How to Become a Court Reporter in California

Court reporters create word-for-word transcriptions at legal proceedings such as trials and depositions. They are so integral to the legal system that in some cases, legal proceeding cannot be conducted in their absence. However, not all court reporters work in legal settings. There are different types of court reporters employed all over the US.

If you are thinking of entering this field then you must know that there is no single set of requirements to fulfill. What it will take for you to become a court reporter would largely depend upon your state of employment. For instance, if you intend to become a court reporter in California, the following information might be of help.

Court reporters are also known as certified shorthand reporters (CSRs) in California. If you want to become a licensed CSR, then finish your high school or GED and enroll in a state-approved court reporting school. Once you are done, take the three-part licensing exam. Or you can take the exam directly if you are moving to California from another state and hold a valid CSR license. You can also bypass attending the court reporting school requirement and taking the exam directly if you have appropriate work experience. In any case, you will need to take the three-part licensing exam to work as a court reporter in California.

The state-approved court reporting schools generally offer self-paced curriculum. Therefore, a highly motivated individual, who is also self-disciplined, is the ideal candidate for this program. The program is skills-based that requires academic homework as well. A special emphasis is placed on practice building speed levels required to pass the licensing exam. If you want to work as a licensed CSR in California, be mindful of the fact that you must be able to type 200 words per minute with a 97.5 percent accuracy rate.

The following is a glimpse of subjects and their instruction hours:

Subjects	Hours of Instruction
Typing skills	45 (words per minute)
Technology	60
Apprenticeship Training	60
Resource Materials	5
Transcript Preparation	25
Medical	120
Legal	150
English	240

Total Academic hours – 660

Approximate machine hours – 2,300

State-approved court reporting schools usually take three to four years to graduate from. This is in addition to graduating from a high school or obtaining GED. Factor in the time it will take you to take the exam. All in all, you are looking at minimum 4 years of post-high school education and training, in order to work as a court reporter in California.

However, all this hard work is worth the effort. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) quotes court reporters earning an annual mean wage of $79,500 in May 2017. A lot of how much you would earn in a year depends on where you live and how much you work.

The following statistics are taken from BLS and reflect the employment projection numbers for 2016-2016.

Legal Support Workers	11%
Total, All Occupations	7%
Court Reporters	3%

 

If you are wondering how many new court reporters jobs will be created between 2016 and 2026 then the answer is 700.

In addition to becoming a CSR in a legal or other setting, the state of California allows licensed CSRs to run their own firms or become independent contractors. With this employment option come flexible work hours as transcription can be performed at home.