NIGP 96172: Transcription Services: Academic, Braille, Legal, Medical, etc.

NIGP 96172 Transcription Services: Academic, Braille, Legal, Medical, Etc., an Item code, covers court reporting, real-time captioning, video and audio transcription, and accessibility transcription (including American Sign Language and Braille formats) that state and local governments procure to support judicial proceedings, public meetings, emergency notifications, and accessibility compliance. Recent solicitations from county courts, state education agencies, transit authorities, and health plans show demand for certified court reporters and CART providers delivering transcripts within defined accuracy thresholds, caption files in standard formats (SRT, VTT), and compliance with WCAG 2.1 and ADA accessibility standards.

Issuing bodies span state judiciaries (Maryland, South Dakota), state education and transportation agencies (California High-Speed Rail Authority, Texas Education Agency, Washington State Department of Transportation), county government (Broward County, Harris County, Fulton County), municipal health plans (Inland Empire Health Plan), and school districts and universities. Recent opportunities include the South Dakota Unified Judicial System requesting court transcription services for FTR-recorded proceedings (RFP 26RFP19832, proposals due June 15, 2026), Broward County soliciting real-time captioning and meeting minutes for county commission proceedings (RFQ GEN2132684B1, proposals due October 2, 2026), the California High-Speed Rail Authority requesting electronic video transcription for board meetings under IFB HSR26-06 (bids due July 14, 2026), the Maryland State Department of Education requesting real-time live captioning (RFQ BPM057679, bids due June 29, 2026), and Texas Tech University requesting transcription, captioning, and audio description services (RFP 2026-1175, proposals due July 10, 2026). Geographic activity concentrates in California, Florida, Texas, Maryland, South Dakota, and the District of Columbia, with secondary activity across Washington State, Georgia, and Inland Empire (California). Mandatory qualifications for court reporting and captioning roles typically include NCRA Certified Realtime Reporter (CRR), Certified Real-time Captioner (CRC), or equivalent credentials; accuracy thresholds of 95–99 percent are standard. State and local buyers increasingly specify accessibility compliance (WCAG 2.1 Level AA, ADA Title II), AI disclosure obligations, and domestic-performance constraints; some jurisdictions apply small-business or certified-business-enterprise set-asides or preferences. Contract terms range from one to five years with renewal options, and pricing structures vary between hourly rates, per-minute fees, and fixed project or annual budgets.