Filing has opened for the New York State Unified Court System Court Reporter and Senior Court Reporter civil service exam! This is a monumental event that happens about once every 4 years due to civil service law. If you’ve ever wanted a career in the New York State Unified Court System, the time has come! Listen to prominent New York reporters like ASSCR President Eric Allen, secure your and your family’s future!

The most important tip that anyone can give you is to read through ALL of the examination materials. Do not skimp on it. For example, there’s an FAQ. You should read it. The exam application is linked here.

For the court reporter test, there’s an exam announcement. Read that too. A copy is archived below so that future court reporters will be able to see what it looks like when it’s taken down. Court website link.

For the court reporter exam, there’s a subject matter guide. You’re going to want to download and read that.

There’s a written examination sample questions page. Make sure you get that. I also generated some tests to simulate what the test was like several years ago. The written examination page is also available for download below or off the court’s website.

There are also a sample transcript. In my view, most of us will be familiar with this, but read it anyway.

There’s a sample video. Watch it.

Then there’s an orientation guide. Read the entire guide. Be familiar with the guide. They’ve changed the testing procedures this year from years prior! You cannot go off of tests you’ve taken in the past!

All of this applies to the Senior Court Reporter exam as well. There’s a subject matter guide.

There are written component sample questions.

There are the transcript and video. Finally, there’s the orientation guide.

Just for completeness, the job announcement for Senior Court Reporter is here.

For anybody that came down this far, here’s my take. Politically, we’ve got a lot of forces trying to push us out. New York is relatively stable. But we’ve all seen what they’re doing in California, crying shortage while refusing to use funding earmarked for attracting stenographers. If we get a lot of people filing for this test, I bet it’ll keep New York stable at least another decade. So if anybody knows anybody that might want this wonderful career, now is the time to let them know. You won’t just be helping the individual. You’ll also be benefitting us all as a group.

Again, read all the materials. I cannot stress this enough. Every single time this test is given there are people that fail because they did not read all the instructions and were not ready. I personally failed so badly once that I had to withdraw from the test. So give yourself the best chance to succeed, read all the materials, practice hard, and prepare yourself. You’ll do great.