What does a Court Reporter do?
A court reporter is a record-man. Someone who keeps track of records, documents and archives and makes sure everything is secure and untouched. These are also called guardians of the record because they are responsible for creating, managing and securing records of cases into archives with utmost responsibility.
They record everything being said during a court hearing, meetings, depositions and trials and prepare accurate transcripts. And during the discovery phase, attorneys may also use the same transcripts from depositions to prepare for the trial.
How do you become a Court Reporter?
The knowledge and skills to become a court reporter or stenocaptioner are taught at more than 150 reporter training programs, including proprietary schools, community colleges, and four-year universities. Many of these programs offer distance learning options.
The first step is of course getting the right amount and program of education and getting a degree. This will not only be an extensive training to become a court reporter, but also will give you a professional degree by which you can apply to jobs.
Depending on the course load, an average time period of a court reporting school is between 18-24 months.
It takes almost 2 years to become a court reporter, which usually includes a certification period of over 6 months, and then the degree which is completed after that. Programs typically include coursework in legal procedures and terminology, court reporting procedures, technical dictation and voice writing technology. Students also receive practical training to be able to perform two-voice transcribing at 225 wpm, which is the ideal typing speed for this profession. Depending on the school, a court or freelance externship may be offered.
After their school, a court reporter is required to obtain the relevant licensing depending on the state. This process includes a series of exams and tests that the candidate is required to pass.
Federal Court Reporter Salary
The average court reporter salary varies by each state, the highest being in New York and the lowest salary being offered to court reporters in North Carolina.
| State | Hourly Wage | Annual Salary |
| New York – Court Reporter Salary | $28.36 | $58,985 |
| Massachusetts – Court Reporter Salary | $28.09 | $58,428 |
| Washington – Court Reporter Salary | $27.89 | $58,020 |
| New Hampshire – Court Reporter Salary | $27.34 | $56,864 |
| Hawaii – Court Reporter Salary | $26.98 | $56,116 |
| Maryland – Court Reporter Salary | $26.03 | $54,148 |
| Connecticut – Court Reporter Salary | $26.02 | $54,131 |
| Rhode Island – Court Reporter Salary | $25.81 | $53,691 |
| Alaska – Court Reporter Salary | $25.78 | $53,622 |
| Vermont – Court Reporter Salary | $25.67 | $53,399 |
| Nebraska – Court Reporter Salary | $25.64 | $53,332 |
| Nevada – Court Reporter Salary | $25.58 | $53,201 |
| North Dakota – Court Reporter Salary | $25.48 | $53,000 |
| Wyoming – Court Reporter Salary | $25.46 | $52,953 |
| California – Court Reporter Salary | $25.42 | $52,868 |
| Virginia – Court Reporter Salary | $25.30 | $52,633 |
| Kentucky – Court Reporter Salary | $24.79 | $51,573 |
| South Dakota – Court Reporter Salary | $24.74 | $51,452 |
| New Jersey – Court Reporter Salary | $24.68 | $51,341 |
| West Virginia – Court Reporter Salary | $24.65 | $51,278 |
| Pennsylvania – Court Reporter Salary | $24.53 | $51,030 |
| South Carolina – Court Reporter Salary | $24.41 | $50,766 |
| Minnesota – Court Reporter Salary | $24.38 | $50,719 |
| Oregon – Court Reporter Salary | $24.33 | $50,597 |
| Delaware – Court Reporter Salary | $24.32 | $50,590 |
| Tennessee – Court Reporter Salary | $24.30 | $50,554 |
| Colorado – Court Reporter Salary | $24.29 | $50,522 |
| Montana – Court Reporter Salary | $24.27 | $50,485 |
| Ohio – Court Reporter Salary | $24.13 | $50,190 |
| Wisconsin – Court Reporter Salary | $24.07 | $50,070 |
| Arizona – Court Reporter Salary | $24.02 | $49,966 |
| Kansas – Court Reporter Salary | $23.92 | $49,750 |
| Utah – Court Reporter Salary | $23.91 | $49,728 |
| Indiana – Court Reporter Salary | $23.87 | $49,645 |
| Oklahoma – Court Reporter Salary | $23.83 | $49,567 |
| Idaho – Court Reporter Salary | $23.76 | $49,427 |
| Maine – Court Reporter Salary | $23.74 | $49,389 |
| Louisiana – Court Reporter Salary | $23.65 | $49,189 |
| Iowa – Court Reporter Salary | $23.40 | $48,682 |
| Georgia – Court Reporter Salary | $23.17 | $48,202 |
| Texas – Court Reporter Salary | $22.91 | $47,648 |
| New Mexico – Court Reporter Salary | $22.86 | $47,545 |
| Michigan – Court Reporter Salary | $22.80 | $47,424 |
| Arkansas – Court Reporter Salary | $22.78 | $47,389 |
| Illinois – Court Reporter Salary | $22.66 | $47,132 |
| Alabama – Court Reporter Salary | $22.63 | $47,074 |
| Mississippi – Court Reporter Salary | $22.40 | $46,597 |
| Missouri – Court Reporter Salary | $22.35 | $46,488 |
| Florida – Court Reporter Salary | $21.84 | $45,431 |
| North Carolina – Court Reporter Salary | $20.80 | $43,260 |
Note: Sample rates have been extracted online, courtesy of ZipRecruiter
Freelance Court Reporter Salary
A freelance court reporter is an independent entity who works on a contract basis; and may be affiliated with one or more court reporting agencies.
A freelance court reporter on an average earns about $25 an hour, and an annual salary of $51,320. This is a decent salary percentile that freelance court reporters earn because they are associated with more than one reporting agency, thus they earn a good amount too.
Working remotely, a freelance court reporter also sets records and creates transcriptions by typing them on the machines and preserving the records in archives.
How much do Court Reporters make per page?
Sometimes, court reporters are paid per page too, and depending on their speed, the total often is more for when they’re paid per contract/case.
It was reported in 2017 that court reporters make somewhere in between $1.50 to $4.10 per page. Among 11 states the rates were as follows: Alabama, $3.50; Arkansas, $4.10; Colorado, $2.35; Connecticut, $3.00; Washington, D.C., $3.65; Delaware, $3.00; Georgia, $3.78; Hawaii, $3.25; Idaho, $3.25; Kansas, $2.75 and Wisconsin, $1.50.
Are Court Reporters in high demand?
According to sources, it is predicted that court reporters demand will increase almost 9% in one decade, from 2019-2029, which is a growth rate much faster than any other profession in the legal job market.
There was a shortage created in the US market for court reporters, ever since it was assumed that machines will take over the job of an average court reporter. However, it wasn’t the case. And because of this fake assumption and very less student enrollment in legal schools, there were only a few students who wanted to opt for a career in court reporting. Thus, creating a high demand in the market due to less court reporters available for the job.
There are five states where there is a very high demand for court reporting:
- California
- New York
- Texas
- Nevada
- Illinois
Conclusion
To be a court reporter, a candidate must complete 2 years worth of schooling and must receive the basic educational requirements. Soon after that, internships and real-time work experience qualifies them enough to land them well-paying jobs in the industry. The whole process is around 2 years long, but could also take a little more than that depending on the student’s pace and passing of exams in due time.
There are several career paths that a court reporter may take, like freelancing, legislative jobs, official jobs etc., depending on their choice of career. A court reporter is definitely one of the most important people in the judicial department; someone who is responsible for the creation and maintenance of data and transcripts.
