§ 8020.5 — California Business and Professions Code

(a) (1) The California state licensing examination shall consist of the following three divisible parts:

(A) English.

(B) Professional Practice.

(2) (A) The passing grades for the Dictation/Transcription part of the examination is 95 percent.

(B) (i) The passing grades for English and Professional Practice, the two written knowledge parts of the examination, shall be determined by the Angoff criterion-referenced method.

(ii) The passing scores may vary moderately with changes in test composition.

(iii) Any examinee who obtains a grade that equals or exceeds the passing score determined by the Angoff criterion-referenced method shall be deemed to have passed the applicable portion of the examination if the other requirements of this section are met.

(b) The board shall notify each examinee electronically or in writing of their pass or fail examination results.

(c) (1) An applicant shall take and pass all three parts of the examination within three consecutive years to have passed the examination.

(2) The three-year period shall begin from the date of the examination or any part of the examination for which the applicant is first scheduled.

(d) (1) After a period of four months has elapsed, an applicant may repeat any part of the examination.

(2) An applicant shall not repeat any part of the examination unless or until a new version of the examination has been introduced.

(e) Notwithstanding subdivision (c), an applicant who passes a part of the examination shall receive conditional credit for passing that part and may retake the remaining parts.

(f) The period of time designated in subdivision (c) may be extended by the board for a period of time not to exceed one year upon the showing of extraordinary extenuating circumstances.

(g) (1) Successful completion of the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), Certified Verbatim Reporter-Stenotype (CVR-S) certification administered through the National Verbatim Reporters Association, or successful completion of the Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification administered through the National Court Reporters Association satisfies the requirement to pass the Dictation/Transcription examination under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(2) Applicants who passed the Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), Certified Verbatim Reporter-Stenotype (CVR-S), or Registered Professional Reporter (RPR) certification are subject to the requirements identified under subdivision (a) for the English examination and the Professional Practice examination, all of which must be passed within three consecutive years, pursuant to subdivision (c), to have passed the California state licensing examination.

(Amended by Stats. 2026, Ch. 312, Sec. 1. (AB 2783) Effective September 18, 2026.)