The Certified Realtime Captioner credential from the National Court Reporters Association is for current or aspiring stenographic captioners. This page gives you free practice sets by topic, a map of the official content areas, worked questions with explanations, a study plan and answers to common questions about the Skills Test and the Written Knowledge Test.
Numbers in brackets link to the official sources listed under Sources & last verified. Dates that have passed are removed automatically.
| Item | Detail | Source · Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Number of questions (Skills Test) | Literary matter dictated at 180 wpm[1] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Number of questions (Written Knowledge Test) | 50 multiple-choice questions[1] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Time limit (Skills Test) | 5 minutes (no editing allowed)[1] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Passing score (Written Knowledge Test) | 70% or higher[1] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Exam fee (Skills Test) | $225 member / $193 student / $253 non-member (single test)[2] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Exam fee (Written Knowledge Test) | $220 member / $181 student / $253 non-member[3] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Retake policy (Skills Test) | One attempt per monthly block (or a dual back-to-back registration)[2] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Validity | Passed component valid 3 years toward the CRC[4] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Renewal | NCRA membership + 3.0 CEUs every 3 years[1] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Delivery (Skills Test) | Online only, via Realtime Coach + ProctorU/Record+[2] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Delivery (Written Knowledge Test) | Pearson VUE OnVUE online proctoring or Pearson test center[5] | pearsonvue.com · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Eligibility | Current or aspiring stenographic captioners; NCRA membership not required to test[1] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Score release (Skills Test) | Official results in 10–15 business days[6] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Score release (Written Knowledge Test) | Preliminary pass/fail at test; official scores 2–4 weeks after window closes[3] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Registration deadline (Skills Test) | Dec. 20, 2026 (for Jan. 2027 tests)[2] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Registration opens (Skills Test) | Dec. 1, 2026 (for Jan. 2027 tests)[2] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Registration opens (Written Knowledge Test) | Dec. 1, 2026 (for Jan. 2027 tests)[3] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Testing window (Skills Test) | Nov. 1–20, 2026; then Jan. 1–20, 2027[2] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
| Testing window (Written Knowledge Test) | Jan. 4–25, 2027 (next window)[3] | National Court Reporters Association · Oct 22, 2026 |
According to National Court Reporters Association, “1. CRC Online Skills Test Literary matter at 180 wpm”[1]
The CRC is an NCRA certification for stenographic captioners. Candidates must be current or aspiring stenographic captioners, and NCRA membership is not required to test. You earn the credential by passing the Skills Test and the Written Knowledge Test, each taken separately.
The Skills Test is delivered online only, through Realtime Coach with ProctorU/Record+. It uses literary matter dictated at 180 wpm, lasts 5 minutes, and allows no editing. Official results are emailed in 10–15 business days. You may register for a single attempt in each open registration window and test the following month, or use a dual back-to-back registration. A single test costs $225 for members, $193 for students and $253 for non-members.
The Written Knowledge Test is delivered by Pearson VUE, through OnVUE online proctoring or at a Pearson test center. It has 50 multiple-choice questions, and you need 70% or higher. You see a preliminary pass or fail at the test, and official scores arrive 2–4 weeks after the window closes. Fees are $220 for members, $181 for students and $253 for non-members.
A passed component stays valid for 3 years toward the CRC. Renewal requires NCRA membership and 3.0 CEUs every 3 years. Windows and fees are set by NCRA and can change, so confirm them on the official NCRA pages before you register.
The content areas below are copied from the official CRC content outline published by National Court Reporters Association, with the share of the exam each area carries. The right-hand column shows which of our practice sets covers it.
| Official content area | Weight | Practice on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Language skills[1] | 15% | CRC Editing & Proofreading for Real-Time C... Practise spotting errors in punctuation, grammar and word choice, and deciding what a clean caption line should look like. |
| Research[1] | 10% | CRC Legal Research & Case Analysis Practise finding and checking names, terms and background material so that unfamiliar vocabulary does not stall your writing. |
| The Broadcast captioning environment[1] | 25% | CRC Captioning Standards & Guidelines Practise the standards and guidelines that shape captions for live and recorded programming, including accuracy and presentation. |
| The CART captioning environment[1] | 30% | CRC Accessibility Laws & CART Services Practise how CART services work for clients, including accessibility rules, auxiliary aids and who decides what is provided. |
| Writing realtime[1] | 20% | CRC Stenography Theory & CAT Software Practise steno theory, briefs, conflicts and the way your CAT software handles your dictionary during live writing. |
Prepare for the CRC - Certified Realtime Captioner exam with our free practice test modules. Each quiz covers key topics to help you pass on your first try.
These are practice questions written for this site, not questions from the real exam. Each explanation shows why the right answer is right and why the others are wrong.
Question: Under the ADA, who generally has the authority to determine which auxiliary aid or service will be provided to a deaf or hard-of-hearing individual?
Answer: B. The covered entity, in consultation with the consumer
Explanation:
The correct answer is that the covered entity decides, in consultation with the consumer. The entity carries the responsibility for providing effective communication, so it makes the final call, but it must give primary consideration to the preference the person with a disability expresses.
The consumer always choosing is wrong because a preference is weighed heavily, not treated as binding. A state government mandating the aid type is wrong because the decision is made case by case, not fixed by a state list. The healthcare provider deciding independently is wrong because the decision is meant to involve the person who will use the aid.
Rule to remember: the entity decides, but only after asking and seriously weighing what the person requests.
Question: How does ongoing professional development support legal research & case analysis in Certified Realtime Captioner?
Answer: A. It keeps professionals informed of evolving standards and best practices
Explanation:
The correct answer is that ongoing professional development keeps professionals informed of evolving standards and best practices. Rules, technology and expectations change, and regular learning is how a practitioner keeps up.
Calling it irrelevant to compliance outcomes is wrong because staying current is one of the main ways compliance is maintained. Saying it only benefits entry-level professionals is wrong because experienced practitioners face the same changes and need to keep up as well. Saying it replaces formal compliance audits is wrong because learning and auditing do different jobs: one builds knowledge, the other checks that practice matches the requirements.
Rule to remember: continuing education supports good practice at every career stage, and it never substitutes for formal checks.
Question: How should unexpected results during courtroom procedures & protocols be handled in Certified Realtime Captioner?
Answer: A. Document the findings, analyze potential causes, and consult protocols
Explanation:
The correct answer is to document the findings, analyze potential causes and consult protocols. An unexpected result is information, and the sound response is a recorded, traceable investigation that follows the procedures already in place.
Ignoring results that do not match expectations is wrong because it hides a possible problem. Repeating the procedure until the desired result appears is wrong because it picks the outcome you want instead of finding out what happened, and it makes the record unreliable. Blaming equipment error automatically is wrong because it assumes a cause without evidence and stops the real investigation.
Rule to remember: record what happened, look for the cause, and follow the established protocol rather than shaping the result.
Start with the official material. Read the NCRA CRC page and the Written Knowledge Test information so you know the five content areas, the format and the current windows. Then use the map above to match each content area to a practice set.
Take one practice set cold, without notes, and read every explanation, including the ones for questions you got right. Write down the rule behind each miss in a short list, grouped by content area. The areas that carry the most weight, the CART and Broadcast captioning environments, deserve the most repeat sets, but do not skip the smaller ones.
Keep your writing practice separate from question practice. The Skills Test rewards clean realtime writing at speed with no editing, so schedule timed dictation on your own software and review your untranslates and conflicts afterwards. Update your dictionary from what you find.
Close to test day, mix questions from different sets so you are not relying on topic cues. Re-read your list of rules instead of starting new material. Check your registration window, your equipment and your proctoring setup well before the day. Our questions are written by us with AI tools and are not real exam questions, so treat them as practice for the ideas, not a preview of the test.
You must score 70% or higher on the Written Knowledge Test, which has 50 multiple-choice questions. You see a preliminary pass or fail at the test, and official scores are emailed 2–4 weeks after the testing window closes.
It is online only, through Realtime Coach with ProctorU/Record+. You write literary matter dictated at 180 wpm for 5 minutes, and no editing is allowed. Official results are emailed within 10–15 business days of completing the test.
Each component is priced separately. The Skills Test is $225 for members, $193 for students and $253 for non-members. The Written Knowledge Test is $220 for members, $181 for students and $253 for non-members. NCRA membership is not required to test.
For the Skills Test, registration for January tests opens Dec. 1 and closes Dec. 20, 2026, with testing Jan. 1–20, 2027. The Written Knowledge Test runs Jan. 4–25, 2027, with registration Dec. 1–20, 2026. Check NCRA for later windows.
You may register for a single attempt in each open registration window and then test the following month. A dual back-to-back registration is also possible. Read the NCRA online skills testing policies for the exact rules before you register.
A passed Written Knowledge Test or Skills Test is valid for 3 years toward earning the CRC, so you have that time to complete the other requirement. To renew the credential, maintain NCRA membership and earn at least 3.0 CEUs over a 3-year period.
How we verify: editorial & fact-checking policy. Report an error: contact us.