Legal Transcription Turnaround Times, Rush Orders, and Expedite Requests

This article explains how delivery dates work for legal transcription orders (court transcripts ordered from a Rev legal transcription account), including standard turnaround times, the delivery times we guarantee, how to order a rush turnaround, and how to request an earlier due date on an order that’s already in progress.

For turnaround times on standard transcription, captions and subtitles, see Turnaround Times.

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Delivery Timing for Legal Transcription Orders

When placing an order, you choose a delivery date for each service. The calendar grays out dates that aren’t available, such as federal and Rev holidays. Your transcript is guaranteed by these times on the delivery date you select:

  • Standard orders: by 11:59 PM ET.
  • Ready to Certify and Ready to Certify Premium orders due in 3 business days or less: by 5:00 PM ET.

Orders are sometimes delivered early, but we can’t guarantee early delivery.

Standard turnaround times:

  • Instant Rough Draft: under 30 minutes
  • Human Rough Draft: 3 business days
  • Ready to Certify: 5 business days
  • Ready to Certify Premium: 5 business days (see Decision 2)

Accounts with a contract may have a custom standard turnaround.

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Rush Orders and Pricing

If you need a Human Rough Draft or Ready to Certify transcript faster than the standard turnaround, choose an earlier delivery date when you place your order, as early as the same day. Earlier dates cost more. The price depends on the date you choose and is shown at checkout before you pay. If your account has a contract, your rush rates are set in your contract, and your Success Manager can tell you what they are.

Which dates are available depends on the length of your file, the size of your order and the time of day you order. For example, same-day delivery on a long file may be available in the morning but not late in the afternoon. If the date you need is grayed out, email legalsupport@rev.com before ordering with the file length and the date you need. We’ll check with our team whether an exception is possible.

Need Your Transcript Sooner?

If you need your transcript earlier in the day than its guaranteed delivery time (11:59 PM ET for most orders, or 5:00 PM ET for Ready to Certify orders due in 3 business days or less), choose the previous business day when you place your order. For example, if you need a transcript before 3:00 PM on Thursday, select Wednesday as your delivery date.

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Request an Earlier Due Date on an Existing Order

If your order is already in progress and you need it sooner, you can ask for an earlier due date from your Rev dashboard. Support reviews each request and lets you know whether we can meet the new date.

Files page in a legal transcription account. The three-dot menu on an in-progress transcript is open, showing Move, Rename, Order Details and Request Expedite.

Who Can Request an Earlier Due Date

Members of a legal account who have edit access can request an earlier due date on any in-progress legal order. View-only members don’t see the option. The option isn’t available on completed orders, or on an order that already has a request waiting for review.

 

How to Request an Earlier Due Date

  1. In your workspace, open Files and find the transcript.

  2. Click the three dots at the far right of the transcript’s row and select Request Expedite. You can also select Order Details from the same menu and click Request expedite in the Order status card.

    Row for an in-progress transcript on the Files page, showing its placed-on date, due date, audio quality and status. The three-dot menu is open with Request Expedite selected.
    Order status card for a Ready to Certify Premium order that’s in progress, showing the current due date, a progress bar (Order submitted, Transcription started, Delivered) and the Request expedite button.
  3. In the form, choose your Requested due date. Only business days before your current due date can be selected.
  4. Optionally, add a Comment explaining your deadline, such as the hearing or filing date.
  5. Click Submit request.
Request expedite form showing the current due date, a Requested due date drop-down (only business days can be requested), an optional Comment box, a note that expedited turnaround may change the order’s price, and the Submit request and Cancel buttons.

Expedited turnaround may change your order’s price. If your request is approved, your order is updated to your account’s rate for the faster turnaround.

 

What Happens After You Submit

After you submit, your order shows Expedite pending. Your order keeps processing as usual against its original due date until Support approves the request. Don’t treat the requested date as your new delivery date until it’s approved.

  • Approved: You’ll get an email titled “Your expedite request was approved” that lists your requested date and your new delivery date. In Files and Order Details, your order shows a green Expedite approved label and the new due date.

    Email titled “Your expedite request was approved,” showing the order number, the service, the requested date and the new delivery date, with a Go to Order Details button.
    Order status card showing the new due date and a green Expedite approved label.
  • A different date is possible: If we can’t meet your requested date but can deliver earlier than your current due date, Support will email you with the earliest date we can offer.
  • Denied: You’ll get an email letting you know, and your order shows Expedite denied. Your original due date doesn’t change, and you can submit a new request.

 

Orders With More Than One Service

If your order includes more than one service, such as Human Rough Draft and Ready to Certify, request an earlier due date for each service separately. Each service may have different dates available, and each request is reviewed on its own. Only one request per order can be waiting for review at a time, so submit the second request after the first is approved or denied.

If a Ready to Certify request is approved, your Human Rough Draft is moved up too if it would otherwise be due later. Expediting the Human Rough Draft doesn’t change the Ready to Certify date.

 

If You Don’t See Request Expedite

If the option doesn’t appear for your order, or you need a same-day turnaround, email legalsupport@rev.com with your order number and the date you need. We’ll check with our team and get back to you.

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Customer Support

For questions about your order, delivery updates, or rush and expedite requests, contact your dedicated Rev contact or your team’s support email. If you don’t have a dedicated contact, email legalsupport@rev.com. Outside regular business hours and on Rev holidays, we respond to after-hours requests as quickly as possible.

For more answers about legal transcription, see Legal Transcription FAQs.

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