Reporter Transcripts & Electronic Recordings
Court proceedings are captured either by a court reporter or taped electronically. Depending on the specific proceeding, either a paper transcript or a copy of an electronic recording may be available upon request.
What is a court transcript?
A court transcript is a written, typewritten or printed copy of the court record that is captured by a clerk’s minute order and either a court reporter’s notes or an electronic recorder. Effective October 13, 2020, court reporters will be provided by the Court in all mandated proceedings, including in the following cases: felony criminal; juvenile dependency; juvenile justice; Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act; contempt in civil and family matters; family court matters where an official court reporter is mandated, such as requests to withdraw consent to an adoption, child testimony in chambers, and petitions to free a minor from parental care and control; cases in which an official court reporter is required by the Supreme Court opinion in the case of Jameson v. Desta, and including any of these cases that are assigned for trial or long cause hearing to the Civil Division, or to be heard by a Judge assigned to the Civil Division. Transcript requests for privately retained court reporters in civil and probate matters need to be made directly with the private court reporters. Click to jump to the section of this page about obtaining a court transcript.
Or, go directly to the Transcript Request Form:
What is a court recording?
A court recording is an alternative method to capture court proceedings of misdemeanor or infraction cases by using an electronic recording device (Government Code Section 69957). See section directly below for information on obtaining an electronic court recording.
NOTE Re: Small Claims Hearings: This Court uses electronic recording equipment for the internal personnel purpose of monitoring judicial officer performance. An electronic recording made for the purpose of monitoring judicial officer performance shall not be used for any other purpose and shall not be made publicly available (Government Code 69957(b)).
How do I request a court recording?
Submit the online transcript/recording request form
OR
Complete the PDF version of the transcript/recording request form and either fax or mail it to Court Services. (The address and fax number are on the form) You can complete the form online before printing it.
Once a completed form is received, Court Services will contact you with the cost for the production of an audio copy of the hearing session that you are requesting. (Note: Please use a separate form for each recording request.)
How much will the recording cost?
The Court will assess a charge to cover the cost of the CD/cassette tape, creating the recording, and administrative costs in processing your request. The current fee amount is $10.00 per disc; see "Copy Electronic Record Court Session to a CD" (M03) on the Local Court Fees page, Miscellaneous Fees section of the fee schedule (scroll down to find fee M03).
The Court will provide a copy of the electronic recording upon receipt by the Court of the request form and payment of the associated fee.
What if I need my recording ASAP?
If your request is urgent, please write “RUSH” on the request form, or in the comment box for the online form. It usually takes a few days to process a request, but Court Services may expedite rush requests. In some cases, it may not be possible for the court to provide a copy of a recording on a rush basis, but every effort will be made to meet the request.
From how far back in time can I request a recording?
Please see state law (Government Code Section 68152 ) for information regarding when the official record of cases can be destroyed.
What if I need a transcript of the recording?
If you wish to have your electronic recording transcribed for personal records, please contact a transcription agency through the local telephone book or through the internet.
If you filed an appeal on your traffic case, please indicate your request for a transcript on the traffic appeal form (Judicial Council form CR-142 ). See Local Criminal Rule 9 for more information.
Court Reporter Transcripts
Effective October 13, 2020, court reporters will be provided by the Court in all mandated proceedings, including in the following cases: felony criminal; juvenile dependency; juvenile justice; Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act; contempt in civil and family matters; family court matters where an official court reporter is mandated, such as requests to withdraw consent to an adoption, child testimony in chambers, and petitions to free a minor from parental care and control; cases in which an official court reporter is required by the Supreme Court opinion in the case of Jameson v. Desta, and including any of these cases that are assigned for trial or long cause hearing to the Civil Division, or to be heard by a Judge assigned to the Civil Division. Transcript requests for privately retained court reporters in civil and probate matters need to be made directly with the private court reporters.
How do I request a court transcript?
If you already know the name of the court reporter:
Submit the ONLINE transcript/recording request form
OR
Complete the PDF version of the transcript/recording request form and either fax or mail it to Court Services. (The address and fax number are on the form.) You can complete the form online before printing it. Please use a separate form for each request.
What if I need to look up who the court reporter was on my hearing date?
For hearings after 2013: Go to the page for the year of your hearing: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014.
After you go to the right year, then click on the link for the week of your hearing, and look up the department that held your hearing, in order to find the name of the court reporter for that day.
For hearings 2013 or earlier: Records of court reporter assignments are not available online for 2013 and earlier. The name of the court reporter should be indicated on the minute order in the court file. You may visit the Records department at the courthouse where the hearing was held and request to see the file to obtain this information. (See list of courthouses.) Please call the courthouse first for further instructions, since some files may have to be ordered from our records center before they are available for public access.
How much will my transcript cost?
Once the court reporter contacts you, they will tell you the cost of the transcript. They will also discuss how to pay for the transcript, the length of time it will take to complete, and where to pick it up. At this time, you can ask the court reporter any other questions you may have.
If you wish to request to waive the court reporter fee, you will need to submit a fee waiver form to the Court Reporters Board, using the Transcript Reimbursement Fund Application. That form is available at the Court Reporter Board's website, under the heading Transcript Reimbursement Fund (TRF). There are limited funds available for fee waivers under the program.
What if I need my transcript ASAP?
If your request is urgent, please write “RUSH” on the request form, or in the comment box for the online form. It usually takes a few days to process a request, but Court Services may expedite rush requests. There may be an additional fee for expedited transcript requests; if so, the court reporter will tell you when he or she contacts you.
In some cases, it may not be possible for a court reporter to provide a transcript on a rush basis, but every effort will be made to meet the request.
From how far back in time can I request a transcript?
According to state law (Government Code Section 68152 ), the court reporters’ notes for criminal cases are destroyed after ten years, and notes for civil cases are destroyed after five years. The notes for death penalty cases are never destroyed.
There may be transcripts of certain proceedings in the court files. If you would like to possess a copy of any of these transcripts, please contact Court Services with the name of the court reporter. At that time, Court Services will help you get in contact with the specified reporter.