Realtime Court Reporting: Equipment, Setup & Getting Started in 2026

Realtime turns your writing into readable text as you write and sends it to attorneys, judges, or CART consumers. It can be billed as a separate service with its own fee, and it is demanding to start. Here is a practical on-ramp for 2026.

What realtime is (and why it pays more)

Realtime means your steno is translated to readable English instantly, as you write, and streamed to others: attorneys at a deposition, a judge, or a CART consumer. There is no safety net of post-editing while it is happening; the text has to be clean enough to read live.

That difficulty is why realtime may earn a separate fee. Attorneys can search and annotate testimony in the moment, and accessibility consumers get immediate access. Pricing varies by setting, so confirm whether the feed, a rough draft, and the final transcript are separate services. In federal court, for example, the published maximum for a realtime feed is $3.70 per page for one feed, $2.55 per page for two to four feeds, and $1.80 per page for five or more, listed as its own per-page charge, separate from the transcript rates.¹ See how per-page rates work for the full federal schedule.

The gear

You need three things working together reliably:

• A steno writer with realtime output and a solid realtime connection.
• A connection to the attorneys’ devices: wireless or browser-based viewers where they are allowed (Advantage’s Bridge Mobile viewer, for example, opens in a web browser)², and a wired serial or USB link where a court requires one. Always have a tested backup connection.
• CAT software configured for realtime output and streaming. If you are still choosing, start with what CAT software does.

Reliability beats novelty here. A dropped connection mid-deposition is a professional emergency, so practiced, redundant setups win.

ASteno writer, realtime output

BCAT software, prepared dictionary

CWired serial or USB link

DWireless or browser viewer

Courtroom connections

Courts can set their own rules for a realtime feed to the bench, and some do not allow wireless. Fresno County Superior Court, for example, publishes realtime hardware and software requirements stating that it does not support wireless transmission for realtime. The feed must run over a wired serial connection, through a USB-to-serial adapter or a 9-pin serial port, to the Westlaw Case Notebook software on the judicial officer’s workstation. Its standard is CaseView output at 2400 baud, some judicial officers request Bridge at 38400 baud, and the reporter is responsible for matching the output and baud rate in the CAT software.³

ANo wireless for realtime

BReporter matches output and baud

CUSB-to-serial or 9-pin port

DStandard: CaseView, 2400 baud

EOn request: Bridge, 38400 baud

Before your first realtime hearing in a new courtroom, ask for the court’s written requirements, carry the adapter they call for, and test the connection before the proceeding starts.

Prepping your dictionary for realtime

Realtime exposes every weakness in your dictionary. To get clean output live:

• Resolve conflicts so common homophones translate correctly without thinking.
• Build and drill briefs for the names, terms, and phrases in this case. Prep the caption, parties, experts, and jargon before you sit down.
• Reduce untranslates so an attorney can read without you stopping to fix every line.
• Practice writing for the reader, not just for your later edit.

Realtime readiness is mostly dictionary work done before the job, not heroics during it.

CART vs. deposition realtime

The skill overlaps, but the settings differ:

• Deposition or legal realtime streams to attorneys and supports the official transcript workflow.
• CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) provides realtime text for people who are deaf or hard of hearing; BLS describes CART providers working in meetings, appointments, and college classes.⁴ The consumer reads it as communication rather than as a certified legal record, and BLS notes that captioners may work remotely.⁴

Many reporters do both; each can sharpen the other.

A practice path to realtime-ready

1. Get your speed and accuracy solid first. Realtime amplifies whatever your raw writing is.
2. Clean your dictionary relentlessly; treat conflicts as bugs.
3. Write realtime for yourself daily until your untranslate rate is low.
4. Offer realtime in low-stakes settings before high-stakes depositions.
5. Standardize a redundant tech setup you can deploy without thinking.
6. When you are ready, consider the NCRA Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) skills test: five minutes of realtime testimony (Q&A) at 200 wpm with 96 percent accuracy, and no editing before you upload your file. You must be an NCRA member and a current RPR (or higher) to register.⁵

Get there, and you can offer realtime as its own service, with a setup you trust.