How exactly are Court Reporters paid?
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Asked by CR {295}
7/27/2010 10:03:35 PM There have been a lot of discussions in school about how court reporters are paid. How I understand it, we are paid by the hour, and we are paid a certain rate per page. So even if I were to sit in a deposition for 5 hours and the job was not ordered, I would still be paid for my five hours. And we are paid a higher rate for the first hour. Am I correct or incorrect? 
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 |  Answered by Rosalie {3073} 7/27/2010 7:32:58 PM | [0 Votes] Vote this up Flag as inappropriate |
It depends on what state you are in and the agency. Some agencies pay an appearance fee along with a page rate. The appearance fee is either half day or full day, which rates vary. Some firms do pay an hourly fee, lower end being $XX an hour. If the job is a hold notes, you are paid a different rate, depending on what the firm quotes you. I have never heard of a higher rate for the first hour, again, talking about my area (Northern Cali/Valley area). |
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see this link - Todd Olivas 7/28/2010 8:20:35 AM | FlagTodd, this is the posting I was asking you to delete because of the $XX fee. thanks, rosalie - Rosalie 7/28/2010 10:47:43 AM | FlagNo problem. I took care of it. Thank you! - Todd Olivas 7/28/2010 11:05:42 AM | FlagIn Florida every firm is different, but the way it seems to work around here, Tampa Bay, is you are paid a per hour charge for attendance and a per page rate for the transcript when it's ordered. - tontotime 8/3/2010 10:12:05 PM | Flag |
| Answered by CR {295} 7/27/2010 10:46:05 PM | [0 Votes] Vote this up Flag as inappropriate |
Thanks for your info! I'm going to be working in FL. I didn't realize it depended on which state you lived in. |
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It also depends on what part of the state you live in. I worked in the Bay Area (California), which pays a lot higher than where I live now, which is only 45 minutes away. Hopefully some Flordia reporters will give information on what to expect to be paid. Good luck! - Rosalie 7/27/2010 11:41:34 PM | Flag |
|  Answered by Todd Olivas {2460} http://http:www.toddolivas.com/blog 7/28/2010 11:24:00 AM | [0 Votes] Vote this up Flag as inappropriate |
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I'm very sorry. I did not realize I can't talk about this subject. It will never happen again. - CR 7/28/2010 1:00:08 PM | FlagThank you! And it's not your fault, I just today issued this policy so you couldn't have known. - Todd Olivas 7/28/2010 2:11:20 PM | FlagThank you for understanding. - CR 7/28/2010 2:16:55 PM | Flag |
| Answered by jcourtreporter {160} 7/28/2010 11:38:02 AM | [0 Votes] Vote this up Flag as inappropriate |
I charge a flat rate of $XX just for showing up and $XX for every hour after that. Of course if it's an all-day depo, I may cut some hourly attendance because I'm making my money off the pages. My goal is to make $1,000 a day in I'm there all day |
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Sorry to XX out your figures, but please see this: no rates - Todd Olivas 7/28/2010 2:13:15 PM | Flag |
| Answered by CR {295} 7/28/2010 1:08:17 PM | [0 Votes] Vote this up Flag as inappropriate |
I apologize if I offended anyone by my question. I was NOT trying to get specific numbers. I was just trying to understand how we got paid. It won't happen again! |
Comments from Facebook | ||
 | Tanya McCreary Kristine - AMEN!!! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Aunyx Teopeht court reporters are paid....Well. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Melissa Macrelli-Powell great job but you`re lucky you even get paid! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Susan Wight France Simonetti Joe. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Vanessa Mendoza Wow, Susan, you`re doing well. It`s really slow in Tampa right now :( Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Kim Johnson After reading these comments, I`m asking myself why I got into student loan debt to be a court reporter. Does it really suck that much? Is the pay really not enough? Is it THAT slow, so I`d worry about my next car payment and how Ill make it? Sheeeesh! What a bummer. Maybe I should rethink... Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Sandy Slater I get paid per page for the original and copies every other week but no per hour or appearance. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Monica Moore As u can see, pay varies. I have to say I LOVE MY JOB and that`s worth so much to me. I am into the six figures and make an excellent living so much so that my uncle won`t leave me alone, Sam that is. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Tanya McCreary Kim, don`t let the comments scare you. Just get your name out to all the firms around you when you are ready and ask to be put on their overflow list. Even better yet, ask them if you can get some externship hours with them before you graduate so you can get a feel for who might be a good fit for you, and they will get to know you as well. Yes, there are some months that are slower than others and some attorneys that pay slower, but you just have to have the self-discipline to put extra money Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Vanessa Mendoza Monica, wow, you`re doing excellent! Do you have your RPR? How can I start making that?? :) Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Michelle Daniel Florida just passed leglisation effective July 1. Criminal cases that the state pays for (Public Defender, indigent, etc.) charge an appearance fee and a page fee; HOWEVER, if the depo is ordered within 30 days of the date taken, the appearance fee must be substracted. It sounds pretty bad, but the income can be increased by doing civil work in addition to criminal. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Mia Clark Kim, court reporting is a great job with many different avenues to choose. Unfortunately I think things are slow all over right now because of the economy. The best advice that I can give you is to get out there, get your feet wet for about a year. If your schedule allows, jump into court full time. It`s secure. You know how much you will be making every month. You have great benefits. Transcripts bring in extra income. I loved depos, but knowing what is coming in every month is a huge c Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Suzanne Reid We are paid well for certain jobs and absolute crap for others. Each firm is different in their pay structures/rates. It takes forever to determine who has good-paying, lucrative work and who has the five hour holds (the absolute worst!!)... In any case, I have worked 9-5 before as a reguarly employee with same pay week in, week out. Most of the time, I thank my lucky stars I do what I do. Also, as a depo reporter, the cleaner I write, the more money I make - as in saving time on the edit Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Johanna Brunt The awesome firm I work for pays 2-hour min. rate, then hourly after that. We get paid by the page, obviously, on top of that. Then we get paid more if it is an expert witness, videotaped, teleconference, doctor. The best thing about where I work is we get paid every week. I love my job!!! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Renee Duby Rape I`m an official and love my job! I`ve got THE best judge ever! Wouldn`t trade it for the world. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Therese Donovan Sonnemaker Let`s put it this way. If it`s a no write downtown, Chgo reporters, depending on the agency, make XX-$XX for 2.5 hrs or 2 hrs for no writes, plus we pay $XX-plus to park down there, gas, and our time. Now you tell me it`s worth ur time? If it snows, add a couple hrs in travel time, which is not paid. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Sean Gately Page rates, appearence fees, after hour fees, Medical Technical, weekend fees, no write fees, minimum write fees and video. Also include Real Time, Roughs, and expedite fees. It varies from state to state and agency to agency. In FLA they are not required to order the transcript so there is hourly rate. Some states and agencies have a flat appearence fee for the first 2 hours and some for the first half of the day and the second half of the day. The avrage that I am aware of is about a XX Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Trish Fogle I`ve never had any desire to do depositions and have always worked in court since I got my license. I`m an official now, and I agree that it`s wonderful getting paid every two weeks plus full benefits! Income from transcripts is like getting a bonus every month! :) I do have court reporter friends though who love to freelance because they have kids and like their schedule to be more flexible. They like having the choice of saying no to a job or going on vacation when they want. I`ve heard h Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Mia Clark I was a depo reporter for about my first five years of reporting. I really liked doing depos. I had a chance to become an official, and I jumped on it. While I miss the flexibility of being a freelance reporter, I`m fortunate to work for Los Angeles Superior Court. It`s nice going on vacation and getting paid. The benefits are great. I`m very blessed and am so grateful to have my job. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Choco Rae You have your appearance fee, and afterwards you are paid hourly, plus your page rate. You have to talk to different agencies to see their rates and all the fun stuff. I`m in Chicago, and the appearance fee covers the first two hours. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Juliana Napoli-Gomer By the page... and NOT enough! ;) Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Kristine Jones Different agencies pay differently...some hourly w/page rate, some page rate only. All have a minimum you would make per job. And Juliana, YOU ARE RIGHT..its not enough, considering we have to pay for everything, equipment, healthcare, vacation pay, disability...so after you take all that away, it is very little! And don`t get me started with that...the reason is that WE let people who are not court reporters own and operate court reporting agencies and offer contracts to companys at reduced Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Jennifer Ferguson Not enough for some of the crap we have to put up with! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Juliana Napoli-Gomer HM!!!! My thoughts exactly, Kristine! I could not have said it better myself, sista!~ :/ Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Lucila Caraballo we r paid an appearance fee and that covers the first hour for me. then by the pages. so if they don`t order a job, we are still paid that appearance fee, plus some percentage for the estimated pages : ( Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Deirdre Rand It is different depending on what court reporting agency or region of the US you are in. You have an appearance fee, but what that covers can vary, whether it is just showing up and then learning the job was cancelled and they didn`t tell you, or it covers the first two hours, or a 1/2 day is one amount and a full day is another amount. Then you are paid by the page, but that can change depending on if it`s medical, technical, etc. There are also changes in rate if the job is an expedite. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Lucila Caraballo yes, Kristine, it`s a mess!! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Sharon Goaway Well being an official I am paid every 2 weeks, health and dental is covered. We also get paid per page for transcripts! I looooove my job! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Kristine Jones I`m telling you, something needs to change!! It`s wrong that big national corporations are making $XX to $XX pp sometimes and we are making $X to $X....many people are profiting off of us...and it`s not us! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Kristine Jones Yes, Sharon, your job is great...and you are very lucky to have that job!! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Deanne Hutson Not to forget that we get paid more per page for doctors, experts and expedites!!! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Sharon Goaway Thanx Kristine Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Kim Johnson @Tanya: Thank you. Best advice I`ve read in a long time. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Kristine Jones Yeah, Mia, I used to work for L.A. as well, left to have family...that is a great thing about our job, though, is choices and flexability!! Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Susan Wight France Simonetti I love freelance work. Became a reporter so I didn`t have the 8 to 5. In Naples, FL, our O & 1 is XX pp. BUT, my boss takes XX%. We can move on to another firm but the page rate is lower, so it`s give and take. Per diem is XX first hour and XX every hour after. Not bad. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Carol Williams I used to work in Naples, Florida. who do you work for? Super place to live! And yes the first hour has always been in my experience higher than the rest of the hours. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Trista Visser In Houston, Texas we`re pp only. There is no hourly rate. We have a CNA fee or an appearance fee if no depo goes forward, but never an hourly rate if depo goes forward. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
| Susan Wight France Simonetti Not doing great. I`ve been on facebook all day. lol Just finished my only transcript this week, 20-page doctor. I think all the Florida lawyers went on vacation this week, seriously. We get paid so slowly, though, that my money is always trickling (sp) in from months back. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Cheryl MacHauer You`re right about that Susan! Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
 | Kim Dadamo I`m in NJ. We get an appearance then per page, same rate for all witnesses. After today`s 6-hr. doctor dep which they might need on an emergency basis, I really just want to go to work in a deli. Wednesday, July 28, 2010 | |
 | Maria Riggs I`m in northern California. I`m noticing from comments that it really varies across the U.S. We have a 25/75 split, appearance fee, page rate (regular, technical or medical), but no hourly fee, per se. Not that many depos are held. Kim, there is a huge difference between freelancers and officials, pros and cons for each re flexibility, employee status or not, benefits. I knew I wanted freelance work as soon as I was licensed almost 30 years ago, and I`ve never regretted it. You will know Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
| Susan Wight France Simonetti Kim, we all obviously find more pro than cons in our jobs. I am in Florida and became an S-corp so I have an accountant to make sure I don`t give a lot away to the gov`t. In the big cities, you`ll make a lot more. I have friend I went t school with in Arizona and her backlog of owed bills was 54,000 compared to my 12,000. She obviously is doing more business than I am. Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
| Susan Wight France Simonetti Before anybody points it out, I should have proofread before I hit Enter. I get excited to get my message out. Plus, I`m off the clock. haha Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
 | Cheryl Gilliam Don`t give up, Kim. Everyone is different. I find it depends also on how hard you`re willing to work and the more time you`re willing to put into your skills and learning your software, etc. I`m an official, and everyone makes different amounts as far as transcripts fees. The quicker you can turn your work around, the quicker you get paid. We have plenty of work, thank God, but we`re also the busiest and biggest court in the state. If you do realtime, you`ll get paid more because you`re wi Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
 | Susan Capobianco should have unionized court reporters long ago. We have cheapin` the industry with low rates and deals that can`t be beat. Too bad. We`re an exclusive group. Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
 | Kenneth Zoetewey What I have seen in Colorado is. App fee with a min then a flat for half or all day or hourly, Page rates XX to XX for O+1 and if ordered copy sales run XX to XX. There is a charge for rough draft and or real-time. Some pay more for tec and med but most don`t they are all the same. Most of the firms take between XX and XX%. Quick turns charge more of course.All reporters need to stand up and not take the cut rate jobs that the big nat firms are trying to pay. This would force the jobs t Thursday, July 29, 2010 | |
 | Kim Johnson @ Mia, Maria, Susan, & Cheryl: Thanks! I`m filing all of your comments and advice in my keep -- you`ll need this file! I appreciate it. Friday, July 30, 2010 | |
| Kim Johnson @ Mia, Maria, Susan, & Cheryl: Thanks! I`m filing all of your comments and advice in my keep -- you`ll need this file! I appreciate it. Friday, July 30, 2010 | |
I would check with the California board and ask them for the code so the re...
Rosalie {3073} commenting on an answer by dunbarcsr {1144}
BY THE WAY - I`m assuming this reporter is serving as the official reporter...dunbarcsr {1144} commenting on an answer by dunbarcsr {1144}
Naturally there is some confusion because the officials have been laid o...dunbarcsr {1144} answering a question by sedhickman {594}
I'm sorry for this delayed response. It's been a busy coup...DRob63 {276} answering a question by CEC90 {65}
Listen to the judge. If the attorney who booked you wanted the oth...fstfngrs {3006} answering a question by sedhickman {594}
BINGO! I agree with fstfngrs. In my past life, I worked in television pro...dunbarcsr {1144} commenting on an answer by fstfngrs {3006}
Of course....LOL! Have a great, busy week, too :)...Bustaboo {1172} commenting on an answer by fstfngrs {3006}
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