Rule 12 Grandfather Certification

This rule gave experienced court reporters a way to get certified without taking a test, as long as they were already working before March 1, 1984. If a reporter worked in a courtroom setting and had more than one year of experience by that date, they could get certified by having the state court administrator's office send in a letter recommending them.

Freelance reporters had a different path. If they had more than one year of experience by March 1, 1984, they could get certified by submitting recommendation letters from four different lawyers who could vouch for their work.

Even after getting certified this way, reporters were still allowed to take the certification test if they wanted to. And if they took the test and did not pass, it would not cost them anything. Their certification would stay in place either way. This gave experienced reporters a safety net so they could try the test without any risk to the certification they already earned.