Washington, DC Privacy & Surveillance: Security Camera Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing statute
- D.C. Code § 22-3531
- Home camera exception
- § 22-3531(e)(2), own-home monitoring
- Signage exception
- § 22-3531(e)(3), posted-surveillance buildings
- Misdemeanor penalty
- fine or up to 1 year jail
- Felony penalty (distribution)
- up to 5 years, or both
- Prosecuting authority
- D.C. Attorney General
Summary
In Washington, D.C., homeowners may run security cameras on their own property without a permit or police registry. The District's voyeurism statute, D.C. Code § 22-3531, carves out security monitoring in your own home and in buildings with posted surveillance signage as lawful uses of recording devices.
(e) This section does not prohibit the following: (1) Any lawful law enforcement, correctional, or intelligence observation or surveillance; (2) Security monitoring in one's own home; (3) Security monitoring in any building where there are signs prominently displayed informing persons that the entire premises or designated portions of the premises are under surveillance; or (4) Any electronic recording of a medical procedure which is conducted under circumstances where the patient is unable to give consent.
Full Breakdown
C. Code § 22-3531 is the operative statute governing when a camera, or any other electronic device, can lawfully record another person in the District. The general rule bars secretly observing or recording someone using a bathroom, undressing, or engaging in sexual activity, and bars capturing an image of a person's private area where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, without express and informed consent. C. 01 or up to 1 year in jail, and distributing footage taken in violation is a felony carrying up to 5 years.
Subsection (e) then lists what the statute does not prohibit, and two of the four exceptions are the ones that make residential and business security cameras legal: 'Security monitoring in one's own home' at (e)(2), and 'Security monitoring in any building where there are signs prominently displayed informing persons that the entire premises or designated portions of the premises are under surveillance' at (e)(3). A homeowner running a doorbell camera or interior camera in their own residence needs no sign and no consent from visitors under this exception.
A landlord, store, or office building relying on the building-wide exception instead must post signage. C. C. Code contains no camera-registry or Ring-style camera-sharing mandate for private owners.
Violations & Fines
Recording someone in a bathroom, while undressing, during sex, or capturing their private area without consent, when it falls outside the home-monitoring or posted-signage exceptions, is a misdemeanor under D.C. Code § 22-3531(f)(1): a fine under § 22-3571.01 or up to 1 year in jail, or both. Distributing or disseminating footage known to have been taken unlawfully is a felony punishable by up to 5 years, or both, and the Attorney General for the District of Columbia prosecutes these cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I put a security camera on my own home in D.C. without registering it?
Do I need warning signs for my home security camera?
Is it illegal to point a camera where it could catch a neighbor undressing?
Does D.C. run a Ring-style camera partnership with residents?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington
Compare Washington to another location·View the District of Columbia privacy & surveillance overview
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