A court hearing in the Family Court will usually be recorded by the court. A court transcript is a written version of the recording. As a party to those court proceedings, you can pay to obtain a typed version of the audio recording. This may be useful if there is a dispute about what occurred in court. A transcript will usually be required if you are appealing a decision.
There are currently six transcription companies available to produce transcriptions of court proceedings. You will need to contact the transcription companies, and make a decision about which transcriber you would like to use. The costs of producing the transcripts depend on which company you choose, and how quickly you require the document to be produced. The standard timescales are to produce the transcription within 48 hours or within 12 working days.
You will need to prepare a form EX107 confirming which transcribing company you wish to use, which part of the court hearing you wish to have transcribed and additional information about the request and the hearing. The form is sent to the relevant Family Court. The court will then send your request plus the tapes of the hearing to the transcriber. The transcription service will produce the transcript and it is usually returned to the court for the judge to approve. It will then be sent to you.
The contact details for the six transcription companies are as follows:
| Name | Address | Telephone/Email/Website |
| Ubiqus UK Ltd | 291–299 Borough High Street London SE1 1JG DX 149165 Southwark 9 | T 020 7759 2695 F 020 7405 9884 E legal@ubiqus.com W www.ubiqus.co.uk/ |
| Epiq Europe Ltd (formerly DTI) | Unit 1 Blenheim Court Beaufort Business Park Bristol BS32 4NE DX 414 LDE | T 020 7421 4036 E civil@epiqglobal.co.uk E crown@epiqglobal.co.uk W www.epiqglobal.com/en-gb |
| eScribers (formerly Auscript Ltd) | Central Court Suite 303 25 Southampton Buildings London WC2A 1AL | T 03301 005223 F 03301 005213 E uk.clientservices@escribers.net W www.escribers.net |
| Marten Walsh Cherer Ltd | 1st Floor, Quality House 6–9 Quality Court Chancery Lane London WC2A 1HP DX 410 LDE | T 020 7067 2900 F 020 7831 6864 E civil@martenwalshcherer.com (for Civil, Family and Tribunals) W www.martenwalshcherer.com/ |
| The Transcription Agency | 24–28 High Street Hythe Kent CT21 5AT | T 01303 230038 (public) E court@thetranscriptionagency.com W www.thetranscriptionagency.com |
| Opus 2 International Ltd | 5th Floor 5 New Street Square London EC4A 3BF | Helpdesk 020 7831 5627 T 020 7831 5627 E civil@opus2.digital W www.opus2.com |
The costs of the six suppliers are set out in this table. The price shown is the cost per folio. A folio consists of 72 words. The total cost of the transcript will be the number of folios multiplied by the price shown.
| Service Level Band | Service Description | Ubiqus | Epiq | eScribers | Marten Walsh Cherer | The Transcription Agency | Opus 2 |
| Band 2 | 48 Hours | £1.33 | £1.30 | £1.31 | £1.43 | £1.91 | £2.36 |
| Band 5 | 12 Working days | £0.76 | £1.05 | £1.02 | £1.19 | £1.44 | £1.71 |
| Band 6 | Copy rate | £0.00 | £0.33 | £0.10 per page | £0.33 per page | £0.43 per page | £0.43 per page |
Any of the 6 Transcription Companies in the table above can be used to provide a transcript in Civil, Family or Tribunal proceedings. The table above shows the maximum cost charged by each of the six suppliers for the two standard service levels which are available.
