Official Court Reporter

Court Reporter

Whether launching or continuing a career in public service, the U.S. District Court is a great place to work with competitive salaries and benefits, a work schedule that promotes a work-life balance, and the opportunity to work with colleagues committed to fulfilling the important mission of administering justice in an efficient and effective manner. This position offers an excellent opportunity to advance a career in Federal court service.

Court Reporters support a fast-paced and collaborative environment, covering both in-person and remote (Zoom) proceedings across the district. As one of the busiest and most high-profile federal courts in the country, we handle a wide range of complex and groundbreaking cases. From intellectual property, biotech litigation, Silicon Valley technology, high-stakes criminal cases and civil rights matters, our court reporters are essential to the federal judiciary.

Court reporters play a vital role in the judicial process, working closely with judges, attorneys, and fellow reporters to produce accurate and timely transcripts of court proceedings. This position offers a rewarding mix of meaningful in-person work, substantial telework flexibility, and opportunities to work across our San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland courthouses. The role also offers exceptional earning potential. Transcript income for in-person reporters averaged over $125,000 annually over each of the past three years.

Priority consideration to applicants who apply by February 19, 2026.

Example of Duties

Being an official court reporter involves:

• Working as part of a team of reporters for the judges of the court.
• Verbatim shorthand reporting of courtroom proceedings and reading back portions of the record when required.
• Producing transcripts at a high volume, including expedited and daily transcripts.
• For some criminal proceedings, creating and storing audio recordings alongside shorthand notes.
• Adhering to the policies and administrative procedures outlined in the Court Reporter Management Plan, the Court Reporter Manual, and the Guide to Judiciary Policy.
• Performing administrative tasks including transcripts billing, and docketing financial tracking, responding to request, and submitting required reports to the Administrative Office.

Typical Qualifications

• Level 1 ($119,330) must have at least one year of court reporting experience (freelance, courts or a combination); RPR (or equivalent); and excellent Realtime skills. (Those hired without Realtime certification must pass the test within two years.)
• Level 2 ($125,296) additionally requires Registered Merit Reporter (RMR) certification and ability to provide Realtime writing in the courtroom (must become Realtime certified within two years of hire date).
• Level 3 ($131,263) additionally requires Realtime certification.
• Level 4 ($137,229) additionally requires Realtime and RMR certification.
• Level 5 ($143,197) for transferring Federal Official Court Reporters appointed before October 11, 2009, with CRR or FCRR, RMR and ten years' reporting experience in the federal courts

Preferred Qualifications:

• Three or more years of court reporting experience (freelance, courts or a combination) and experience directly invoicing clients
• Experience e-filing transcripts on a court docket
• Previous federal court experience
• Realtime Certification
• Certificate of Merit from NCRA

Physical Requirements: Successful candidates must be able to (with or without accommodation): (1) bend, (2) pull, push, and lift up to 20 pounds, (3) reach, (4) walk, and (5) sit for extended periods.

Supplemental Information

The U.S. District Court is part of the federal Judicial branch of government and is independent of the Executive and Legislative branches. The court sets its own employment policies including remote work and performance management, while also valuing employees' individualism and continuing to strive towards a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.

We offer a competitive salary along with full federal benefits, and new reporters are immediately included in the courts trial rotation, ensuring consistent opportunities for additional transcript income.

Judicial Branch employees are "at will" employees and are not subject to the employment regulations of competitive service. However, judiciary employees are entitled to benefits.

For more information about federal court benefits, please visit:

Information for applicants:

The Court reserves the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, or to withdraw the announcement without prior written or other notice.

The successful candidate for this position is subject to a FBI fingerprint check and background investigation (employment will be provisional and contingent upon the satisfactory completion of the required background investigation), will be required to adhere to a code of conduct, and is subject to mandatory direct deposit of federal wages. The court is not authorized to reimburse travel expenses for interviews or relocations.

Interviewing Non-Citizens and Making Offers of Future Employment: Non-citizens may be interviewed and considered for employment, but employment offers will only be made to individuals who qualify under one of the exceptions in 8 U.S.C. § 1324b(a)(3)(B). In most cases, this means that an offer of employment cannot be made unless the candidate is a lawful permanent resident who is seeking U.S. citizenship as explained below.

Equal Focused Employer: We value diversity and are committed to equity and inclusion in our workplace. The Court encourages applications from all qualified individuals and seeks a diverse pool of applicants in terms of race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, age, languages spoken, veteran's status, disability, religion, and socio-economic circumstance.

The court provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need reasonable accommodation for any part of the application or hiring process, please notify the Human Resources Unit of the Clerk's Office at View phone number on click.appcast.io.

Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.

Application Procedure: Applicants must submit the following:

• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Three professional references.

To be considered for this position, visit our agency website at to submit the online application, along with the above-listed documents. Please be sure to fully complete your application by providing all work history from the past ten years. Attachments should be submitted as Microsoft Word (DOC) or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files. Other formats are not acceptable.

Applications will be considered complete when the online application and all required attachments, in the appropriate format, are received by the Human Resources Unit.