Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts

The General Assembly enacted Public Chapter 450 in 2009, which requires that all court reporters be licensed to engage in the practice of court reporting after July 1, 2010. This was amended by Public Chapter 1123 in 2010, altering some of the grandfathering provisions and other Board functions and processes.

It is also important to note that this public chapter also exempted court reporting services paid for by a federal government agency and court reporting services provided pursuant to Title 40 of the Tennessee Code Annotated from the licensure requirement. In other words, a court reporter license is not required to perform court reporting services if:

1. the court reporter is paid to perform court reporting services exclusively by the federal government, OR
2. the court reporter is an official or per diem court reporter exclusively paid by the Administrative Office of the Courts for the State of Tennessee, AND
3. the services provided fall under the court reporter's duties required by the federal or state government to receive compensation.

If a court reporter performs services outside the specific job duties established by the federal or state government, then that reporter must be licensed to provide court reporting services. For example, a court reporter that provides court reporting services in the state criminal courts, as an official or per diem court reporter compensated by the Administrative Office of the Courts, is not required to be licensed to perform this service. However, if the official or per diem court reporter wishes to engage in court reporting at a deposition, hearing or trial in a civil matter, or any other matter than occurs outside of the state criminal court, a license would be required.

Should you have questions concerning license requirements, please contact Debbie Hayes at (615) 741-2687 or debra.hayes@tncourts.gov.