One of the first questions that a court reporter is asked when being scheduled for services for legal proceedings outside of the courthouse is simply, “How much do you charge?”
The answer to that question is usually followed up with a combination of questions by the court reporter:
- How long is the proceeding intended to last?
- Will there be a need for a transcript of the proceeding?
- Is there a need for expedited service of the transcript?
- Is the person being questioned an expert witness or a doctor providing medical testimony?
Why all the follow-up questions? There are two initial charges that court reporters base their services on: an appearance fee and a transcript fee on a per-page basis.
Appearance fees can range from hourly fees starting at $25 up to daily rates in excess of $500.
Page rates can range from $2.00 up to $7.00 or more per page.
Why the wide range? Market location is usually the driving factor, and markets vary drastically.
To provide transparency in your market, eCourt Reporters is a free platform for law firms to search, select, and schedule certified court reporters direct with upfront pricing in locations across the U.S.
After the base rate is determined, the additional questions regarding expedite services, medical content, and other factors can be added on to the base page rate. For example, if a court reporter’s base per-page rate is $5.00, there may be an additional charge for medical content, bringing the cost per page higher.
One of the most frustrating factors is the unknown charges when hiring services in any industry. At eCourt Reporters, our transparent upfront pricing on court reporter profiles is an incredible tool for law firms. In addition to having the benefit of knowing charges at the time of hiring a court reporter, law firm schedulers can also select service providers by years of experience, certifications, availability and a 5-star rating by peers.
eCourt Reporters is taking the frustration out of unknown charges by providing law firms the ability to search, select, and schedule certified court reporter services with upfront pricing.
