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FREQUENTLY ASKED MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS
1. I’m interested in joining USCRA. What membership category
is appropriate for me?
If you are a full-time Federal Official Court Reporter employed
by the United States District Court, you would fall under the
Regular Member category. If you are a Federal Official Court
Reporter who job shares with another reporter, you should join
as a Job Share Member. If you are a court reporter but you are
not employed by the United States Courts, you are eligible to
apply for membership under the Associate Member category.
Student court reporters may join under the Student Member
category, and non-reporters interested in joining USCRA may
apply for membership as a Supporting Member.
Please note that pursuant to the USCRA bylaws, Associate and
Supporting Member applicants require endorsement by a Regular
Member. The endorsement box appears in the lower left-hand
corner of the membership application. If you don’t know a
Regular Member, please write to
membership@uscra.org.
2. What benefits will I receive by joining USCRA?
There are many benefits to joining USCRA. USCRA is the only
association that concerns itself solely with issues that affect
federal official court reporters. Job Share and Regular Members
receive online access to USCRA’s private library, which contains
invaluable information for the working federal official court
reporter. All members receive a subscription to USCRA’s
quarterly publication, The Circuit Rider, as well as important
updates regarding current issues. USCRA membership also entitles
you to be on the new e-Rider mail list in order to receive
e-mail updates on various information important to you and your
career as a federal official court reporter. As an USCRA member,
you also have the opportunity to sit for four Federal Certified
Realtime Reporter (FCRR) examinations per year. Regular, Job
Share, and Student Member applicants may apply for or renew
their membership online. Join today!
3. I recently left the federal court in order to work as a
freelance reporter. Why should I maintain my USCRA membership?
Some former federal reporters enjoy working in federal court on
a contract basis. Maintenance of your USCRA membership will
enable you to stay abreast of current issues that affect
reporters working in federal court. As a freelance reporter, you
would be eligible to join as an Associate Member at $50 per
year. What a bargain!
4. If I join in the middle of the year, how long will my
membership last?
If you join at any time before the Annual Convention (held in
October of each year), your membership will be in effect to the
end of the current calendar year. If you join after Annual
Convention, your membership will be in effect until the end of
the next calendar year. For instance, if you pay your dues in
September of 2005, your membership will expire December 31,
2005. However, if you pay your dues at the end of October 2005
after the Annual Convention, your membership will expire
December 31, 2006.
5. Do I have to be a member of USCRA in order to sit for the
Federal Certified Realtime Reporter (FCRR) examination or
USCRA’s Realtime Speed Contest?
Yes, you have to be a member in good standing with the
Association in order to sit for the FCRR exam or compete in the
Realtime Speed Contest. Any category of membership will satisfy
this requirement. The Realtime Speed Contest has the additional
requirement that you be registered to attend some portion of the
Annual Convention at which the contest is administered.
6. I’m a current member of USCRA. When do I need to pay my
annual dues?
Membership renewals become due on December 31st of each year.
Anyone who has not renewed by April 1st will be removed from the
USCRA membership rolls.
7. Why won’t the online form allow me to join as an Associate
or Supporting Member?
The USCRA bylaws require Regular Member endorsement for all
applicants wishing to join as an Associate or Supporting Member.
There is no means by which such an endorsement can be
accomplished with the online form; therefore, a hard copy form
is required to join under these types of membership. Please
print out a hard copy of the membership application, fill it
out, and submit it with the appropriate payment for
consideration by the Board. If you don’t know a Regular Member,
please contact
membership@uscra.org.
8. I have a question specific to my own membership, or my
question hasn’t been answered in this area of the website. What
should I do?
Send further inquiries to
membership@uscra.org, and your
questions will be answered promptly
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