Licensing by state / Arkansas

Court reporter licensing in Arkansas

Arkansas requires a state credential to work as a court reporter.

State credential required

Yes

Credential

Certified Court Reporter (CCR)

Issued by

Arkansas Supreme Court Board of Certified Court Reporter Examiners (BOCCRE)

How you qualify

Regulations Section 14: a written knowledge test (spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, general knowledge, transcript rules and the Board's regulations) with a minimum of 70% accuracy, plus dictation of five minutes of literary at 180 wpm, five minutes of jury charge at 200 wpm and five minutes of two-voice Q and A at 225 wpm, each transcribed at 95% accuracy. Parts passed are not retaken. Alternatively, Regulations Section 26 lets a reporter who holds a current NCRA RPR or NVRA CVR in good standing petition for certification without the Arkansas exam after attending a Board orientation.

NCRA RPR accepted

Yes

Fees

Regulations Section 3: $75 application fee for in-state applicants; $150 application fee for out-of-state applicants; $50 certificate renewal fee; $100 penalty fee for failure to timely remit the renewal fee. Each subsequent test attempt by an in-state applicant requires a new application and $75.00.

Renewal

Annual. The renewal fee is paid to the Clerk of the Supreme Court on or before January 1 of each year (Regulations Sections 8 and 9).

Continuing education

30 hours of approved CE every three years; the reporting period runs January 1 through December 31 of each three-year cycle, administered by the Supreme Court's Office of Professional Programs (document revised 09/26).

Certification is issued only in the method the applicant tested in (machine shorthand or mask dictation/voice writing; the Supreme Court rules require at least one mask dictation/voice writer on the Board). Eligibility (Rules Section 5): at least 18, good moral character, no felony conviction, and an official criminal background check. Examinations are held at least semiannually. Where no certified court reporter is available, a circuit judge may grant a 180-day emergency certificate (renewable once) to a reporter licensed in another state or holding a national certification, or a 7-day non-renewable emergency certificate to anyone else (Regulations Section 13). The requirement to be certified is implemented through the Supreme Court's Rules Providing for Certification of Court Reporters and the Board's regulations; the explicit statutory prohibition text was not among the documents opened, and the NCRA list classes Arkansas as a mandatory licensing state.

Exam speeds and legs for the national credentials are on the certifications page; the path from school to the exam is in how to become a court reporter.