Indiana Supreme Court
Division of State Court Administration
30 S. Meridian Street, Ste. 500
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Lilia G. Judson, Esq.
Executive Director

David J. Remondini, Esq.
Chief Deputy Executive Director

Pho: 317-232-2542
Fax: 317-233-6586

Complete Staff Listing

State Court Administration > Projects & Initiatives > Court Reporter Plans > History of Court Reporter Fee Standardization History of Court Reporter Fee Standardization

The cost of preparing an appellate transcript is borne by the party appealing the decision, ruling or verdict of the trial court. Until the late 1990's, the litigant's cost for preparation of the transcript was left to the discretion of the individual trial court judge and the reporter for that trial court. To compel uniformity within each county and to bring Indiana 's practices in line with the U.S. Department of Labor's recently promulgated regulations, the Indiana Supreme Court adopted Administrative Rule 15 in 1998. Any changes to a local rule promulgated pursuant to Administrative Rule 15 required the approval of the Supreme Court. Administrative Rule 15 requires that the courts of each county uniformly adopt one of three Court Reporter Models by local court rule. The models vary slightly, but each contains the following requirements:

  1. A per page fee for county indigent transcript preparation;
  2. A per page fee for state indigent transcript preparation;
  3. A maximum per page fee that a court reporter may charge for the preparation of a private transcript;
  4. The requirement that each court reporter report to the Division of State Court Administration all transcript fees received by the court reporter at least annually.

As a result, by the end of 1998 each county had imposed a uniform schedule of expenses for transcript preparation. Fees ranged from $2.00 to $3.50 per page but were consistent within each county.

In 2000, the Supreme Court adopted new Rules o f Appellate Procedure that became effective January 1, 2001. These rules imposed new responsibilities on court reporters preparing trial transcripts, such as requiring more text per page; that court reporters prepare tables of contents and marginal notations; and that they bind and prepare the transcript for submission. In response, many counties submitted amendments to their local rules increasing the per page fee.