Shortage of Court Reporters in California

1. The majority of family law, probate, and unlimited civil hearings lack a verbatim record.
2. The court reporter shortage continues to undermine access to justice as the workforce remains critically below need.
3. The court reporter pipeline is under extreme strain as many near retirement and licensing lags.
4. Courts face intense competition and rising costs in recruiting and retaining qualified court reporters.
5. Court reporter hiring shows promising gains but still falls short of meeting demand.

California statute authorizes the use of electronic recording to create a verbatim record for infractions, misdemeanors, and limited civil hearings but not for family law, probate, or unlimited civil proceedings.^{1, 5} 

Out of 4,214,365 family law, probate, and unlimited civil hearings held between April 1, 2023, and March 31, 2026, approximately 3,007,651 (71.3 percent) had no verbatim record.² 

The inability to create a verbatim record limits people’s ability to appeal significant and life-changing decisions regarding child custody, paternity, conservatorship assets, and more. This is a direct consequence of the court reporter shortage in California.

California’s trial courts face a persistent and consequential shortage of court reporters. As of 2026, there were 1,101 court-employed reporters in California. To meet the demands of the current caseload,⁶ California courts need an additional 458 full-time court reporters.³ In recent surveys, California courts reported that between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2026, 381.8 (FTE) court reporters were hired, of which 183.5 (FTE) were voice writers (48.1 percent of all hires).² During this period, although 366.3 (FTE) court reporters left positions at the courts, there was a net gain of 15.5 (FTE) reporters employed across the branch.This marginal increase is insufficient to close the gap in providing verbatim records.  

The consequences are stark: From January 1 to March 31, 2026, 303,430 out of 418,985 hearings in unlimited civil, family, and probate cases (72.4 percent) still occurred with no verbatim record. Without such records, litigants face significant barriers to appeal. This shortage continues to threaten access to justice.

California’s court reporter workforce faces serious long-term stability challenges. As of June 3, 2026, 48.1 percent of active licenses were issued at least 30 years ago, signaling a heavy reliance on a shrinking pool of long-tenured professionals.⁸

At the same time, entry into the profession remains limited. In fiscal year (FY) 2024–25, only 176 new licenses were issued statewide.^{8, 9} Most candidates pursue licensure through court reporter schools, a process that typically takes three to four years. Success is not guaranteed; of the 294 applicants who attempted the skills (dictation) portion of the last three California Certified Shorthand Reporter exams, just 52.7 percent passed.¹⁰

The combination of limited new entrants and a workforce heavily composed of long-tenured license holders presents a growing risk to the continuity of verbatim recordkeeping in California’s courts.

Court reporters in California courts are paid, on average, 51 percent more than other nonmanager court positions. At the same time, the declining number of court reporters in California has created a tight and competitive labor market, exacerbating compensation pressures.

The median total salary plus benefits for each court reporters is estimated to be $205,030.91.¹¹ This is significantly lower than the cost to hire a court reporter through a private company: $2,580 per day for a deposition and $3,300/day for a trial, on average.¹²

In addition to a salary and benefits, court reporters also earn fees from transcripts, which courts and parties must purchase. In 2021, the Legislature increased the statutory transcript fees by approximately 30%.¹³ In FY 2024–25, California courts spent $25.2 million on transcripts.¹⁴

In 2025, courts began to see the benefits of offering incentives, resulting in multiple quarters of modest net gain in the state’s judicial branch court reporter workforce. Between January 1, 2023, and March 31, 2026, approximately 91.4 percent of trial courts have used at least one incentive to recruit and retain court reporters. These incentives include increased salary ranges (75.9 percent), retention and longevity bonuses (74.1 percent), signing bonuses (74.1 percent), finder’s fees (50 percent), and more.¹⁵

Although progress has been made towards closing the gap, growth will have to accelerate significantly to keep pace with retirements and ensure equal access to justice for court users.

 Examples of incentives:

• The Superior Court of Riverside County offered up to $32,500 in retention payments over three years. 
• The Superior Court of Contra Costa County provides up to $12,000 per year for tuition reimbursement for existing court employees to use toward pursuing court reporter certification or for existing court reporters to attend voice writing school.  
• The Superior Court of San Francisco County created the first court reporter internship program in the nation. 
• The Superior Court of Los Angeles County offered a signing bonus of up to $50,000 for newly hired court reporters, $15,000 student loan and equipment allowance, and $25,000 finder’s fee for court employees who refer a court reporter.¹⁶ In addition, the court has offered a program to its employees that includes a full court reporting tuition scholarship, the ability to attend classes during work hours, and guaranteed employment as a court reporter upon licensing.