We are very excited about some of the changes here at the Board office. Our biggest change is online license renewal. Effective November 18, 2002, court reporters can renew their certifications online at www.texasonline.state.tx.us . However, for the time being, we still require those who renew online to mail or fax in their CE Compliance Verification forms to the office. The process will work as follows: 1) renew online 2) mail or fax in CE compliance forms w/your online payment verification printout, and 3) your new license will be issued. Reporters who do not renew online cannot fax in their forms. They must continue to follow current procedure and mail in their CE form, Renewal form and renewal fees to P O Box 13122, Austin, and TX 78711-3122. Revised Continuing Education Rules. The Continuing Education Rules for Court Reporters have been revised. These changes will become effective January 1, 2003. Some highlights of those changes include, but are not limited to: 1) Articles and books are no longer accepted for CE points 2) there will be fees for CE course approvals, and 3) all CE courses/seminars submitted for renewals must have an approved program number. You will no longer be able to just write “NCRA.” The new rules will soon be available on our website: www.crcb.state.tx.us . You can submit a written request for a hard copy if you cannot access them online. Revised Uniform Format Manual. The Uniform Format Manual for Court Reporters is currently under review for revisions. Once approved, the new manual will made be available on our website: www.crcb.state.tx.us . You can submit a written request for a hard copy if you cannot access them online. Forms available online. For those of you who are not yet aware, as of May 2002, the Board office has placed our forms on our website. Furthermore, these forms can be completed online and then printed from your computer. This is an excellent feature for those who do not renew their licenses online. Firm Registration/renewals. In the last legislative session, a bill was passed requiring court reporting firms in Texas to register and/or renew their registrations with the Board office. Additionally, these firms are required to pay a $200 registration fee and $200 renewal fee as well. Firms that expired in 2001 and 2002 are those that originally registered with our office between the years 1997 and 2000. (See our website for more information on firm registrations. This can be found in Chapter 52 of the Government Code.) (Back to Table of Contents) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||