Appeal Transcript Preparation FAQs

The appellant will, per California rules of Court, (CRC) Rule 8.121 file a notice of designation with the Orange County Superior Court, OCSC Civil Appeals unit, and serve you with a copy. In the notice of designation the appellant must state the dates of proceedings to be included in the transcript [CRC Rule 8.130(a)(3)]. The appellant’s notice of designation must identify any proceedings for which a certified transcript has been previously prepared [CRC Rule 8.130(a)(1)]. If the appellant serves and files a notice designating a reporter’s transcript, the respondent may, within 10 days after such service, serve and file a notice in superior court designating any additional proceedings the respondent wants included in the transcript. Upon verification that the parties have either deposited the funds for the transcript with the court, filed a Court Reporter Waiver of Deposit, or filed a copy of an application to the Court Reporter’s Board of California Transcript Reimbursement Fund (TRF), the OCSC Civil Appeals unit will prepare and mail to your address on file a Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal with the designation and chronological list of reporters attached.

The appellant (or any party who wants a transcript) may, on the day their notice of designation is filed, choose one of the following options:

• The parties may contact you directly for an estimate and pay you directly. You should complete and provide them a Certificate of Court Reporter - Waiver of Deposit for Transcript on Appeal form which they must file with the court. Upon receipt, the court will send you a Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal.
• The parties may apply to the Court Reporters Board for payment or reimbursement from the Transcript Reimbursement Fund. If approved, the Board will notify the applicant and the applicant must file notice with the court stating the sum of reimbursement paid per Business and Professions Code section 8030.6. Upon receipt, the court will send you a Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal. Upon completion of the transcript(s), you may seek reimbursement through the Court Reporters Board. For additional information regarding the Transcript Reimbursement Fund, please visit the Court Reporters Board of California at http://www.courtreportersboard.ca.gov/consumers/index.shtml
• The parties may contact you directly for an estimate and deposit the amount you indicate with the court, or the parties may deposit with the court an amount calculated per CRC CRC Rule 8.130(b)(1)(B). i.e., $430 per fraction of the day’s proceedings that did not exceed 3 hours, or $860 per day or fraction that exceeded 3 hours or the lower rate of $60/$180 if the designation identifies proceedings for which a certified transcript has been previously prepared.

Upon deposit with the court, the OCSC Civil Appeals unit will send you a Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal and Designation. If you believe the amount deposited is inadequate, you may, within 15 days after the court mails the Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal, file with the court and mail to the designating parties a Notice Re Insufficient Fees for Preparation of Reporter’s Transcript on Appeal [CRC Rule 8.130(b)(2)]. The party has 10 days to deposit the additional amount. If the amount is not paid, the court will send a Notice of Default to the party. The court will notify you whether the party paid so you can commence preparation of the transcript.

Review the Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appealand theDesignation carefully. Both documents contain important information such as which proceedings are to be included in the appeal transcript, due date, number of copies, and whether you are to prepare a paper transcript and/or computer readable copy of the record.

Upon completion of the transcript(s), you must submit to the primary reporter the ascii of the transcripts, as well as a Notice of Transcripts/Disks Filed – Appeals and an OCSC Court Reporter Appellate Claim form. If you do not have an assigned vendor number in the court’s payment system, you will need to complete, sign and submit a Payee Data Recordform. Without the vendor number, the court cannot pay you for your transcripts.  After obtaining the vendor number, you will use that number on all subsequent invoices.  Please contact Vicki Lowe at at vlowe@occourts.org or Adam Flaws at jflaws@occourts.org to obtain the Payee Data Record form.

The primary reporter will bind the transcripts in appellate format per CRC Rule 8.144 and will submit them to the Civil Appellate Division: 700 Civic Center Drive West, Santa Ana, CA 92701

After the transcripts are reviewed and have been found to comply with CRC Rule 8.144,the court will process your claim for payment and will mail you a check. Any excess funds on deposit with the court will be refunded to the parties when the complete record on appeal is transmitted to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

Per CRC Rule 8.144 (f)(2) the court reporter shall be paid the statutory rate for a completed transcript. The statutory rates per Government Code sections 69950 and 69954 are as follows:

OCSC Folio Rate - 3.0 per Page

The original and all copies of transcripts must be filed with the OCSC Civil Appeals unit by the due date indicated on the Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal. You must file additional copies of the transcript if multiple appellants equally share the cost of preparing the record [ CRC Rule 8.130 (f) and CRC Rule 8.147 (a) (2)].

The Primary Reporter has the responsibility of contacting all reporters, coordinating the preparation of the transcripts, preparing the cover for each volume, and filing all the transcripts with the OCSC Civil Appellate division. To avoid any unnecessary delays, all non-primary reporters must submit their transcripts, Notice of Transcripts Filed - Appeal form and Court Reporter Appellate Claim form to the Primary Reporter no later than the date specified by the Primary Reporter. The primary reporter must receive all portions of the appeal record on the date they request to allow sufficient time to prepare the master index, bind all volumes and file the transcript.

When the transcript is completed, the reporter must notify all parties to the appeal that the transcript is complete, bill each designating party at the statutory rate, and send a copy of the bill to the superior court clerk. The clerk must pay the reporter from that party's deposited funds and refund any excess deposit or notify the party of any additional funds needed. In a multiple reporter case, the clerk must pay each reporter who certifies under penalty of perjury that his or her transcript portion is completed [ CRC Rule 8.130 (f)(2)].

The OCSC appellate clerk will transmit the original transcripts along with the completed record on appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal and mail copies to the parties.

Submit your Request for Extension of Time to lmunoz@occourts.org and vlowe@occourts.org at Court Reporter Services unit at Central Justice Center. Per CRC Rule 8.130(f), only the reviewing court can extend the time to prepare the reporter’s transcript. (Also see CRC Rule 8.60 which governs extensions of time.) Failure to timely file an appellate transcript may subject a court reporter to Court or licensing sanctions.

Pursuant to CRC Rule 8.130(b)(3)(C), certified transcripts are no longer acceptable unless in CRC 8.144 format and all designated proceedings have been transcribed.

CRC Rule 8.144 determines the standard format. See Orange County Superior Court Transcript Standardization Guidelines

You may receive an order from the Fourth District Court of Appeal, or notification from the OCSC Civil Appeals unit, or a party to the appeal. The OCSC Civil Appeals unit will prepare and mail a Notice to Reporter to Prepare Transcript on Appeal. Review CRC Rule 8.155 for additional information regarding when and how to comply, and whether the parties may be required to pay for an additional transcript.

If the order or request for additional (augmented) transcript is made after the record on appeal has been transmitted to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, the parties must make new arrangements with you for payment of the transcript. Any excess funds on deposit with the court will have been refunded when the original record on appeal was transmitted to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

The OCSC Civil Appeal unit will notify you if the appeal is abandoned or dismissed prior to the submission of the record on appeal to the reviewing court; otherwise, the Fourth District Court of Appeal will notify you. You are entitled to collect payment for any portion of transcripts you prepared prior to the notification of abandonment or dismissal. Note: A dismissal is not final until the remittitur has been issued by the Fourth District Court of Appeal, usually sixty (60) days after the dismissal. If a deposit was made with the court, your claim will be held until the remittitur has been issued.

Please contact (657) 622-7306 and request to speak to a supervisor for assistance.