Transcription line rate

A transcription line is a unit of 65 characters, and a line count is how many of those units a document contains. The transcription line rate is the price paid for each line. Because the line is a fixed unit, it gives both the transcriptionist and the client one way to measure the same text.

The 65-character line is the traditional standard

A 2007 joint task force from AHIMA and MTIA, the two medical transcription associations, called the 65-character line the previously advanced standard unit of measure for medical record transcription ¹. The word "previously" matters: the report is organized around the visible black character as a unit of text measurement, so the 65-character line was the older method it was meant to improve on.

Different formats produce different line counts

A line is not the same length everywhere. The federal transcript format sets type at 10 letters to the inch, which gives about 63 characters on each line ². Two documents with the same words can therefore produce different line counts under different standards. A line count is only comparable within one standard, so check which one a client or a court format uses before you compare totals.

How a line count works

To count lines under the 65-character standard, take the total number of characters in the document and divide by 65, rounding up for any partial line. A one-page letter and a long medical report both reduce to the same arithmetic. What changes is the number of characters, which depends on the words, the spacing and the formatting the standard counts.

Why the unit matters for dictation

Dictated text becomes billable or comparable text only after it is measured. When you dictate a long document, the speed of speaking and the number of lines are different measures. Speaking quickly does not reduce the line count, and a fast dictation session can still produce a long document. If you want the job of transcription, see our overview of transcription jobs and the guide to medical transcription, which covers the pay side of the field.

Related terms are the transcriptionist, who types the dictation, and the scopist, who edits transcripts in court work. The registered healthcare documentation specialist credential covers the medical side. For legal formats, see our guide to legal transcription.