Preparing for the Exam
Eligibility: Who may take the exams?
Testers do not need to be a member of AAERT in order to sit for an AAERT exam. If they pass the exam(s), they must become a Professional Member within 30 days in order to receive their certification.
In order to sit for the exam(s), testers must:
- be eligible for a notary public commission AND
- have obtained a high school diploma or its equivalent
For a greater likelihood of passing the exam, the following is recommended (not required) for testers:
- have one year of experience as a reporter or transcriber; OR
- have completed a course of study in court reporting.
Best Practices Guide
AAERT’s Best Practices Guide, which can be found on our Home Page under the “Resources” tab, is a recommended resource tool in helping prepare you for certification testing. It not only outlines such items as log annotations, but it also guides you through courtroom procedures, deposition procedures, and transcription issues.
The guide also contains other resources and references used in the certification testing, as well as everyday use. Some of these references are Morson’s English Guide for Court Reporters, The Elements of Style, and Black’s Law Dictionary. For a complete PDF listing of resources and references, CLICK HERE.
Exam Fee and Payment Methods
The digital transcriber knowledge exam
$275
Retake of either knowledge exam
$175
Digital reporter knowledge exam
$275
Retake of transcriber practical exam
$95
Candidates may sit for either exam after payment is received AND after a letter of recommendation is submitted, if necessary. Your registration process will then be taken over by Loyalist Exam Services (LES). You will receive an email from them. Their email address will be exams@loyalistexams.com, and this email address should be placed in your “Safe List” in order to receive important test information.
(See Fees and Deadlines for more information.)
Online Knowledge Exam Registration Steps and Information
Certification is an important milestone in your professional career; please read instructions carefully.
The timed online portion may cover these three areas:
- (1) technical aspects of electronic practice — including, for reporters, microphone protocols;
- (2) legal procedures and principles; and
- (3) vocabulary.
The reporter and transcriber online exams are not identical, although there may be some areas of overlap where practices / principles converge. The exam is all multiple choice which will include some graphics and audio questions.
You will need the following in order to take the Knowledge exam(s):