How do you become a legal transcriptionist?

There is no single national license for legal transcription, so the route depends on the work you want and the state you work in. Many states license court reporters ¹, and one electronic transcription credential is the AAERT Certified Electronic Transcriber (CET), which has a knowledge exam and a practical transcript ². Court-reporting training typically takes two or three years ³.

Check your state first, because licensing is set by state

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says many states require court reporters and simultaneous captioners to be licensed or certified by a professional association ¹. The rules differ. New York, for example, makes the title "Certified Shorthand Reporter" a licensed one: anyone who uses it within New York State must hold a license ⁴.

Before you enrol in a course, look up the licensing board for your state. Check whether the job you want requires a license, which credential the board accepts and whether it recognizes certificates from other states. The rules are on each state's licensing site, and the BLS summary does not list them.

The AAERT CET is one credential for electronic transcription

The CET has two parts. You pass an online multiple-choice knowledge examination, and you produce a transcript from a digitally recorded proceeding in a practical examination ². The knowledge exam has 157 questions, and a candidate needs 80 percent or higher to pass ⁵.

To sit for an AAERT exam, a candidate must be eligible for a notary public commission and have a high school diploma or its equivalent ⁶. If you cannot meet the notary requirement, plan on a different route.

Court-reporting training takes years, and a course alone is not a credential

Court reporting is taught in programs of two or three years ³. Auburn University's court reporting certificate says some students have completed their training in a year, but others may take 18 months, two years or longer ⁷. A program does not guarantee a job.

A short online course can teach you the format and the software. Completing one does not earn the CET, which requires a knowledge exam and a practical transcript ². Check what a course covers against the credential you want before you pay.

Watch for job scams

Some offers ask you to pay to start work. The Federal Trade Commission says that if someone asks you to pay to get a job, that is a scam, and honest employers will never ask you to ⁸. Be wary of any employer who charges you for training, software or a test.

What to do, in order

1. Decide which work you want. Court work, depositions, law-firm dictation and evidence recordings have different credentials and pay bases. Our guide to legal transcription describes each.
2. Check your state's rules. Look up the licensing board for court reporters and the rule for the title you plan to use.
3. Test the two skills separately. Typing speed and accuracy show whether you can keep up with audio. A format exercise shows whether you can produce a page that follows the rules. Our question on the format of a legal transcript covers the rules you need to practice.
4. Pick a credential or program that matches your state and the work. For electronic transcription, the AAERT CET is the one we could verify.
5. Check the pay before you commit. Our question on how much legal transcription pays explains the rates and the pay bases.

For the bigger picture, see our question on whether legal transcription is still in demand. For the job itself, read our guide to legal transcription, and for the wider field, the dictation for work overview.