E-petition relating to access to court and tribunal transcripts

Petition 756036 entitled, “Make all court and tribunal transcripts available free of charge” was started in February 2026. The petition states:

High transcription costs can create a prohibitive paywall for justice. Private companies can charge thousands for transcriptions, which can effectively bar small-claims litigants from pursuing fair appeals or accessing their own trials. Full transcriptions of the longest trials can cost £20k. Access to the law mustn't be a luxury for the wealthy. We ask the Government to end the private-pay model and provide free digital access to all transcripts to help ensure transparency and equality.

The Petitions Committee considers whether all e-petitions that reach 100,000 signatures should be debated. At its meeting on 27 January 2026, the committee decided that the e-petition should be debated on 23 March 2026.

The UK Government responds to e-petitions that reach 10,000 signatures. The government’s response was published on the petition’s page on 3 March 2025. It said:

[…]

While the Government remains committed to continuing to improve transparency across the justice system, this has to be balanced against our capacity to deliver existing priorities and commitments. Making all court and tribunal transcripts available for free would create significant financial and operational pressure at a time when we are focused on rolling out free sentencing remarks for all victims, and when the wider justice system is under considerable pressure. Producing an accurate court or tribunal transcript is a resource-intensive process. Full hearing or trial transcripts are particularly expensive due to their length and the level of quality assurance required to ensure they are accurate and safeguard personal data. Ensuring compliance with reporting restrictions is also central to the release of any court transcript, including vulnerable parties are protected and sensitive details are not inadvertently released.

The charging of a fee for court transcripts relating to criminal matters has its legal basis in section 32(2) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968 which states that “rules of court” may provide:

The cost—

(a) of making any such record in pursuance of the rules; and

(b) of making and supplying in pursuance of this section any transcript ordered to be supplied to the registrar or the Secretary of State,

shall be defrayed, in accordance with scales of payment fixed for the time being by the Treasury, out of moneys provided by Parliament; and the cost of providing and installing at a court any equipment required for the purpose of making such a record or transcript shall also be defrayed out of moneys so provided.

The “rules of court” in this case are the Criminal Procedure Rules, in particular rule 5.5 which deals with applications by the general public for court transcripts and refers to prescribed fees.

Similarly, part 39.9 of the Civil Procedure Rules sets out the relevant provisions relating to civil matters including that:

• All hearings in the High Court and County Court will be tape recorded
• Any person may obtain a transcript or transcripts of the recording of any hearing on payment of the appropriate charges (except in limited cases such as where a hearing is held in private).

According to the government guidance, an application for transcripts may be made for all or part of a hearing. Such an application will generally require payment of a fee. Where an applicant cannot afford the fee, they may get a free transcript for “a civil or family court hearing” if there are “special circumstances” such as if they “need the transcript urgently but cannot afford to pay”.

Parties seeking to appeal a judgment may also request that the costs of transcripts be paid at public expense, under part 52.14 of the Civil Procedure Rules, by completing Form EX105 (PDF). Before making a direction for transcripts to be issued at public expense for the purposes of an appeal, the court must be satisfied that:

• the requesting party qualifies for fee remission or is otherwise in such poor financial circumstances that the cost of obtaining a transcript would be an excessive burden; and
• it is necessary in the interests of justice for such a transcript to be obtained.

In 2024, the government launched a one year pilot to make available to victims of rape and sexual offences (alongside families of homicide victims) free transcripts of judges’ sentencing remarks. According to the guidance, an application may only be made for a free copy of the judge’s sentencing remarks if the defendant was found or pleaded guilty in a Crown Court and the applicant is:

• a family member of a victim of homicide (murder, manslaughter of offences of causing death on the road, such as dangerous driving)
• a victim of rape or serious sexual offences

There are separate arrangements for defendants seeking to appeal a conviction or sentence. The government guidance (PDF) states:

In conviction cases which are not privately funded, transcripts of the trial judge’s summing up are obtained by the Registrar as matter of course. In sentence cases, transcripts of the prosecution opening of facts on a guilty plea and the judge’s observations on passing sentence are normally obtained. If the Registrar thinks any further transcripts are needed to assist the judge, they will also be obtained by the case-officer… If the appeal is against a conviction, they may have to send a copy of the transcript to your barrister (if you have one) for them to ‘perfect’ the grounds of appeal by referring to the transcript.

On 11 March 2025, in response to a question in the House of Commons on the cost of court transcripts, Sarah Sackman, Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services, stated:

The Government recognise just how important accessing transcripts can be for certain victims. That is why transcripts of sentencing remarks are available free of charge to the families of victims of fatal road offences, murder and manslaughter. It is also why this Government are running a one-year pilot that offers free sentencing remarks to victims of rape and sexual offences. That is due to conclude in May. We are also looking in the round at how we lower the cost of obtaining a court transcript through increased use of technology.

On 22 May 2025, the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, Lord Timpson, stated that the government would be extending the one year pilot allowing victims of rape and sexual offences to get free transcripts of sentencing remarks.

In January 2026, the government announced that it will be extending access to free transcripts of sentencing remarks to all victims of cases decided in the crown courts. Section 22 of the Sentencing Act 2026 mandates the Secretary of State to supply these transcripts free of charge to any victim who requests them. The government has stated that there are no immediate plans to extend this to magistrates' courts because proceedings there are not routinely recorded, although this is “being kept under review as the system moves towards the recording of magistrates’ proceedings”.

The government has also stated that it is “piloting how automated transcription (using AI) could assist judges in preparing and writing decisions in the Immigration and Asylum Chamber”.

On 18 March 2026, Sarah Sackman stated that “from Spring 2027” the government will be “expanding free access to Crown Court sentencing remarks to all victims who request them”. The minister further stated:

In civil proceedings, litigants in England and Wales do not need to pay for the written order or judgment relating to their own case. This is sent to all parties involved, setting out the court’s reasoning for the decision, which parties can refer to if they wish to appeal that decision.

In tribunal proceedings, any judicial decision and the reasons will be provided to the parties unless there has been an order restricting that. Many of the major tribunal chambers also allow parties to proceedings to request fuller written reasons for tribunal decisions for no additional cost.

In March 2026, peers in the House of Lords backed an amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill to further expand free access beyond just sentencing. Under the amendment, victims will be able to request free copies of the judge’s “route to verdict" and “bail decisions and conditions”. The bill originated in the House of Commons and completed its third reading in the House of Lords in March 2026.

In February 2026, the government introduced the Courts and Tribunal Bill (PDF). Schedule 2 of the bill would amend the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980, providing for the audio recording of proceedings in magistrates’ courts. It would also provide for the supply of transcripts on payment of a fee. The bill received second reading on 10 March and its committee stage will begin on 25 March..

The prescribed fees for transcripts are dictated by the commercial arrangements the Ministry of Justice has entered into with the various transcription companies. They are based on factors such as how quickly the transcript is required. After completing the transcript request Form EX107 (PDF), the authorised transcription company will inform the applicant of how much the transcription will cost.

The services that the transcription companies offer for Crown Court transcripts are as follows:

• Band 1 (overnight/24 hours)
• Band 2 (48 hours)
• Band 3 (3 working days)
• Band 4 (7 working days)
• Band 5 (12 working days)
• Band 6 (copy rate)

The various transcription costs are published in the government guidance.

In its 2022 report on open justice (PDF) the House of Commons Justice Committee described the “current situation on court transcripts” as “unsatisfactory”. It recommended that:

HMCTS should explore whether greater use of technology, such as AI-powered transcription, could be piloted to see whether it can be used to reduce the cost of producing court transcripts. HMCTS should also consider whether the sentencing remarks in the Magistrates’ courts could be routinely recorded and transcribed on request. HMCTS should also review its existing contracts for transcription services to ensure that transcripts are more accessible to the media and the public.

Victims and Courts Bill, 17 Mar 2026 | Proceeding contributions | House of Lords | 854 cc783-6

Topical Questions, 17 Mar 2026 | Members' contributions | House of Commons | 782 c747