it.

Subject: Permission to record lectures in [course code]

Dear Professor [name],

I am a student in your [course code] class this term. I would like to ask your permission to make audio recordings of the lectures for my own study.

I find that I follow the lecture better when I am not trying to write everything down, and I use the recordings afterwards to check my notes and review before tests. I use a study tool that turns the recording into a written transcript for me.

If you agree, I will:

• use the recordings and transcripts only for my own study in this course
• not share them with anyone or post them anywhere
• stop recording whenever you ask, for example during discussions
• delete them at the end of the term

If you would prefer that I do not record, I understand completely. Please let me know either way.

Thank you,
[your name]
[student number]

Step 3: keep to what you agreed

  • Keep the reply. If the permission came in person, send a short email afterwards to confirm it.
  • Personal study only. Do not share recordings or transcripts with classmates unless the instructor has said you can.
  • Pause when asked, and during anything personal: a classmate’s question about their own situation, a guest who has not agreed, a discussion of sensitive topics.
  • Delete when you said you would.

If the answer is no

Accept it, and ask what would help instead. Some instructors who decline recording will share their slides in advance, post their own recordings, or go over a point again in office hours. If you need recordings because of a disability, talk to your accessibility office: an accommodation is a different conversation from a preference.

Recording in seminars and group work

A lecture is mostly one person speaking. A seminar or a group meeting is everyone speaking, so everyone in the room should know and agree. Ask at the start, and do not record if anyone is uncomfortable.

Try it with your own lectures

Audiken transcribes what is said, explains things as they come up, and builds notes, documents and study material from your own files. Accounts are opening a few at a time.

Accounts are opening a few at a time. No card needed, and one email when yours is ready.

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