Education experience of a court reporter

To educationally prepare for a career in court reporting, individuals have multiple options:

• Training to become a novice voice writer takes less than one year
• Real-time voice writing training takes two or more years
• Some electronic reporters and transcribers forego formal training and learn on-the-job (for an average time period of about 33 months) with the help of manuals and instruction from trainers in the workplace, and by observing skilled and experienced professionals perform the job

To pursue formal training in court reporting, the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) has certified about 70 court reporting training programs around the country. These programs require students to type at least 225 words per minute (a requirement for Federal Government employment as well).

Certification is also a requirement in some court reporting work. Some states require their court reporters to attain this certification to earn a license. There are three possible certifications available:

1. Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVM)
2. Certificate of Merit (CM)
3. Real-Time Verbatim Reporter (RVR)

Attaining a license commonly requires passing a written test that covers spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, legal and medical terminology, and practical tests for speed, accuracy and silence.