Court Reporter Certifications

Illinois is among twenty-six states in the United States which require some form of mandatory certification for court reporters. Seventeen do not currently have a Certified Shorthand Reporter examination in place. Twenty states in the nation may grant reciprocity for another state's CSR certificate or the NCRA's RPR certificate.

n The Illinois Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) exam is a two-part evaluation: written knowledge and dictation. The candidate must score at least 75% on the written knowledge portion of the test. The dictation portion of the exam requires the candidate to attain 95% accuracy for 5 minutes at 200 words per minute (wpm) of variable material and 95% accuracy for 5 minutes at 225 wpm of two-voice testimony. The candidate must also transcribe both sections of the dictation portion within a three-hour time limit.

The Illinois CSR licensure is maintained through biannual renewal and attestation of having met mandatory continuing education requirements.

The following certificated designations are conferred by the National Court Reporters Association:

n The "entry" level certification is the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR). The RPR is evaluated on understanding and use of the English language, grammar and spelling, technology, medical and legal terminologies, and the ability to accurately write and translate varying types of material at high speeds. The nationally recognized RPR examination includes a three-part skills test and a Written Knowledge Test (WKT). The skills portion of the exam is a dictation test of literary matter at 180 wpm, jury charge at 200 wpm and testimony at 225 wpm. The WKT portion additionally tests those areas of knowledge needed to perform the duties of a court reporter, such as English language, relevant technology, diverse terminology, courtroom rules and procedures, transcript format, use of research materials, and professional responsibility.

Every three years each RPR accumulates 3.0 continuing education units to maintain certification. NCRA's continuing-education program is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Continuing Education and Training, an agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The RPR may be recognized in states where no CSR Act/licensure is enforced/administrated as proof of essential skills an individual should possess in order to hold her/himself out as a qualified court reporter.

n The Registered Merit Reporter (RMR) Exam is similar in scope to the RPR examination but tests reporters at higher levels of knowledge and speed. The RMR includes a skills test - literary matter at 200 wpm, jury charge at 240 wpm, and testimony at 260 wpm - and a merit-level Written Knowledge Test.

n The Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR) is the highest cumulative level of certification a reporter can achieve. The RDR is actively involved in court reporter-related organizations and serves as a consultant to other reporters, attorneys, court personnel, and other consumers by providing direction and disseminating technological information. The exam consists of a Written Knowledge Test administered to candidates who have been RMRs for at least five years or to RMRs with either a baccalaureate degree or two other NCRA certifications.

The aforementioned NCRA reporter certifications are cumulative in that each ascending level attained supersedes the previous certification.

n The Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) exam tests a candidate's ability to write realtime at variable speeds ranging from 180 to 200 words per minute at a minimum "first pass" accuracy rate of 96%. The CRR candidate must possess the requisite knowledge to implement the necessary technology to immediately generate and provide an electronic file of the realtime transcript.

n The Certified CART, or Computer Aided Realtime Translation, Provider (CCP) exam is a two-part exam consisting of a Written Knowledge Test -- testing a candidate's abilities at research, language skills, writing realtime -- and a skills test. A Certified CART Provider possesses comprehensive knowledge of the English language in order to detect and correct mishearings during realtime translation and anticipate and prevent mistranslations. The technology utilized by a CART provider is similar to television captioning which can be provided as an accommodation in keeping with the spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act to assist persons who are deaf or hard of hearing, have a learning disability, or speak English as a second language. A CART Provider possesses the knowledge, skill, and ability to produce accurate, simultaneous translation and display of live proceedings utilizing computer-aided translation.

n The Certified Broadcast Captioner (CBC) exam measures the candidate’s skills, knowledge and abilities to provide accurate, live captioning for television broadcasts. The exam consists of a Written Knowledge portion covering the topics of writing realtime, realtime writing in the broadcast environment, language skills, and research; and a Skills portion covering the tasks of setting up and operating equipment, accurately writing realtime for simultaneous translation and display from professionally recorded material at a speed of 180 words per minute, utilizing realtime translation software, and converting the file to an ASCII text file.

The 1993 amendment to the Television Decoder Circuitry Act in part focuses on televisions with picture screens larger than 13” for sale in the United States having a resident decoder chip factory installed for easy consumer access to viewing of online captions. This technology provides benefits especially to those individuals who are hard of hearing, deaf, or to whom English is a second language. The 1996 Telecommunications Act required the 10-year phase-in of 24-hour-a-day, 7-day-a-week captioning of all new English language video broadcast programming in the 25 largest U.S. metropolitan markets as of January 1, 2006. As a result, a great demand exists for realtime reporters with a high skill level to perform both online live and offline television captioning.

n The Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS) certification program certifies reporters and non-reporters as qualified to conduct and control the detailed process of providing audiovisual services for the legal community. A CLVS is specially trained and tested in the rules of legal evidence, judicial procedure and ethics, employing the proper procedures for presentation of a witness for videotaping purposes, as well as the technology of AV equipment for recording, editing, and playback. Certification requires seminar attendance, successful completion of a Written Knowledge Test and a "hands-on" test in a mock-deposition setting.

Adapted from Illinois Court Reporters Association and the National Court Reporters Association. Additional information available through ILCRA at www.ilcra.org and NCRA at www.ncraonline.org.