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The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS) record solemn criminal proceedings using a Digital Audio Recording System, the recorded proceedings are retained by SCTS, however these proceedings are not routinely transcribed. Transcription is done by an external agency who is contracted by the SCTS.
Transcripts of evidence in Criminal Trials are governed by Section 94(2) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 and the Transcripts of Criminal Proceedings (Scotland) Order 1993.
This Act allows anyone who is not a person convicted at Trial to apply under this section of the Act to obtain a copy of a transcript for any part of the proceedings that has been held in open court. Open court is a court or trial to which members of the public can freely attend.
The SCTS is currently facilitating a Scottish Government led pilot, which was launched on 1 March 2024. It provides free access to transcripts for complainers in rape and sexual offence cases heard in the High Court of Justiciary.
Information on how to apply under the scheme can be found here.
Should you wish to apply under the scheme please complete this application form.
Completed forms should be sent to: transcriptions@scotcourts.gov.uk
If you wish to make a request for a Criminal transcript, you can do so by emailing your request to transcriptions@scotcourts.gov.uk
Your email should specify the following:
If you are unsure if the evidence you are looking to be transcribed was held in open or closed court this should be included in your email and SCTS staff can advise you on this matter.
The Scottish Courts and Tribunal Services (SCTS) hold a contract with Epiq Global to carry out all transcription requests. Once we have processed your request, the audio will be sent by us to Epiq for the transcription process to be carried out.
The cost of transcribing is £96.60 per hour or £1.61 per minute, plus VAT.
Once you confirm the court proceedings that you require to be transcribed we will send you an estimate of the cost of having this transcribed. Then you will need to confirm in writing that you will pay for the full cost of them. When we receive this we will order the transcripts and your contact details will be passed onto the transcriber. The transcription of court proceedings usually takes 15 working days from that date.
The transcriber, Epiq Global, will contact you directly to arrange payment prior to issue of the transcript and will then issue the completed transcript.