According to the National Verbatim Reporters Association (NVRA), it is the only national professional organization dedicated to the practice of voice writing. The NVRA provides certification for work in both local and federal courthouses. The NVRA certification requirements are higher than most state certification and licensure requirements. The NVRA requires the ability to type 225 words per minute to obtain any certification, which is also the requirement to work in any federal court as a court reporter.
While there are many schools that offer voice writing equipment training and classes, the NVRA has certified only 60 of these schools as of 2011 as meeting the standards set forth by the NVRA. The NVRA website lists certain schools that are affiliates. The schools are located all over the country. If there are no schools in your area, many of the programs offer online classes which can be taken right from your own home. You will be required to purchase your own equipment for completion of these courses.
Each school will have their own schedules to complete a certification. If the school allows you to work at your own pace online, the completion of the course to obtain certification is up to you. According to the National Court Reporters, a person can become a novice writer in one year, and become proficient in realtime voice writing in about two years. Many course reporters finish learning the skills needed on the job.
The NVRA issues five types of national certifications for voice writing. Three are considered directly tied to court reporting: the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), the Certificate of Merit (CM) and the Realtime Verbatim Reporter (RVR). The NVRA also has a closed captioning certification, Registered Broadcast Captioner (RBC), and the Registered CART Provider (RCP). The NVRA has links on its website to information on where testing can be completed to obtain any of these certifications.