A court reporter is a stenotype, stenomask or voice writer who transcribes verbal speech in a courtroom to produce official transcripts of court proceedings. This is usually done through the use of machine shorthand, voice silencers and digital recorders. Machine shorthand and voice writing are the major methods of used for the transcription of court proceedings in North America. Court transcripts are word for word copies of everything spoken out in a courtroom by any of the participants in a trial or any other legal proceeding.

In the US, the court reporter is also usually a notary public, that is, a legal officer who is capable of administering oaths and who therefore certifies their own court transcripts as being genuine and accurate. The skills required of a court reporter are attention to detail, the ability to focus, often for long periods of time and an excellent command over the language being spoken in the courtroom (which can often also be multilingual). License requirements vary widely across the US.