The short answer
The transcript world has its own vocabulary. Here are the terms clients actually encounter, defined plainly: from approved transcriber and certified transcript to daily copy, the 90-day rule, and verbatim.
| Term | Plain-English meaning |
|---|---|
| Approved transcriber | A transcriber authorized by a federal court to receive hearing audio and produce official transcripts for that court. |
| AAERT | The American Association of Electronic Reporters and Transcribers, the national certifying body for electronic reporting and transcription professionals. |
| Certified transcript | A transcript bearing the transcriber's formal attestation that it is a true, accurate, and complete record of the proceeding. |
| CER / CET / CDR | AAERT credentials: Certified Electronic Reporter, Certified Electronic Transcriber, and Certified Digital Reporter. |
| Condensed transcript | A space-saving format printing multiple transcript pages per sheet, used for reference copies. |
| Daily copy | Transcript delivery of each trial day's proceedings by the next session, used in fast-moving trials. |
| Designation | The appellant's specification of which proceedings must be transcribed for the record on appeal. |
| Deposit | The advance payment, estimated from audio length, that starts the transcription clock. |
| Errata | A listing of corrections to a transcript. |
| Expedited | Any accelerated turnaround tier: 7-day, 3-day, next-day, or same-day delivery. |
| FTR | For The Record, a widely used courtroom digital recording system. |
| Inaudible notation | The standardized marking for passages that genuinely cannot be discerned from the recording. |
| Meeting of creditors (341) | The sworn examination of a debtor by the trustee and creditors under Section 341 of the Bankruptcy Code, recorded and transcribable. |
| PACER | Public Access to Court Electronic Records, the federal courts' online docket system. |
| Page rate | The per-page price of a transcript, set by jurisdiction and turnaround tier. |
| Pro se | A party representing themselves without an attorney. |
| Realtime | Instant transcription displayed as a proceeding happens, a stenographic specialty. |
| Record on appeal | The complete set of materials, including transcripts and exhibits, the appellate court reviews. |
| Transcriber of record | The transcriber who produced a filed transcript, from whom copies are purchased during the restriction window. |
| Verbatim | Word for word. The transcript reports exactly what was said, without editing or interpretation. |