Court Reporters and Simultaneous Captioners

Court reporters create word-for-word transcriptions at trials, depositions, administrative hearings, and other legal proceedings. Simultaneous captioners provide similar transcriptions for television or for presentations in other settings, such as press conferences and business meetings, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Duties

Court reporters and simultaneous captioners typically do the following:

• Attend depositions, hearings, proceedings, and other events that require verbatim transcripts
• Capture spoken dialogue with special equipment, such as stenography machines and digital recording devices
• Report speakers' identification, gestures, and actions
• Read or play back portions of events or legal proceedings upon request
• Ask speakers to clarify inaudible statements or testimony
• Review notes they have taken, including the spelling of names and technical terminology
• Provide copies of transcripts and recordings to the parties involved
• Transcribe television or movie dialogue for the benefit of viewers
• Provide real-time transcription of presentations in public forums for people who are deaf or hard of hearing

Court reporters have a critical role in legal proceedings, which require an exact record of what occurred. These workers are responsible for producing a complete, accurate, and secure transcript of depositions, trials, and other legal proceedings. The official record allows judges and lawyers to efficiently search for important information contained in the transcript. Court reporters also index and catalog exhibits used during legal proceedings.

Simultaneous captioners primarily serve people who are deaf or hard of hearing by transcribing speech to text as the speech occurs. They typically work in settings other than courtrooms or law offices.

The following are examples of types of simultaneous captioners:

Broadcast captioners provide transcriptions for television programs (called closed captions). They capture dialogue for displaying to television viewers, primarily those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Some broadcast captioners may transcribe dialogue in real time during broadcasts; others caption during the program’s postproduction.

Communication access real-time translation (CART) providers work primarily with people who are deaf or hard of hearing during meetings, doctors’ appointments, and other situations requiring real-time transcription. For example, CART providers may caption the dialogue of college classes and present an immediate transcript to students who are learning English as a second language.

Although some simultaneous captioners accompany their clients to events, many broadcast captioners and CART providers do not. Establishing remote access allows these workers to hear and type dialogue without having to be physically present in the room.

Court reporters and simultaneous captioners turn dialogue into text for a variety of audiences. For information about workers who convey dialogue through sign language, cued speech, or other means to people who are deaf or hard of hearing, see the profile on interpreters and translators.

Court reporters and simultaneous captioners use different methods for recording speech, such as stenotype machines, steno masks, and digital recording devices.

Stenotype machines work like keyboards but create words through key combinations rather than single characters, allowing court reporters to keep up with fast-moving dialogue.

With steno masks, court reporters and simultaneous captioners speak directly into a covered microphone to record dialogue and to describe gestures and actions. Because the microphone is covered, others cannot hear what the reporter or captioner is saying.

Digital recording devices create an audio or video file rather than a written transcript. In addition to recording dialogue, court reporters and simultaneous captioners who use this equipment also take notes to identify the speakers and provide context for the recording. In some cases, they use the audio recording to create a written transcript.

Court reporters and simultaneous captioners held about 17,700 jobs in 2024. The largest employers of court reporters and simultaneous captioners were as follows:

Most court reporters work in courts or legislatures. Many are self-employed (freelance) reporters who are hired by law firms or corporations for pretrial depositions and other events on an as-needed basis.

Some court reporters and simultaneous captioners travel to other locations, such as meeting sites or public events. Simultaneous captioners may work remotely from either their home or a central office.

Because of the speed and accuracy required to capture a verbatim record and the time-sensitive nature of legal proceedings, court reporting positions may be stressful.

Work Schedules

Court reporters and simultaneous captioners who work in a legal setting or office typically work full time recording events and preparing transcripts. Freelance reporters often have more flexibility in their work schedules.

Many community colleges and technical institutes offer postsecondary certificate programs for court reporters and simultaneous captioners. These workers typically receive on-the-job training that varies by type of reporting or captioning. Many states require court reporters and simultaneous captioners who work in legal settings to have a state license or a certification from a professional association.

The median annual wage for court reporters and simultaneous captioners was $67,310 in May 2024.

Employment of court reporters and simultaneous captioners is projected to decline 0 percent from 2024 to 2034.

Despite declining employment, about 1,700 openings for court reporters and simultaneous captioners are projected each year, on average, over the decade. All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.