TENNESSEE BOARD OF COURT REPORTING
COURT REPORTER LICENSURE INFORMATION

The General Assembly enacted Public Chapter 450 in 2009, which requires that all court reporters be licensed to engage in the practice of court reporting on and after July 1, 2010. Recently, the Board of Court Reporting met for the first time in order to adopt proposed rules and regulations with regard to licensing issues, such as ethics, continuing education, disciplinary process, fees and the licensure process. These rules are being prepared to submit through the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act process in order to be made effective. Once this process is complete, the Board will begin taking applications for licenses.

For the initial licensing process, there are two paths to obtaining a license. The first is the grandfathering path. Grandfathering licenses are issued in one of two ways: the affidavit method or the TCRA member method. The requirements for each are listed below:

COURT REPORTER LICENSURE
BY GRANDFATHERING -
AFFIDAVIT METHOD

• Engaged in practice of court reporting as of July 1, 2009;
• Submit Application;
• Submit Affidavit setting forth past experience and work experience as a court reporter;
• Submit Affidavit
  • of judge for whom person has worked as an official court reporter; OR
  • of three (3) licensed attorneys (unrelated by blood or marriage) who have utilized services of the court reporter attesting to the court reporter’s proficiency in court reporting; AND
• Pay applicable fees (Official Court Reporters are exempt from initial licensing and license renewal fees. Per Diem Court Reporters are not exempt from these fees).

COURT REPORTER LICENSURE
BY GRANDFATHERING –
TCRA MEMBER METHOD

• A member in good standing of the Tennessee Court Reporters Association;
• Possess, as of July 1, 2009:
  • Certified Court Reporter examination designation: OR
  • Registered Professional Reporter designation or higher from the NCRA, NVRA or AAERT;
• Submit Application; AND
• Pay applicable fees (Official Court Reporters are exempt from initial licensing and license renewal fees. Per Diem Court Reporters are not exempt from these fees).

The deadline for submitting an application for a license through the grandfathering process is July 1, 2011. However, it should be emphasized that court reporters must have a license to engage in court reporting after July 1, 2010.

The second path to obtaining a license is through the traditional method that will be applicable to those not eligible for grandfathering. The requirements for licensure through this process are as follows:

COURT REPORTER LICENSURE
TRADITIONAL METHOD

• Submit proof of passage of:
  • National Court Reporters Association Registered Professional Reporter Examination;
  • National Verbatim Reporters Association Certified Verbatim Reporter Examination; OR
  • American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers Certified Electronic Court Reporter Examination;
• Submit Application; AND
• Pay applicable fee (Official Court Reporters are exempt from initial licensing and license renewal fees. Per Diem Court Reporters are not exempt from these fees).

Should a court reporter not be eligible to be licensed through the grandfathering process and not yet have passed (or received results of) one of the licensing examinations, then the court reporter may be eligible for a temporary license. A temporary license may be obtained as follows:

COURT REPORTER LICENSURE
TEMPORARY LICENSE

• Submit proof of graduation from a court reporting program or its equivalent;
  Submit Application;
• Pay applicable fee
• Temporary licenses expire 60 days after the date upon which the next board approved examination for licensure is given. Up to three additional temporary licenses may be issued to applicants who do not pass the examination.

As mentioned previously, once the rules are finalized, the licensure process can begin and applications will be made available. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact either This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   at the Administrative Office of the Courts (615-741-2687 or 1-800-448-7970), if we may answer any questions about licensure or be of any assistance to you.