Section A: Membership – Miscellaneous: Subsection 3b – Logo and Certification Use Policy

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Policy Statement(s)

In this document, you will find information regarding:

1. NCRA Association Logo
2. NCRA Member Logo
3. NCRA Certification and Certificate Use Policy
4. CLVS Logo
5. Ethics First Logos

Eligibility for Use of NCRA Member Logo   The NCRA Member Logo is clearly recognized through the prominent use of the word “member.”    It is for use by all NCRA Members in good standing.  NCRA membership is held by individuals,   not by companies or firms.  The NCRA Member Logo may not be used by a court reporting firm    or company.  “Member” includes any of NCRA’s membership classes (Participating Members, Registered Members, Student Members, Honorary Members, Associate Members, and Retired Lifetime Members). Color Logo - High Resolution Black and White Logo - High Resolution Color Logo - Low Resolution

Rules and Restrictions

•  A Member in good standing may use or reproduce the NCRA Member Logo on such Member’s advertising, business cards, letterhead, brochures and other promotional materials in any medium, solely to denote the individual’s membership in the Association. A court reporting firm cannot use it in any way that gives the impression that the firm is a member of NCRA. For example, a firm may not use the logo on its website main page unless it is done so in a way that it is clear what individual holds that membership.  Most firms use the logos not on their website’s main page, but on the pages that highlight specific individuals associated with the firm and in a manner that accurately and explicitly makes clear which individuals hold membership.

• A Member may not use the NCRA Member Logo as an expression of the Association’s views, or its endorsement or approval of a particular topic or matter. In this regard, a Member may not use the NCRA Member Logo on the Member’s work product, such as on a transcript, regardless of the form of, or media used for such work product.

• The Logo must be used or reproduced in its entirety. The Logo may not be changed in any way and no fragments or portions of the NCRA Member Logo may be used or reproduced.

• The Logo must be reproduced in black and white, or a single color only, or in the two colors specified by NCRA (text in PMS 3025 and the graphic in PMS 723) and in a reasonable size to ensure readability. A small reproduction may make certain constituent parts of the NCRA Logo illegible. Use of the Logo on any World Wide Web page must function as a link to the NCRA Web site, http://www.ncra.org.  It is the responsibility of the user of the logo to maintain the link as an active link at all times or remove the logo from the Web page.  

• The NCRA Membership Department shall provide the Logo to any Member in good standing upon request. The logo shall be accompanied by a copy of this policy.

Any other use of the logo is prohibited, except to the extent expressly permitted by the Board of Directors. Unauthorized use of the logo may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Unauthorized use by a Member may subject the Member to loss of Membership and/or loss of Membership privileges, including the ability to run the Member’s advertisements in Association advertising media and the right to have the Member’s name listed in the NCRA Membership Directory and Registry of Professional Reporters.

NCRA Certification and Certificate Use Policy

NCRA has the following certifications:

Registered Professional Reporter (RPR)

Registered Merit Reporter (RMR)

Registered Diplomate Reporter (RDR)

Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR)

Certified Broadcast Captioner (CBC)

Certified CART Provider (CCP)

Certified Legal Video Specialist (CLVS)

Certified Reporting Instructor (CRI)

Master Certified Reporting Instructor (MCRI)

Certified Program Evaluator (CPE)

For more information on the above certifications, please visit NCRA Certification and Training.

Any NCRA Member who has earned an NCRA certification may use that certification or its abbreviation solely to denote that the individual has earned this certification.  This policy applies equally to all NCRA certifications. Any other use of the certification is prohibited, except to the extent expressly permitted by the NCRA Board of Directors.

Although the NCRA certifications and their abbreviations are personal certifications, the phrase “includes RPRs” or “includes Registered Professional Reporters” may be used by a court reporting firm or entity in its advertisements, if a majority of the reporters employed by or independently contracted for by said firm or entity hold said certification.  This policy shall equally apply to other NCRA designations.

Unauthorized use of the certifications may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Unauthorized use of NCRA certifications may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law.  Such unauthorized use by a Member also may subject the Member to loss of Membership and/or loss of Membership privileges, including the ability to run the Member’s advertisements in NCRA publications and the right to have the Member’s name listed in the NCRA Membership Directory and Registry of Professional Reporters.

NCRA has the following Certificate Programs:

Realtime Systems Administrator

Trial Presentation Professional

In NCRA certificate programs, the use of an acronym such as RSA or TPP after a name is not allowed.

By successfully completing the seminars and passing the test afterwards, participants are authorized by the National Organization of Competency Assurance (NOCA) to use terminology on marketing materials such as:

• Credentialed as an NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator
• NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator Certificate Holder 
• NCRA Realtime Systems Administrator 
• Realtime Systems Administrator
• Credentialed as an NCRA Trial Presentation Professional
• NCRA Trial Presentation Professional  Certificate Holder
• NCRA Trial Presentation Professional
• Trial Presentation Professional

Unauthorized use of NCRA certifications or certificates may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Unauthorized use by a Member may subject the Member to loss of Membership and/or loss of Membership privileges, including the ability to run the Member’s advertisements in Association advertising media and the right to have the Member’s name listed in the NCRA Membership Directory and Registry of Professional Reporters.

Click here for more information on NCRA's Certificate Programs.

Eligibility for Use of CLVS Logo For use by all persons who currently hold the Certified Legal Video Specialist Certification.

Rules and Restrictions

• A CLVS whose certification is current and who is in good standing with the Association may use or reproduce the CLVS Logo on such CLVS’s advertising, business cards, letterhead, brochures and other promotional materials in any medium, solely to denote the individual’s holding of that certification. A videography firm or court reporting firm cannot use it in any way that gives the impression that the firm holds the CLVS certification.  For example, a firm may not use the logo on its website main page unless it is done so in a way that it is clear what individual holds that certification.  Most firms use the logos not on their website’s main page, but on the pages that highlight individuals.

• A CLVS may not use the CLVS logo as an expression of the Association’s views, or its endorsement or approval of a particular topic or matter. In this regard, a CLVS may not use the CLVS Logo on the CLVS’s work product, regardless of the form of, or media used for such work product.

• The CLVS Logo must be reproduced in black and white, or in the original color and in a reasonable size to ensure readability. A small reproduction may make certain constituent parts of the CLVS Logo illegible.  Use of the CLVS Logo on any web page must function as a link to the CLVS Web site, http://clvs.ncra.org.  It is the responsibility of the user of the logo to maintain the link as an active link at all times or remove the logo from the Web page.  

• The NCRA CLVS staff shall provide the CLVS Logo to any current CLVS in good standing upon request. The logo shall be accompanied by a copy of this policy.

• Any other use of the CLVS Logo is prohibited, except to the extent expressly permitted by the NCRA Board of Directors. Unauthorized use of the CLVS Logo may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Unauthorized use by a Member may subject the Member to loss of Membership and/or loss of Membership privileges, including the ability to run the Member’s advertisements in Association advertising media and the right to have the Member’s name listed in the NCRA Membership Directory and Registry of Professional Reporters. Unauthorized use by a CLVS may subject the user to disciplinary action up to and including revocation of the CLVS certification.

For more infomration on CLVS, please visit the CLVS Community.

Eligibility for Ethics First Firm Logo To be eligible as an Ethics First Firm, the firm in question must have: At least one owner or manager who is an NCRA member. NOTE: once a firm owner/manager registers his/her firm for Ethics First, that individual him/herself will automatically be registered as an individual Ethics First Participant or Supporter, depending on eligibility.

Eligibility for Use of the Ethics First Supporter Logo The Ethics First Supporter category encompasses all individuals and organizations w ho,  although not themselves directly involved in creating the record in judicial court proceedings or depositions, support the principles espoused by the Ethics First program. This includes:  Attorneys; Law firms; State and local bar associations; Judges; State and local court reporter associations; Captioners and CART providers;* Vendors;* Scopists;* Transcriptionists.*

*  Individual must be in the appropriate classification of NCRA membership (i.e., associate, retired, student) to be eligible for the Ethics First Supporter category. The Supporter category is not intended to allow nonmembers the opportunity to skirt the membership requirement for Ethics First Participants. Although CART providers and captioners are participating NCRA members, they do not “make the judicial record,” and therefore are ineligible to be Ethics First Participants. CART providers and captioners are eligible to be Ethics First Supporters.

NCRA reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any individual, firm or association seeking to become an Ethics First Supporter in order to maintain the integrity of the program as an NCRA member benefit. 

Any other use of any of these Logos is prohibited, except to the extent expressly permitted by the Board of Directors. Unauthorized use of the Logos may subject the user to legal action by the Association to the fullest extent permitted by law. Unauthorized use by a Member may subject the Member to loss of Membership and/or loss of Membership privileges, including the ability to run the Member’s advertisements in Association advertising media and the right to have the Member’s name listed in the NCRA Membership Directory and Registry of Professional Reporters.

For information on the Ethics First, visit the Ethics First area.