Recording job interviews in Qatar: Penal Code Article 333, the data privacy law and consent

Recording a job interview with a candidate in Qatar requires the candidate's consent. Article 333 of the Penal Code punishes anyone who, without the person's consent, eavesdrops on a telephone call or records conversations held in a private place, with up to two years in prison and a fine of up to QAR 10,000, and a 2024 amendment adds up to three years for using such a recording. Law No. 13 of 2016 on the Protection of Personal Data Privacy (the PDPPL) requires telling the candidate the purposes and processing before you start (Article 9), consent unless processing is necessary for a legitimate purpose (Article 4), and a permit before processing health, religion and other data of a special nature (Article 16). This is the position as of November 2026.

This page adds Qatar to our country series alongside the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. It is for recruiters, agency consultants and hiring managers who interview candidates located in Qatar by video or phone, including from the US. Unlike the Saudi page, it covers criminal law, because Qatar's Penal Code speaks directly to recording without consent.

Qatar's rules at a glance

Is it legal to record a job interview in Qatar?

Yes, with consent. Article 333 of the Penal Code, in the version in force since March 2017, punishes "anyone who violates the sanctity of the private life of individuals, without their consent and outside the cases permitted by law," by acts that include "eavesdropping on a telephone call" and "recording or transmitting conversations that took place in a private place, by means of any device," with up to two years in prison and a fine of up to QAR 10,000, or either (our translation).

The text does not say whether a party to the call counts, or whether a video interview is a "private place," and we found no official guidance on either point. Consent removes the question: the offense applies only "without their consent." Ask at the start, record the answer, and stop if the candidate says no.

Law No. 14 of 2024 added Article 333 bis, which punishes "anyone who broadcasts, facilitates the broadcasting of, or uses, even if not publicly, a recording, document or images obtained by one of the acts set out in the preceding article, without the consent of the person concerned" with up to three years in prison, and up to five years for threatening to disclose it to force someone to act; the court also orders the recordings erased (our translation).

What does the data privacy law require?

The PDPPL applies to personal data "when processed electronically," or collected in preparation for electronic processing (Article 2), which covers any recorded or transcribed interview. Article 4 says "the controller may not process personal data except after obtaining the individual's consent, unless processing is necessary to achieve a legitimate purpose of the controller or the third party to whom the data is sent." With the Penal Code in the background, consent is the practical choice.

Article 9 requires that, "before starting to process any personal data," you inform the candidate of your details or those of anyone processing on your behalf, "the legitimate purposes," and "a comprehensive and accurate description of the processing activities and the levels of disclosure of personal data." Article 10 requires the data to be relevant and accurate and "not retained for longer than necessary to achieve those purposes." Name the client, the transcription vendor and the retention period in the invitation.

What about health, religion and other special data?

Article 16 defines personal data of a special nature as "data related to ethnic origin, children, health or physical or psychological condition, religious beliefs, marital status, and criminal offenses," and says "it is not permitted to process personal data of a special nature except after obtaining a Permit from the competent Department." A recruiter will not hold that permit for an interview. Do not ask about these subjects, keep volunteered details out of notes and scorecards, and delete audio that captured them early.

Can you share the recording with a client or a vendor?

Only within the purposes you announced. Article 12 requires a controller that discloses or transfers data to a processor to ensure it "conforms to legitimate purposes," and Article 13 requires both of you to protect it against loss, disclosure and unlawful use, with the processor reporting breaches to you. Beyond the PDPPL, Article 333 bis punishes using an unlawfully obtained recording, and Article 8 of the Cybercrime Prevention Law punishes publishing "news, pictures or audio or video recordings related to the sanctity of the private or family life of persons, even if true," through an information network, with up to three years in prison and/or a fine of up to QAR 100,000 (our translation). Never post interview clips.

What if the employer is in the Qatar Financial Centre?

A firm licensed in the QFC is subject to the QFC Data Protection Regulations 2021 and Rules 2021, supervised by the QFC Data Protection Office, which the QFC describes as an "independent institution within QFC." This page does not summarize those rules; check them, and the Penal Code points above, which apply across Qatar.

What if you interview a candidate in Qatar from the US?

The PDPPL does not state its territorial reach, so assume it covers your processing of a Qatar-based candidate's data, and the Penal Code protects the candidate's side of the call. Your own state's law governs your side; see two-party consent states. For US-hosted tools the PDPPL is unusually open: Article 15 says the controller "is prohibited from making any decision or taking any action that would restrict the flow of personal data across borders," unless the processing breaks the law or "would cause serious harm to personal data or individual privacy." Your notice, security and processor duties still apply.

Can candidates get the recording, and how long can you keep it?

Article 6 gives individuals the right to access their personal data, to be informed of the processing and its purposes, and "to obtain a copy of their personal data after paying an amount not exceeding the service fee." Article 5 lets them withdraw consent, object, and ask for deletion once the purpose is complete or there is no reason to keep the data. The law sets no response deadline; Article 7 leaves procedures to a ministerial decision, and Article 11 requires internal systems for handling such requests. Our retention policy template helps you set a period tied to the hiring decision.

Who enforces the law, and what are the penalties?

The PDPPL names the Ministry of Transport and Communications, but Amiri Decision No. 1 of 2021, which created the National Cyber Security Agency under the Prime Minister, gives the Agency the task of "implementing the laws, regulations and decisions related to the protection of personal data privacy" (Article 3, our translation). Individuals may complain under Article 26. Article 23 sets fines of up to QAR 1 million for breaching the consent, notice, retention, processor and cross-border rules (Articles 4, 8 to 12, 14 and 15), and Article 24 up to QAR 5 million for security failures, processing special data without a permit, and children's websites (Articles 13, 16 and 17).

Can you use AI note takers or transcription?

Yes, with consent, an Article 9 notice that names the tool, a processor that meets Articles 12 and 13, and deletion on schedule. Ask the vendor where it stores audio and transcripts and whether it reuses them. Interview Signal, for example, captures audio on the interviewer's own computer with no bot joining the call, shows a read-aloud consent line with a one-click pause, and does not retain audio after transcription; the transcript is still personal data under the rules above.

A consent line for interviews with candidates in Qatar

قبل أن نبدأ: أودّ أن أستأذنك في [تسجيل هذه المقابلة / استخدام برنامج
يحوّل المحادثة إلى نص مكتوب] لتوثيق إجاباتك بدقة. سنستخدم [التسجيل /
النص] لهذا التوظيف فقط، ولن يطّلع عليه إلا [العميل / مدير التوظيف]،
ويُحفظ لدى [مزوّد الخدمة، البلد]، وسنحذفه خلال [المدة] بعد اتخاذ
القرار. هل توافق على ذلك؟ يمكنك الرفض أو طلب إيقاف التسجيل في أي وقت،
ولن يؤثر ذلك على تقييم طلبك.

(Before we start: I'd like your permission to [record this interview /
use software that turns the conversation into text] to document your
answers accurately. We'll use the [recording / text] for this
recruitment only; only [the client / the hiring manager] will see it;
it is stored by [vendor, country] and we'll delete it within [period]
after the decision. Do you agree? You can refuse or ask me to stop
recording at any time, and it won't affect how your application is
assessed.)

Put the same information in the invitation so the Article 9 notice comes before processing. More wording is in the interview recording consent script.

Checklist before you record interviews in Qatar

• Consent asked for and recorded before any recording or live transcription starts.
• Article 9 notice in the invitation: who you are, purposes, processing, who sees the recording.
• No questions on health, religion, marital status or criminal offenses; volunteered details kept out of notes.
• Recordings shared only as announced; never posted or forwarded outside the hiring team.
• Processor terms with every vendor; security measures documented.
• Retention period set and followed; deletion requests honored.
• QFC firms: QFC Data Protection Regulations checked.