How to Become a Court Reporter in Louisiana

A court reporter is known by various titles including a court stenographer, real-time writer, or certified shorthand reporter (CSR).

They meticulously transcribe every spoken word during trials and legal proceedings, rendering them a crucial component of the justice system.

This underscores the substantial role a court reporter plays within the legal framework.

Individuals aspiring to enter the court reporting field must acquire a license.

In this article, you will find out more about becoming a court reporter in Louisiana.

Pursue Your Education as a Court Reporter in Louisiana

Attaining a license necessitates the successful completion of a comprehensive training program.

Furthermore, the program must receive approval from the Louisiana Board of Court Reporting.

To enroll in such a program, you need to meet the following criteria:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Hold a high school diploma or GED

Training courses typically fall within these domains:

• CART/Captioning
• Judicial Reporting
• Scoping/Proofreading
• Professional Transcription
• Office Assistant
• Court and Realtime Reporting

Prospective students should ensure that the curriculum is sanctioned by the Council on Approved Student Education (CASE).

It should encompass subjects like:

• Applied Writing I
• Medical Terminology
• Legal Terminology
• Civil and Criminal Law Terminology
• Realtime Reporting I
• Realtime Reporting II

These programs usually occur at the postsecondary level without conferring degrees.

However, certificate, diploma, associate’s, and bachelor’s degree programs are all viable options and accepted.

Consider the following institutions for your training.

SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

This school provides two distinct court reporting degree programs.

One is a 2-year undergraduate certificate program in Court Reporting and Captioning, requiring 40 credit hours.

The other is a 2-year Associate of Applied Science program in Court and Realtime Reporting, which demands 64 credit hours.

This institution is a medium-sized public university that annually admits over 3,700 undergraduate students.

With approximately 400 teaching faculty and staff members, the university supports a diverse range of more than 80 programs.

Obtain Your License as a Court Reporter in Louisiana

Following the culmination of your education, you must successfully pass an examination to secure your license.

You are granted 18 months from the conclusion of your training to do so.

Within this timeframe, you can acquire a temporary license.

The temporary license is optional and non-renewable.

You have the opportunity to earn one of the following certifications:

• NCRA’s Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification
• NVRA’s (National Verbatim Reporters Association) Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR)

Both certifications are nationally recognized.

For obtaining the actual license in Louisiana, passing a skills examination is mandatory.

This test can be conducted through any of these organizations:

• NCRA
• NVRA
• ACRA

This entails:

• Payment of applicable fees
  • $200 for the license
  • $50 for the application
• Submission of evidence of graduation from the training program
• Completion of the application form

The ACRA test closely mirrors the content of both the NCRA and NVRA exams.

While the NCRA skills test can be taken online, the other two tests must be completed in person.

If you aspire to be a registered professional reporter, the fees are as follows:

• $120 for non-members
• $95 for members
• $77 for student members

The NVRA exam incurs a fee of $125.

For individuals aiming to be certified verbatim reporters, a transfer fee of $50 applies if you’re already a registered professional reporter.

The Certified Court Reporter (CCR) skills exam costs $75.

The test encompasses three distinct sections, each spanning 5 minutes in duration.

To pass, you must meet the wordcount requirements for these three segments:

• Literary at 180 wpm
• Jury charge at 200 wpm
• Testimony/Q&A at 225 wpm

Candidates are granted 75 minutes to transcribe their notes, with a minimum passing accuracy score of 95%.

Additionally, a knowledge written exam for registered professional reporters entails 120 questions covering:

• Technology,
• Professional practices,
• Ethics,
• Reporting practices.

To pass, a minimum score of 70 is required.

The associated fees are as follows:

• $220 for non-members
• $195 for members
• $160 for student members

The NVRA exam carries a cost of $125.

License Renewal for Court Reporters in Louisiana

Most licenses necessitate periodic renewal, and this holds for court reporters as well.

In Louisiana, the Board mandates annual license renewal by September 30th.

Around August 1st, you should anticipate receiving a reminder email.

A grace period extends until the conclusion of November 30th, beyond which unrenewed licenses lapse.

As anticipated, there’s a renewal fee linked to this process, structured as follows:

• $200 for on-time renewals
• $240 for renewals completed until September 31st
• $280 for renewals finalized by November 30th

Individuals are required to fulfill 5 hours of continuing education each year for the license renewal process.

Excess hours can be carried over into the following year.

These hours must be acquired through NCRA, NVRA, and ACRA, as personal development courses are typically not accepted.

Court Reporter Salary in Louisiana

If you’ve read this far, your interest likely extends to the profession’s earning potential.

In Louisiana, court reporters can anticipate a yearly salary of about $58,779.

The table below showcases cities with the highest median salaries for this occupation.

Regional Salary in Louisiana

Court Reporter by State