Transcript Requests and Fees

Transcript From an Official Court Reporter (Non-Appeal)

To obtain a transcript (non-appeal), follow these procedures:

  1. Request the transcript (orally or in writing) from the appropriate court reporter. Be sure to provide the defendant’s name, case number, date of proceeding and type of proceeding to identify the material to be transcribed.
  2. Transcript Order (AO 435) (For NON-APPEAL requests)
  3. After receiving your request, the court reporter will provide an estimate of the cost. You must then make arrangements with the court reporter for payment.

Once financial arrangements have been made, the court reporter will prepare an original and one copy of the transcript and an AO Form 44 invoice. The court reporter will file the original transcript and AO Form 44 invoice with the Clerk’s Office and provide a copy of the transcript and AO Form 44 invoice to you.

Transcript From an Official Reporter (Appeal)

If you are an appellant, you must follow these procedures:

  1. Contact the appropriate court reporter to make financial arrangements for the transcript.
  2. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Transcript Order (DKT-13) (For APPEAL requests)
  3. Complete information on the transcript order form (Form DKT-13, above) and forward to the court reporter. (Please Note:  Original signatures are required.  Questions regarding the completion of the Form DKT-13 are to be directed to the Clerk’s Office, U.S. Court of Appeals.)
  4. Distribute copies as indicated on Page 2, “Transcript Order Form Instructions”.

The court reporter will complete Part II, forward to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and prepare an original and one copy of the transcript. The court reporter will file the original transcript with the Clerk’s Office and forward the copy to you.

Transcript Under the Criminal Justice Act

When representing a criminal defendant under the Criminal Justice Act, transcript requests must be made through the use of eVoucher, the Judiciary’s national electronic CJA voucher processing system.

To register, please click on Criminal Justice Act for more information.

Follow these procedures as taken from the CJA eVoucher Attorney User Manual:

  1. Access eVoucher
  2. From the “Appointment Page,” click “Create Auth 24.”
    1. Enter the details for the transcript required.
    2. Upload a .PDF version of approved authorization/order (DKT 13).
  3. Submit Auth 24.
  4. Upon receipt of approved Auth 24, continue with creating the CJA 24
  5. From the “Appointment Page,” click “Create CJA 24.”
    1. Attorney must select the Auth ID # and reference the # in the description box.
    2. Select “Provider” from the drop down list.
    3. IMPORTANT: Expert button at the “Voucher Assignment” option must be selected.
    4. Click “Create Voucher” button.
  6. Voucher is routed to the Service Provider.
    1. Service Provider enters information and submits.
    2. Voucher is routed back to the Attorney for final certification and approval.
  7. CJA 24 Voucher is submitted to Court.

Transcript From an Electronic Recording (Magistrate Judge Proceedings)

To request a transcript from an electronic recording, follow these procedures:

  1. Check for any Standing Orders in place by the individual Magistrate Judge which gives specific instructions.
  2. Send a written request to the appropriate magistrate judge’s secretary or courtroom deputy to make arrangements for transcribing the audio recording.
  3. The secretary or courtroom deputy will provide the audio recording to a transcriber with your original request. The transcriber will then contact you. You must make financial arrangements with the transcriber at that time.

Once financial arrangements have been made, the transcriber will prepare an original and one copy of the transcript. The transcriber will provide a copy of the transcript to you and file the original in the Clerk’s Office.

You may also purchase a copy of an audio recording by making an oral or written request to the appropriate magistrate judge’s secretary or courtroom deputy. Follow directions given by the secretary or courtroom deputy for picking-up and paying for the audio recording copy. The fee for a copy of an audio recording can be found on our Fee Schedule page.

Transcript Rates — All Parties *

PRICE IS PER PAGE
Original First Copy to Each Party Each Add’l Copy to Same Party
Ordinary Transcript
(To be delivered within 30 calendar days after receipt of order)
$4.00 $1.00 $.70
14-Day Transcript $4.70 $1.00 $.70
Expedited Transcript
(To be delivered within 7 calendar days after receipt of order)
$5.35 $1.00 $.70
3-Day Transcript
(To be delivered within 3 calendar days after receipt of order)
$6.00 $1.20 $.85
Daily Transcript
(To be delivered following adjournment and prior to the normal opening hour of court on the following morning, whether or not it actually is a court day)
$6.70 $1.35 $1.00
Hourly
(To be delivered within two hours after receipt of order)
$8.00 $1.35 $1.00
Realtime Transcript One feed, $3.40 per page; two-to-four feeds, $2.35 per page; five or more feeds, $1.65 per page 1
1 A realtime “feed” is the electronic data flow from the court reporter to the computer of each person or party ordering and receiving the realtime transcription in the courtroom.

Transcript in CJA Cases: In multi-defendant cases involving CJA defendants, only one transcript should be purchased from the court reporter on behalf of CJA defendants. One of the appointed counsel or clerk of court should arrange for duplication, at commercially competitive rates, of enough copies of the transcript for each CJA defendant for whom a transcript has been approved. The cost of duplication will be charged to the CJA appropriation. This policy does not preclude the court reporter from providing copies at a commercially competitive rate.

* Taken from Volume VI of the Guide to Judiciary Policies and Procedures.

This page links to PDF files. Use this link to download Adobe Reader, if needed.