California court reporter fees fall into two buckets: an attendance fee for the reporter sitting through your proceeding, and a transcript fee if you later want the written record. In a civil case, a hearing of one hour or less costs a flat $30. Anything longer is billed at the actual cost of providing the reporter and split among the parties. Transcripts are priced by the word, starting at $1.13 per 100 words for the original. Criminal cases, juvenile matters, and a few other proceedings are reported at public expense, so the parties pay nothing.
Attendance Fees in Civil Hearings
Government Code section 68086 sets the attendance fee structure for official court reporters in civil cases, and the number turns on how long the proceeding runs.
For a proceeding of one hour or less, a flat $30 covers the reporter’s services for the entire proceeding. If several matters are heard inside the same hour, the $30 is charged only once. The fee is owed by the party whose filing caused the hearing to be scheduled, or by a different party who later requests a reporter.
For a proceeding lasting more than one hour, the fee is the actual cost of providing the reporter, charged per half-day. A half-day is any block longer than one hour but no more than four hours in either the morning or afternoon session. All parties split that cost pro rata.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68086
Each party must deposit their share with the court clerk by the end of each day’s session. If no reporter is actually provided, the court refunds the fee.
Transcript Rates
Transcript fees are separate from attendance fees, and they are billed by word rather than by page. Government Code section 69950 fixes the statutory rates:
- Original copy: $1.13 per 100 words.
- Additional copy purchased at the same time as the original: $0.20 per 100 words.
- First copy purchased separately, not with the original: $0.26 per 100 words.
- Each additional copy purchased at the same time as a separate first copy: $0.20 per 100 words.
A standard transcript page runs about 250 words, so the original copy works out to roughly $2.83 per page.2California Legislative Information. California Government Code 69950
Need the transcript fast? Government Code section 69951 lets the reporter charge an additional 50 percent above the standard rate for special daily copy service in civil cases.3Judicial Council of California. Transcript Rate Uniformity Report to the Legislature The party ordering the transcript pays, whether at the standard or expedited rate.
Who Pays: Civil vs. Criminal
The big dividing line is whether the case is civil or whether it falls into a category reported at public expense.
Under Government Code section 69952, the court can direct that a verbatim record be made at public expense in criminal matters, juvenile proceedings, proceedings to declare a minor free from parental custody, and proceedings under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act for involuntary mental health commitments.4California Legislative Information. California Government Code 69952 The county treasury pays the reporter, and parties generally owe nothing for attendance or transcripts.
In civil cases, the litigants carry the cost. Government Code section 69953 sets the default: the parties split the cost equally, though either side can cover the whole amount. Transcript fees go to whoever orders the transcript. And one rule catches people off guard: a reporter is not required to perform any service in a civil case, other than preparing transcriptions already ordered, until the fee has been deposited with the clerk or the reporter directly.5Court Reporters Board of California. Official and Official Pro Tempore Court Reporters Prepayment is the rule.
Appellate Transcript Deposits
If you are taking an appeal and need a reporter’s transcript, California Rules of Court require a deposit at the superior court clerk that is higher than the standard transcript rates. When you file your notice designating the proceedings to be transcribed, you deposit either the reporter’s written estimate or a calculated default amount, plus a $50 trust-holding fee.
For proceedings not previously transcribed, the default is $325 for any portion of a day lasting three hours or less, or $650 for any day or portion exceeding three hours. For proceedings previously transcribed, the default is $80 for three hours or less, or $160 for a day or portion exceeding three hours.
Deposits are held in trust and reconciled against the actual transcription charges once the transcript is prepared.6Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 8.130
Fee Waivers for Low-Income Litigants
If the court has granted you a fee waiver under Government Code section 68631, the attendance fees under section 68086 are automatically waived.1California Legislative Information. California Government Code 68086 The court must provide a reporter at no cost for your hearing or trial, assuming one is available.
To request a waiver, file Form FW-001. Eligibility is based on receiving public benefits, being a low-income person, or not having enough income to cover both household necessities and court fees. If you specifically need a reporter, submit Form FW-020 with your waiver request.7Judicial Branch of California. Information Sheet on Waiver of Superior Court Fees
One limit worth knowing: the waiver covers the reporter’s attendance at your hearing, but if you want a written transcript afterward from the trial court, you pay the reporter separately or make other arrangements. The waiver does cover appellate transcript costs, including the Rule 8.130 trust deposit.
Recovering Reporter Fees If You Win
Under Code of Civil Procedure section 1033.5, the prevailing party in a civil case can claim court reporter fees established by statute as taxable costs. Transcripts of proceedings ordered by the court are also recoverable.8California Legislative Information. California Code of Civil Procedure 1033.5
Transcripts you order on your own, without a court order, are generally not recoverable as costs unless a specific statute says otherwise. If you anticipate needing a transcript for post-trial motions, getting the court to order it preserves the ability to recover the expense. Section 68086 separately confirms that the costs of official court reporter services are recoverable by the prevailing party.
Hiring a Pro Tempore Reporter When None Is Available
Court reporters are in short supply in California, and most civil hearings now proceed without one. Between April 2023 and June 2025, roughly 72 percent of family law, probate, and unlimited civil hearings had no verbatim record at all, and the figure reached 74 percent in the April-to-June 2025 quarter.9Judicial Branch of California. Shortage of Court Reporters in California No reporter and no electronic recording means no transcript for appeal.
When the court cannot provide an official reporter, California Rules of Court, Rule 2.956 lets a party arrange for a certified shorthand reporter to serve as an official pro tempore reporter. The court must appoint your chosen reporter unless there is good cause to refuse.10Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 2.956
You pay the pro tempore reporter’s attendance fee directly, and the amount is typically higher than the statutory section 68086 rates because you are hiring a private reporter at market rates. The expense is recoverable as part of taxable costs if you prevail. Electronic recording is authorized as a substitute only in limited civil, misdemeanor, and infraction proceedings. It is not authorized for family law, probate, or unlimited civil matters, so if you want a record in those cases and the court has no reporter available, hiring one yourself is the only route.
Additional Service Charges
A few premium services carry charges beyond the standard attendance and transcript fees, and they come up most often in complex litigation and depositions.
- Expedited transcripts carry the 50 percent surcharge under Government Code section 69951 for daily copy service in civil cases.
- Real-time reporting, which pushes a live text feed to counsel’s laptop during the proceeding, requires specialized certification and software. Fees are negotiated with the reporter rather than set by statute.
- Video deposition recording typically runs $250 to $600 depending on equipment, with another $150 to $300 for syncing the video to the text transcript.
- Remote depositions can reduce travel and venue costs but carry platform fees that vary by provider.
Travel expenses may apply when a reporter has to work outside their usual area. Those charges are negotiated with the reporter and are not governed by the statutory fee schedule.