Becoming A Registered Professional Reporter
What is a Registered Professional Reporter?
A Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) is a certification that is arguably the most common certification necessary in order to become a Court Reporter. Court reporters, also known as stenographers, are responsible for the transcription of the oral speech expressed within legal proceedings into tangible, readable, and textual form.
The National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) is primarily responsible for the oversight and regulation of Registered Professional Reporter certifications that are granted to individuals who desire to gain employment through a Court Reporter position. The NCRA began as an institution specializing in shorthand with regard to the provision of expedited and accurate transcription of proceedings both medical and legal in nature.
Registered Professional Reporter Ideology and Operations
The methodology of shorthand as expressed within The Phrase Book of Pitmanic Shorthand is regarded as the authorized standard of protocol of the transcription of legal and medical proceedings. This standard is upheld by the National Court Reporters Association.
The transcription of legal proceedings is produced through the use of a Stenotype, or Stenograph machine. Although the Stenotype resembles a typewriter transcription, unlike a traditional typewriter a stenograph machine contains only 25 keys and does not operate on a traditional keyboard format such as ‘QWERTY’. The ‘QWERTY’ system allots an individual key that corresponds with an individual letter.
Unlike traditional keyboards found attached both computers and typewriters, a stenotype allows for the utilization of ‘Chording’. Chording is a method of typing that allows a Registered Professional Reporter to efficiently and accurately use multiple keys in a single stroke, thus expediting the transcription process. Typical legal transcription can involve speech ranging from 100 to 300 words recited per minute.
The Registered Professional Reporter Certification Program
The satisfaction of the following requirements is necessary in order to receive certification as a Registered Professional Reporter:
The Registered Professional Reporter Written Knowledge Examination
The Written Knowledge examination is used to gauge the skill of an individual stenographer student evaluating knowledge possessed with regard to the issues, operations, processes, procedures, and ideology within the legal or medical field.
The Registered Professional Reporter Written Knowledge examination ranges from 100 to 110 questions. The prospective candidate will be required to complete the examination within 90 minutes. A score of 70% or higher is necessary in order to receive a passing grade.
The Registered Professional Reporter Typing Examination
The ability to produce an expressed amount of words within a finite period of time is required. The classification of which is also known as ‘words per minute’, or ‘wpm’, these requirements vary with regard to the nature of the testimony. The candidate is given 5 minutes to complete each of the requirements of the following 3 sections:
1) Literary Legal Transcription (180 wpm)
2) Jury Transcription (200 wpm)
3) Examination-based Testimony (225 wpm).