As long as you choose. Professional transcription is sold by turnaround tier: same day, next day, 3 day, 7 day, 14 day, and 30 day. The clock starts when the transcriber receives your deposit, and faster tiers cost more per page.
What actually consumes the time
Transcription is skilled listening at scale. An hour of clear, single-speaker audio takes a professional several hours to transcribe accurately; add cross-talk, poor microphones, technical vocabulary, and proofreading, and a full hearing day is a serious production effort. The turnaround tiers exist because compressing that work takes scheduling, splitting, and coordinated review, not because anyone is sitting on your file.
Two other clocks matter: how quickly the court produces the audio, and how quickly you pay the deposit. We request audio promptly, and the turnaround you purchased is measured from the deposit, so paying fast genuinely gets your transcript sooner.
Matching the tier to your deadline
Work backward from the date you must file or use the transcript, leave a margin for review, and pick the tier that lands inside it. If a court order sets your deadline, tell us; we watch it with you. For genuine emergencies, call before ordering and we will tell you plainly whether same day is achievable for your audio length.