Transcription services are of many kinds. There are generic transcription services where you don’t need any specialized background. Mainly transcriptions of presentations and class room discussions come under this category. However, there are quite a few types of services which need a specialized background. The two main types of those transcription services are medial transcription service and legal transcription service.

Medical transcription is the typing of documents from dictated recordings by health professionals. Basically, any type of medical treatment, procedure, diagnostic test, etc. must be documented into a patient's permanent medical record. In order for this to be done in a legible, accurate fashion, health professionals dictate this specific information either into a digital or analog recorder and/or through the use of a phone dictation system. Transcriptionists then transcribe this information into a typed document, which is then forwarded to the dictator for review and signature. These documents then become part of a patient's permanent medical record. These documents can be discharge summaries, history and physicals, admission summaries, operative reports, expiration reports, office visits, diagnostic studies, consultations, referral letters, etc.

Legal Transcription services helps lawyers and attorneys to hard copy documents relating both civil and criminal procedures. The information is received as dictated or recorded information from courtroom hearings and other law offices. These may include testimonies, pleadings, interrogatories, and administrative hearings.

In general the information's from courtrooms is recorded into a tape or into a digital voice processing systems. So Legal Transcription refers to the process of transferring information from recorded dictation to hard documentation using transcriptionists and computer word processors.