Court Reporters

Announcements

Renewals & CE Audit

Effective May 1st, we will enter another regularly scheduled biennial renewal period. Remember, you must complete your CE and submit your renewal application onlineĀ  here by no later than June 30th. Reminders will be sent out during the first week of May, but you will be permitted to submit your renewal application as early as May 1st and attest to the completion of your CE. We no longer require that you attach your CE to your renewal application, but you must have completed it and attest to that fact at the time of your application. If you have any concerns or questions, you may direct those to the following email address: Court.reporters@tn.gov.

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 after July 1, 2010. This was amended by Public Chapter 1123 in 2010, altering some of the grandfathering provisions and other Board functions and processes.

It is also important to note that this public chapter also exempted court reporting services paid for by a federal government agency and court reporting services provided pursuant to Title 40 of the Tennessee Code Annotated from the licensure requirement. In other words, a court reporter license is not required to perform court reporting services if:

  1. the court reporter is paid to perform court reporting services exclusively by the federal government, OR
  2. the court reporter is an official or per diem court reporter exclusively paid by the Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of Tennessee, AND
  3. the services provided fall under the court reporter's duties required by the federal or state government to receive compensation.

If a court reporter performs services outside the specific job duties established by the federal or state government, then that reporter must be licensed to provide court reporting services. For example, a court reporter that provides court reporting services in the state criminal courts, as an official or per diem court reporter compensated by the Administrative Office of the Courts, is not required to be licensed to perform this service. However, if the official or per diem court reporter wishes to engage in court reporting at a deposition, hearing or trial in a civil matter, or any other matter than occurs outside of the state criminal court, a license would be required.