Court stenographer

A court reporter or court stenographer, also called stenotype operator, shorthand reporter or law reporter, is a person whose occupation is to transcribe spoken or recorded speech into written form, using shorthand, machine shorthand or voice writing equipment to produce official transcripts of court hearings, depositions and other official proceedings. Court reporting companies primarily serve private law firms, local, state and federal government agencies, courts, trade associations, meeting planners and nonprofits.

The court reporter in some states is required to be a notary public who is authorized to administer oaths to witnesses, and who certifies that his or her transcript of the proceedings is a verbatim account of what was said. Many states require a court reporter to hold a certification obtained through the National Court Reporters Association or the National Verbatim Reporters Association, although some require their own state-specific certification.

It typically takes anywhere from two to four years to learn the basic skills to become a stenotype court reporter. You first learn the keyboard, which takes the least amount of time. The rest of the training involves attaining the speed with a high degree of accuracy. Training to learn the basic skills to become a voice writer reporter typically takes six to nine months. To become realtime proficient in voice writing takes a year to a year and a half. Candidates usually attend specialized certificate courses at private business schools, or sometimes associate's or bachelor's degree programs at accredited colleges or universities. Distance learning and online training courses are also available for both methods. After additional on-the-job training and experience, many court reporters then move on to real-time reporting.

California requires license applicants to pass a two part examination which includes sections for English (Vocabulary/Usage) and Professional Practice. Between July and October 2016, the pass rate among first time applicants was 47.1% for the English portion and 63.2% for the Professional Practice portion.

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