An audio or video recording enters proceedings only once someone has put it in writing. Transcription turns a conversation, a voice message, a recorded meeting or an interview into a text that the judge, the lawyer, the notary or the company can read, quote and attach, and the oath before the court attests that the text corresponds to what is heard. The firm transcribes in Italian and in the foreign languages it covers, with a sworn translation when the recording is not in Italian.
What a sworn transcription is for
Mechanical reproductions, and therefore audio and video recordings, are admitted as evidence in civil proceedings by article 2712 of the Civil Code and in criminal proceedings as documents, provided the party producing them allows them to be heard and supplies their content in readable form. That is why lawyers ask for the transcription of the recordings they intend to file: conversations recorded by one of the participants, voice messages and audio notes exchanged on messaging applications, calls with customer services, meetings of condominiums and of companies, job interviews, examinations and statements collected by defence counsel, video recordings of site inspections and of accidents. The oath, taken before the court with the same formalities as a sworn translation, makes the transcriber responsible for the fidelity of the text and allows the other party and the judge to compare it with the file.
Outside proceedings, transcription serves companies, public bodies and professionals to document what was said: minutes of board and shareholders’ meetings, hearings, video conferences, conferences and training courses, interviews for research and journalism, recordings of disciplinary proceedings and of conciliations. In these cases the oath is not necessary and the client receives the text with the firm’s statement of conformity.
Recordings in a foreign language
When the recording is in a language other than Italian, the work takes place in two distinct and documented steps: the transcription in the original language, made by a native speaker, and the translation into Italian, which reproduces the original text opposite or in a parallel column, so that the reader can verify every passage. Both texts are sworn, with a single record, by the professional who answers for them. It is the format required in cases with foreign parties, in international commercial disputes, in family proceedings with spouses of different languages and in files where a recording in a foreign language is produced before an Italian authority. The firm handles English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Serbian and the other languages of the list published on the page on working languages, including regional varieties and dialects where the transcriber has the competence.
How the transcription is prepared
The client chooses between the verbatim transcription, which records every word, the hesitations, the repetitions and the overlapping voices, and the clean transcription, which removes fillers and renders the speech in readable language without altering its meaning. For use in proceedings the verbatim form is recommended. The text identifies the speakers with an agreed code, gives time references at regular intervals and at every change of subject, marks unintelligible passages with the minute, and describes in square brackets noises, long pauses and the relevant visual elements of video recordings. The firm receives files in the current audio and video formats and, when the material is on outdated media, converts it before listening. The quality of the recording affects the timing: an hour of clean audio takes about five or six hours of work, a disturbed ambient recording many more.
The transcription is delivered in editable format and as a PDF, with a cover page stating the duration, date and origin of the file, the method followed and the conventions used. If the client requests the oath, the firm files the text together with a copy of the medium according to the rules of the court and applies the revenue stamps due, except in the cases of exemption. On request it also prepares the subtitling of the video in the original language or in translation, with synchronised timing.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have a conversation transcribed if the other person did not know it was being recorded?
Recording a conversation in which one takes part is lawful and usable in proceedings according to settled case law, while recording other people’s conversations in which one does not take part is not. The firm transcribes the material supplied by the client and the client’s lawyer: the assessment of admissibility rests with counsel.
What is the difference between a sworn transcription and a forensic audio report?
The transcription puts in writing what is heard. The forensic audio report is a technical examination of the recording itself: authenticity of the file, absence of cuts, identification of voices. They are different jobs, entrusted to different professionals. When a case requires both, the transcription is normally made on the file already verified by the expert.
Do I need a full transcription or is a summary enough?
For filing in proceedings the full transcription of the relevant part is needed, because the judge and the other party must be able to compare it with the audio. A summary is useful to find one’s way through long recordings and to decide which passages to transcribe in full: the firm prepares it as a preliminary stage, with references to the minutes.
Do you also transcribe voice messages and chats?
Yes. Voice messages are transcribed in chronological order with the date, time and sender of each, taken from the export of the chat, and the written text of the conversation is reproduced in full in the same sequence. The result is a single document that reproduces the exchange as it took place.
Do you use speech recognition software?
For clean recordings in Italian and in English automatic recognition provides a first draft, which is then listened to again and corrected word by word by a transcriber. No text is delivered, let alone sworn, without a complete listening by a person. For disturbed recordings, dialects or several voices the work is entirely manual.
How is the cost of a transcription calculated?
Per minute of recording, with different rates for the quality of the audio, the number of speakers and the language, plus the cost of the oath and the revenue stamps if requested. The firm listens to a sample of the file before sending the written quote, so as to state an amount that does not change once the work is finished.
Do you have a recording to transcribe?
Send us the file, or a sample if it is very long, and tell us what it is for: you receive within one working day the written quote with the delivery time.
