Court Reporters and Transcription Services (IFB 25-063)

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is soliciting bids through Invitation for Bid (IFB) 25-063 for Court Reporters and Transcription Services. The procurement seeks qualified vendors to provide comprehensive court reporting and transcription services across three regions: Northern, Central, and Southern California. Core services include final transcripts with variable pricing based on turnaround time ($25.00 to $35.00 per page), appearance fees for full-day and half-day rates, evening services at $100.00 per hour, weekend services at $200.00 per hour, and a $1,500.00 cancellation fee. Additional services encompass real-time reporting, rough ASCII drafts, e-transcripts, condensed transcripts, and various electronic file formats. The contract will be a three-year agreement spanning July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2029, divided into three consecutive one-year budget periods. Bidders must submit their proposals through the CityInnovate vendor portal (sb.cityinnovate.com/teams/dhcs?challenge_id=16186) no later than 3:00 p.m. on April 27, 2026. All pricing must be entered as dollar amounts in designated fields, with any blank, zero, or negative entries rendering the bid non-responsive. Prospective bidders may direct questions to PCDIFB4@dhcs.ca.gov or (916) 345-8222, with Administrative Bulletin 1 issued on April 20, 2026 providing incumbent pricing information and clarifications to bidder questions.

This procurement is subject to a 3% Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) participation requirement, consistent with California law for service contracts exceeding $10,000, with both in-state and out-of-state firms required to comply with DVBE participation mandates. The incumbent vendor is Kennedy Court Reporters, Inc. (Agreement No. 5179912), whose current pricing has been provided as reference information in the solicitation documents. All resulting contracts will include by reference the State of California's General Terms and Conditions and Contractor Certification Clauses. The total anticipated funding for the three-year contract period is $850,000.00, with annual allocations of $283,333.00 for the first budget year (2026-2027), $283,333.00 for the second year (2027-2028), and $283,334.00 for the third year (2028-2029). Payment and contract continuation are contingent upon legislative appropriations and the contractor's successful performance, with DHCS reserving the right to cancel or amend contracts if full funding is not appropriated for subsequent budget years or to reduce contract scope as necessary.