- Must possess a minimum of at least one year of prime court reporting experience in a court, or in the freelance field of service or a combination thereof.
- Must have passed the Registered Professional Reporters (RPR) examination administered by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) or passed an equivalent qualifying examination* such as the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR) administered by the National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA).
- Realtime court reporting proficiency, Realtime certification is preferred.
- Must own or be willing to purchase, upon entry on duty, realtime court reporting equipment.
- Excellent organizational and communication skills to permit the production of transcripts within strict time limitations.
- Work well under pressure and be willing to work as part of a team of court reporters fulfilling the needs of all judicial officers of the Court.
- Must possess tact, good judgement, poise, initiative, and always maintain a professional appearance and demeanor.
- Equivalent Qualifying Examination - Professional associations (other than the NCRA) and state license examinations may be acceptably equivalent to the NCRA testing, but the requirements for the examinations at the time of administration should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as the requirements change from time-to-time.
Preferred Qualifications and Certifications
- Registered Professional Reporters (RPR) or equivalent qualifying exam.
- Reporters who possess a Certificate of Registered Merit Reporter (RMR) or are a Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) from NCRA or have passed an equivalent qualifying exam.
- Reporters with prior federal court experience.
Compensation
CR Level 1: $ 98,137 (minimum qualifications)
CR Level 2: $ 103,044 (requires merit certification) *
CR Level 3: $ 107,950 (requires realtime certification) **
CR Level 4: $ 112,857 (requires realtime and merit certification)
CR Level 5: $ 117,765 (current Federal Official Court Reporter hired before Oct. 11, 2009, with longevity: minimum of ten years Federal Service; Merit and Realtime Certification by NCRA)
- Merit Certification (RMR): Registered merit reporter certificate from NCRA
**Realtime Certification (CRR): Successful completion of a certified realtime examination by NCRA
In addition to the starting salary for court reporters set by the Judicial Conference, an official court reporter is entitled to transcript fees from any party who has contracted with the court reporter for transcript services. Learn more about Federal Court Reporting Program transcripts .
