2024 California Rules of Court
Rule 8.834. Reporter's transcript
(a) Notice
(1) A notice designating a reporter's transcript under rule 8.831 must specify the date of each proceeding to be included in the transcript and may specify portions of the designated proceedings that are not to be included. The notice must identify any proceeding for which a certified transcript has previously been prepared by checking the appropriate box on Appellant's Notice Designating Record on Appeal (Limited Civil Case) (form APP-103) or, if that form is not used, placing an asterisk before that proceeding.
(2) If the appellant designates less than all the testimony, the notice must state the points to be raised on the appeal; the appeal is then limited to those points unless, on motion, the appellate division permits otherwise.
(3) If the appellant serves and files a notice under rule 8.831 designating a reporter's transcript, the respondent may, within 10 days after such service, serve and file a notice in the trial court designating any additional proceedings the respondent wants included in the reporter's transcript. The notice must identify any proceeding for which a certified transcript has previously been prepared by checking the appropriate box on Respondent's Notice Designating Record on Appeal (Limited Civil Case) (form APP-110) or, if that form is not used, placing an asterisk before that proceeding.
(4) Except when a party deposits a certified transcript of all the designated proceedings under (b)(2)(D) with the notice of designation, the clerk must promptly send a copy of each notice to the reporter. The copy must show the date it was sent.
(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2016; previously amended effective January 1, 2014.)
(b) Deposit or substitute for cost of transcript
(1) Within 10 days after the clerk sends a notice under (a)(4), the reporter must file the estimate with the clerk-or notify the clerk in writing of the date that he or she notified the appellant directly-of the estimated cost of preparing the reporter's transcript at the statutory rate.
(2) Within 10 days after the clerk notifies the appellant of the estimated cost of preparing the reporter's transcript-or within 10 days after the reporter notifies the appellant directly-the appellant must do one of the following:
(A) Deposit with the clerk an amount equal to the estimated cost and a fee of $50 for the superior court to hold this deposit in trust;
(B) File with the clerk a written waiver of the deposit signed by the reporter;
(C) File a copy of a Transcript Reimbursement Fund application filed under (3);
(D) File a certified transcript of all of the designated proceedings. The transcript submitted by the party must not be accepted as a substitute for a deposit under (A) unless it complies with the format requirements of rule 8.838; or
(E) Notify the clerk that:
(i) He or she now elects to use a statement on appeal instead of a reporter's transcript. The appellant must prepare, serve, and file a proposed statement on appeal within 20 days after serving and filing the notice and must otherwise comply with the requirements for statements on appeal under rule 8.837;
(ii) He or she now elects to proceed without a record of the oral proceedings in the trial court; or
(iii) He or she is abandoning the appeal by filing an abandonment in the reviewing court under rule 8.825.
(3) With its notice of designation, a party may serve and file a copy of its application to the Court Reporters Board for payment or reimbursement from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund under Business and Professions Code section 8030.2 et seq.
(A) Within 90 days after the appellant serves and files a copy of its application to the Court Reporters Board, the appellant must either file with the court a copy of the Court Reporters Board's provisional approval of the application or take one of the following actions:
(i) Deposit the amount required under (2) or the reporter's written waiver of this deposit;
(ii) Notify the superior court that he or she now elects to use a statement on appeal instead of a reporter's transcript. The appellant must prepare, serve, and file a proposed statement on appeal within 20 days after serving and filing the notice and must otherwise comply with the requirements for statements on appeal under rule 8.837;
(iii) Notify the superior court that that he or she elects to proceed without a record of the oral proceedings; or
(iv) Notify the superior court that he or she is abandoning the appeal by filing an abandonment in the reviewing court under rule 8.825.
(B) Within 90 days after the respondent serves and files a copy of its application to the Court Reporters Board, the respondent must either file with the court a copy of the Court Reporters Board's provisional approval of the application or take one of the following actions:
(i) Deposit the amount required under (2) or the reporter's written waiver of this deposit; or
(ii) Notify the superior court that the respondent no longer wants the additional proceedings it designated for inclusion in the reporter's transcript.
(C) If the appellant fails to timely take one of the actions specified in (A) or the respondent fails to timely make the deposit or send the notice under (B), the clerk must promptly issue a notice of default under rule 8.842.
(D) If the Court Reporters Board provisionally approves the application, the reporter's time to prepare the transcript under (d)(1) begins when the clerk sends notice of the provisional approval under (4).
(4) The clerk must promptly notify the reporter to prepare the transcript when the court receives:
(A) The required deposit under (2)(A);
(B) A waiver of the deposit signed by the reporter under (2)(B); or
(C) A copy of the Court Reporters Board's provisional approval of the party's application for payment from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund under (3).
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2024; previously amended effective January 1, 2014 and January 1, 2016.)
(c) Contents of reporter's transcript
(1) Except when a party deposits a certified transcript of all the designated proceedings under (b)(2)(D), the reporter must transcribe all designated proceedings that have not previously been transcribed and provide a copy of all designated proceedings that have previously been transcribed. The reporter must note in the transcript where any proceedings were omitted and the nature of those proceedings. The reporter must also note where any exhibit was marked for identification and where it was admitted or refused, identifying such exhibits by number or letter.
(2) The reporter must not transcribe the voir dire examination of jurors, any opening statement, or the proceedings on a motion for new trial, unless they are designated.
(3) If a party designates a portion of a witness's testimony to be transcribed, the reporter must transcribe the witness's entire testimony unless the parties stipulate otherwise.
(4) The reporter must not copy any document includable in the clerk's transcript under rule 8.832.
(Subd (c) amended effective January 1, 2014.)
(d) Filing the reporter's transcript; copies; payment
(1) Within 20 days after the clerk notifies the reporter to prepare the transcript under (b)(2), the reporter must prepare and certify an original of the reporter's transcript and file it in the trial court. The reporter must also file one copy of the original transcript or more than one copy if multiple appellants equally share the cost of preparing the record. Only the presiding judge of the appellate division, or his or her designee, may extend the time to prepare the reporter's transcript (see rule 8.810).
(2) When the transcript is completed, the reporter must notify all parties to the appeal that the transcript is complete, bill each designating party at the statutory rate, and send a copy of the bill to the clerk. The clerk must pay the reporter from that party's deposited funds and refund any excess deposit or notify the party of any additional funds needed. In a multiple reporter case, the clerk must pay each reporter who certifies under penalty of perjury that his or her transcript portion is completed.
(3) If the appeal is abandoned or is dismissed before the reporter has filed the transcript, the reporter must inform the clerk of the cost of the portion of the transcript that the reporter has completed. The clerk must pay that amount to the reporter from the appellant's deposited funds and refund any excess deposit.
(Subd (d) amended effective January 1, 2018; previously amended effective March 1, 2014, and January 1, 2017.)
(e) Disputes over transcript costs
Notwithstanding any dispute that may arise over the estimated or billed costs of a reporter's transcript, a designating party must timely comply with the requirements under this rule regarding deposits for transcripts. If a designating party believes that a reporter's estimate or bill is excessive, the designating party may file a complaint with the Court Reporters Board.
(Subd (e) adopted effective January 1, 2014.)
(f) Notice when proceedings cannot be transcribed
(1) If any portion of the designated proceedings were not reported or cannot be transcribed, the trial court clerk must so notify the designating party in writing; the notice must:
(A) Indicate whether the identified proceedings were officially electronically recorded under Government Code section 69957; and
(B) Show the date it was sent.
(2) Within 10 days after the notice under (1) is sent, the designating party must file a new election notifying the court whether the party elects to proceed with or without a record of the identified oral proceedings. If the party elects to proceed with a record of these oral proceedings, the notice must specify which form of the record listed in rule 8.830(a)(2) the party elects to use.
(A) The party may not elect to use a reporter's transcript.
(B) The party may not elect to use an official electronic recording or a transcript prepared from an official electronic recording under rule 8.835 unless the clerk's notice under (1) indicates that proceedings were officially electronically recorded under Government Code section 69957.
(C) The party must comply with the requirements applicable to the form of the record elected.
(3) This remedy supplements any other available remedies.
(Subd (f) amended effective January 1, 2016; adopted as subd (e); previously relettered as subd (f) effective January 1, 2014; previously amended effective March 1, 2014.)
Rule 8.834 amended effective January 1, 2024; adopted effective January 1, 2009; previously amended effective March 1, 2014, January 1, 2016, January 1, 2017, and January 1, 2018.
Advisory Committee Comment
Subdivision (b). Sometimes a party in a trial court proceeding will purchase a reporter's transcript of all or part of the proceedings before any appeal is filed. In recognition of the fact that such transcripts may already have been purchased, this rule allows an appellant, in lieu of depositing funds for a reporter's transcript, to deposit with the trial court a certified transcript of the proceedings necessary for the appeal. Subdivision (b)(2)(D) makes clear that the certified transcript may be filed in lieu of a deposit for a reporter's transcript only where the certified transcript contains all of the proceedings designated, and the transcript complies with the format requirements of rule 8.838 (e.g., cover information, renumbered pages, required indexes). Parties using this alternative to a deposit are responsible for ensuring that such transcripts are in the proper format. Parties may arrange with a court reporter to do the necessary formatting of the transcript or may do the formatting themselves.