(a) To be licensed as a court reporter, an applicant shall be a United States citizen or, if not a citizen of the United States, a person who is legally present in the United States with appropriate documentation from the federal government, and shall pass the Written Knowledge Examination administered by the board, ACRA, NCRA, or NVRA, and shall pass an Alabama skills examination or provide documentation of having passed the NCRA Registered Professional Reporter Examination or NVRA CVR Examination. The board shall examine or establish, or both, examination and testing procedures to enable the board to ascertain the competency of applicants for licensure. Each such skills examination shall be given at least twice each calendar year. Applications for licensure shall be signed and sworn by the applicants and submitted on forms furnished by the board. An applicant who furnishes the board with satisfactory proof of graduation from a court reporting program or its equivalent shall, upon payment of a reasonable fee in an amount determined by the board, be examined by the board. All applicants who are found qualified to engage in the practice of court reporting pursuant to this chapter shall be issued a license as a certified court reporter and an identifying number. The license shall be valid until September 30th of the year of its issuance.

Attorney's Note

Under the Alabama Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Violationup to 30 daysup to $200
For details, see Ala. Code § 13A-5-7

Terms Used In Alabama Code 34-8B-10

  • Court reporter: A person who makes a word-for-word record of what is said in court and produces a transcript of the proceedings upon request.
  • person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • Reporter: Makes a record of court proceedings and prepares a transcript, and also publishes the court's opinions or decisions (in the courts of appeals).
  • Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
  • United States: includes the territories thereof and the District of Columbia. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
  • year: means a calendar year; but, whenever the word "year" is used in reference to any appropriations for the payment of money out of the treasury, it shall mean fiscal year. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(b) No certified court reporter may authorize the use of his or her license number on any transcript not produced through his or her personal effort or supervision, or both. Violation of this subsection may be grounds for license suspension or revocation.
(c) The board shall approve at least two reporter examinations each year and may hold such additional examinations as are necessary. The secretary shall give public notice of the time and place of each examination at least 120 days prior to the date set for the examination. Any person desiring to take the examination shall file his or her application with the board at least 30 days prior to the date of the examination. The preparation, administration, and grading of the examination shall be governed by the rules prescribed by the board, but the board may engage ACRA to conduct the examination under the supervision of the board. Upon determining the results of the examination, the board shall notify each applicant as to whether the applicant has passed the examination. Notification shall be by written notice mailed to the applicant by certified mail to the applicant’s address as indicated on the application.
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