Policies and Procedures Manual - Section 1 - Membership

NCRA Certification and Certificate Use Policy

NCRA certifications:

Registered Skilled Reporter (RSR)
Registered Professional Reporter (RPR)
Registered Merit Reporter (RMR)
Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR)
Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR)
Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC)
Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS)
Certified Manager of Reporters Services (CMRS) (This program has been discontinued.)
Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI)
Master Certified Reporting Instructor (MCRI) (This program has been discontinued.)
Certified Program Evaluator (CPE) (This program is being transitioned to a certificate.)

Any NCRA Member who has earned one or more NCRA certification(s) may use the certification(s) or abbreviation(s) solely to denote that the individual has earned the certification(s). Any other use of the certification(s) is prohibited.

The NCRA certifications and their abbreviations are personal certifications. The phrase includes RPRs or includes Registered Professional Reporters may be used by a court reporting firm or entity in its advertisements if a majority of the reporters employed by or independently contracted by said firm or entity hold said certification. This policy shall equally apply to other NCRA designations.

Unauthorized use of the certifications may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Such unauthorized use by a member also may subject the member to loss of Membership and its privileges, including the right to have the Member’s name listed in NCRA PROLink.

NCRA certificates:

Realtime Systems Administrator
Trial Presentation Professional

For NCRA certificate programs, the use of an acronym such as RSA or TPP after a name is prohibited.
By successfully completing the seminars and passing the test, participants who are members of NCRA are authorized to use terminology on marketing materials as follows:

• NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator
• NCRA Trial Presentation Professional

Unauthorized use of NCRA certificates may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Such unauthorized use by a member also may subject the member to loss of membership and its privileges, including the right to have the Member’s name listed in NCRA PROLink.

Eligibility for Use of CLVS Logo

The CLVS Logo is for use by all persons who currently hold the Certified Legal Video Specialist certification.

Rules and Restrictions

• A CLVS whose certification is current and who is in good standing with the Association may use or reproduce the CLVS Logo on such CLVS’s advertising, business cards, letterhead, brochures, and other promotional materials in any medium solely to denote the individual’s holding of that certification. A videography firm or court reporting firm cannot use it in any way that gives the impression that the firm holds the CLVS certification. For example, a firm can only use the NCRA CLVS Logo on its website if it accurately and explicitly makes clear which individuals hold membership.
• A CLVS may not use the CLVS Logo as an expression of the Association’s views or its endorsement or approval of a particular topic or matter. In this regard, a CLVS may not use the CLVS Logo on the CLVS’s work product, regardless of the form of or media used for such work product.
• The CLVS Logo must be reproduced in black and white or in the official color and in a reasonable size to ensure readability. A small reproduction may make certain constituent parts of the CLVS Logo illegible. Use of the CLVS Logo on any Web page must function as a link to the CLVS page on the NCRA website: https://www.ncra.org. It is the responsibility of the user of the logo to maintain the link as an active link at all times or remove the logo from the Web page.  
• A CLVS in good standing may download the NCRA CLVS Logo after agreeing to abide by the NCRA CLVS Logo Policy.

Unauthorized use of the CLVS Logo may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Such unauthorized use by a Member also may subject the Member to loss of Membership and its privileges, including the right to have the Member’s name listed in NCRA PROLink.

NCRA Member and certification logo use consent form

Policy on Use of Ethics First Logos

Eligibility for use of the Ethics First Participant Logo

To be eligible to be an Ethics First Participant, the individual must be:

• an NCRA member; and
• involved in making the judicial/impartial record.
  • This includes NCRA-member stenographic reporters, captioners, and NCRA-member legal videographers (CLVS).

Eligibility for Ethics First Firm Logo

To be eligible as an Ethics First Firm, the firm in question must have:

• at least one owner or manager who is an NCRA member.
  • NOTE: Once a firm owner or manager registers their firm for Ethics First, that individual will automatically be registered as an Ethics First Participant or Supporter, depending on eligibility.

Eligibility for Use of the Ethics First Supporter Logo

The Ethics First Supporter category encompasses all individuals and organizations who, although not themselves directly involved in creating the record in judicial court proceedings or depositions, support the principles espoused by the Ethics First program.

This includes:

• attorneys
• law firms
• state and local bar associations
• judges
• state and local court reporter associations
• captioners*
• vendors*
• scopists*
• transcriptionists*

*The individual must be in the appropriate classification of NCRA membership (e.g., associate, retired, student) to be eligible for the Ethics First Supporter category. The Supporter category is not intended to allow nonmembers the opportunity to skirt the membership requirement for Ethics First Participants. Although captioners are NCRA members, they do not “make the judicial record” and therefore are ineligible to be Ethics First Participants. Captioners are eligible to be Ethics First Supporters.

In order to maintain the integrity of the program, NCRA reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any individual, firm, or association seeking to become an Ethics First Supporter.

Any other use of any of these logos is prohibited, except to the extent expressly permitted by the NCRA Board of Directors. Unauthorized use of the logos may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Unauthorized use by a Member may subject the Member to loss of Membership and/or loss of Membership privileges, including the ability to run the Member’s advertisements in Association advertising media and the right to have the Member’s name listed in NCRA PROLink.

Unauthorized use of the CLVS Logo may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Such unauthorized use by a Member also may subject the Member to loss of Membership and its privileges, including the right to have the Member’s name listed in NCRA PROLink.

NCRA Ethics First Program logo use consent form

NCRA STRONG Logo Use Policy

Use of the NCRA STRONG logos requires acceptance of the following terms and agreement. In addition:

• The individual must be an NCRA member and involved in making the judicial/impartial record. This includes stenographic court reporters, captioners, and legal videographers.
• The firm in question must have at least one owner or manager who is an NCRA member.

Terms and conditions

By accepting the terms of this policy, the individual agrees to be bound by the following.

All NCRA STRONG logos:

• May be used only on marketing materials.
• May not be incorporated into or used as part of a third party's own logo, company name, or otherwise without the specific written approval of NCRA.
• May not be used in any way that is likely to be confusing, misleading, or deceptive as to the true identity or the source of products, services, materials, courses, or programs.
• No mark that is misleadingly similar in design or appearance to the NCRA STRONG trademark or infringes on NCRA’s trademark rights may be used.
• May not be used in any manner that is likely to disparage, dilute, or negatively affect the reputation of NCRA or other reporters or reporting firms.
• May not be used in a way that is likely to imply that the user, its products, or its services are endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with NCRA, without prior written permission from NCRA.

NCRA will pursue its legal rights against those who engage in any of these activities or any other activities that infringe upon NCRA’s trademark rights. This applies not only to the public but also to NCRA members, court reporting firms, and other groups and organizations.

If you agree to the terms and conditions of this NCRA STRONG Logo Use Policy, please complete and submit the form below to acknowledge your consent. You may then download the NCRA STRONG logos, and NCRA grants you the nonexclusive right to use these logos as described in this Policy. Violation of the terms and conditions of this Policy may result in immediate revocation of your right to use the NCRA STRONG logos.

NCRA STRONG logo use consent form