1.1 RPR Credential Overview, WKT Format & Scoring

1.1 RPR Credential Overview, WKT Format & Scoring

The Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) credential, established and administered by the National Court Reporters Association (NCRA), is NCRA's foundational certification for entry-level freelance and official stenographic reporters. Whether serving in official judicial courtrooms, covering civil freelance depositions, providing CART (Communication Access Realtime Translation) for the deaf and hard-of-hearing, or producing broadcast captions, the RPR designation signals to employers, judicial officers, and litigators that a reporter possesses the technical proficiency, professional ethics, and speed necessary to capture the spoken record with uncompromising precision.

While many states maintain their own Certified Shorthand Reporter (CSR) examinations, the NCRA RPR is nationally recognized across federal and state court jurisdictions. For many working reporters, the RPR is also the launching pad for advanced NCRA certifications: the Registered Merit Reporter (RMR) (skills legs up to 260 WPM) and the Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR) (a realtime testimony leg at 200 WPM with 96 percent accuracy) both require NCRA membership and a current RPR, and the Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR) builds on the RMR.

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How the WKT Is Delivered

The Written Knowledge Test (WKT) is delivered by Pearson VUE. NCRA's WKT information page gives candidates two options: test online from a location of their choosing through OnVUE online proctoring, or test at a Pearson VUE test center.

Registration and scheduling follow a fixed sequence:

1. Register with NCRA during an open registration period. NCRA publishes each registration period and its matching testing period on the WKT page.
2. Wait for NCRA's confirmation email, which NCRA says arrives within three business days, before you schedule.
3. Schedule with Pearson VUE for any day and time inside the testing period you registered for.
4. Match your ID exactly. The first and last name on your valid photo ID must match your NCRA record exactly (Pearson VUE does not check middle names), or you will not be permitted to test.

Every candidate also accepts NCRA's test policy: the WKT is confidential, protected by trade secret law, and may not be disclosed or reproduced in any form.

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Examination Structure: The 120-Question Breakdown

The RPR WKT consists of 120 multiple-choice questions delivered over an appointment seat time with a strict 110-minute testing limit. Understanding the internal architecture of these 120 items is critical for strategic pacing and psychological composure:

[!IMPORTANT] Psychological Strategy for Pretest Items: The 20 pretest questions are distributed randomly throughout the 120 items without visual markers, special labels, or separate sections. Candidates cannot tell which questions count and which do not. A fatal error is trying to guess whether an unusually challenging or unfamiliar question is an unscored pretest item and dismissing it. Treat every single question as if it is scored.

With 120 questions to complete in 110 minutes, candidates have an average of 55 seconds per question. A disciplined three-pass strategy is strongly recommended:

1. First Pass (Minutes 1–60): Move steadily through the entire exam, immediately answering clear-cut recall and factual questions. Flag any scenario question that requires deep reading or prolonged calculation.
2. Second Pass (Minutes 61–95): Return to flagged scenario-based questions in Technology and Ethics. Carefully parse the facts, eliminate implausible choices, and commit to an answer.
3. Final Pass (Minutes 96–110): Review the question summary so that no item is left blank (an unanswered question cannot earn credit), then revisit flagged items.

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The RPR Job Analysis and Domain Weights

NCRA says WKT questions are tied directly to the RPR Job Analysis (last updated February 2019 and still the analysis linked from NCRA's WKT page). The percentage next to each domain equals the approximate number of questions on the test in that area, and NCRA notes that technology questions about computer knowledge are based on Windows operating systems.

Notice that Technology and Innovation is the largest domain at 43%. Candidates coming out of court reporting programs often assume the written exam is mainly grammar and vocabulary. A candidate who neglects computer operations, realtime connections, troubleshooting, and file security gives up the biggest single share of the test.

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Understanding the Scaled Passing Score of 70

NCRA sets the WKT passing standard as a scaled score of 70 or better. NCRA explains that scaled scoring keeps difficulty fair and consistent from one administration to the next by applying two widely accepted standard-setting methods to each question, and that it works with Pearson VUE and its Test Advisory Committee to keep the program in line with testing-industry practice.

What that means for you:

• 70 is not "70 percent correct." The reported score is a scaled value, not a raw count out of 100.
• Only the 100 scored items count. The 20 pretest items do not affect your score, but you cannot tell which items they are.
• NCRA does not publish a raw-score cut. Do not rely on rumors about how many correct answers "equal" a 70.

Correct answers on the 100 scored items  -->  standard setting and scaling  -->  scaled score (70 or better = pass)

Results timeline

After the test you receive a preliminary pass/fail result and a score report showing how you performed in each domain. NCRA emails official scores within 2 to 4 weeks after the testing window closes and states that it cannot expedite results. At a test center you may receive the score report at the front desk; OnVUE candidates receive an email link, and every candidate can view the report in their Pearson VUE account.

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Registration Fees, Retest Policies & Administrative Rules

Candidates register for the WKT through NCRA's certification portal and schedule their testing appointment on Pearson VUE's platform. Registration fees follow a tiered schedule based on candidate membership status:

Testing Periods, Cancellations, and Retesting

NCRA does not offer the WKT on demand. It publishes registration periods and matching testing periods on the WKT information page; for example, the September 1–20, 2026 registration period feeds an October 1–18, 2026 testing period. Key rules from NCRA's current pages:

• Register first, then schedule any day and time within the testing period you registered for. Registration ends at midnight Eastern Time.
• Cancel in writing. Send NCRA's WKT cancellation form to testing@ncra.org by the last day of the testing period; NCRA keeps a $35 processing fee, and fees are forfeited after that deadline. Also cancel any Pearson VUE appointment, or Pearson VUE can charge an additional $65 no-show fee.
• If you do not pass, register again for a later testing period and pay the fee again. NCRA's pages do not publish a lifetime limit on attempts, and dual (back-to-back) registration is offered only for skills tests, not for the WKT.

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Post-Pass Requirements & the 3-Year Component Retention Clock

Achieving a passing score on the WKT is a monumental milestone, but candidates must actively manage two critical administrative requirements to secure and maintain their credential:

[!WARNING] The 3-Year Exam Retention Rule: Under NCRA's Exam Retention Policy (in effect since October 1, 2018), each passed WKT or skills test stays valid for three years from the date of the official pass. You must finish the remaining requirements before a component's three years run out, or that component expires and must be retaken. If a candidate passes the WKT on June 1, 2026, but fails to pass the final remaining skills leg by June 1, 2029, the WKT pass officially expires, and the written exam must be taken and passed again.

[!IMPORTANT] The 30-Day Membership Requirement: NCRA says current or aspiring stenographic reporters are eligible to test and do not need to be NCRA members to take the RPR exam. Candidates who wish to use the RPR credential must become a Registered member of NCRA within 30 days of passing all RPR requirements.

To renew the RPR, you maintain NCRA membership and earn continuing education credit in every three-year cycle. The RPR page summarizes this as a minimum of 3.0 CEUs over three years; NCRA's Continuing Education Program Rules spell it out as 3.0 total credits per cycle, at least 2.0 of which must be CEUs (one CEU equals 10 contact hours), with the balance allowed as Professional Development Credits (PDCs). Section 19.2 covers the rules in detail.