What is the TRM file format?
A .trm file is a ForTheRecord (FTR) court recording - a proprietary audio (and optionally video) recording produced by the FTR Gold digital court recording system. FTR is the dominant digital audio recording platform in courtrooms across the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, used to create the official verbatim record of legal proceedings.
Each .trm file stores multiple simultaneous audio channels - one per microphone source (judge, witness, counsel, gallery, etc.) - together with session metadata such as the case number, hearing date, and participant names. This multi-channel architecture is legally significant: it allows reviewers to isolate and identify individual speakers when disputes arise over the accuracy of a transcript.
Recordings can be password-encrypted by court administrators using FTR Manager; an encrypted .trm file cannot be played without the correct password. Standard media players such as VLC or Windows Media Player cannot open .trm files. Playback requires FTR Player (also marketed as TheRecord Player), which supports variable-speed playback, bookmarks, and channel mixing - features designed for court reporters and legal staff.
.trm files from long courtroom sessions can reach several gigabytes. Conversion to WAV, MP3, WMA, or AVI is possible through FTR Manager or third-party services. FTR Gold 7 (current as of 2026) also supports video recording within the .trm container. The format is entirely proprietary with no public specification.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWTRM files are audio/video data - no executable content. Main concern is legal: official court recordings may be subject to access restrictions and redistribution rules. Encrypted files require a court-issued password. Sharing court recordings may violate court orders or contempt rules in some jurisdictions.
Format details
in a nutshell- Terminal Settings File (various) - Generic .trm extension is also used by some terminal emulators for connection/settings files (e.g. Tera Term profile); unrelated to FTR.
Programs that open TRM files
Windows2 apps
FTR Player (TheRecord Player)
Free Download and install FTR Player from fortherecord.com. Open the .trm file (File > Open or double-click). Enter the court-issued password if the file is encrypted. Use channel controls to isolate or mix individual microphones.
FTR Manager (TheRecord Manager)
Paid Licensed court software. Use to manage recordings, apply/remove encryption, and export to standard audio/video formats (MP3, WMA, WAV, AVI).
MatterScribe TRM Converter (web)
Freemium Third-party web service for uploading .trm files and getting transcripts or converted audio. Use only for non-confidential recordings. Technical details
deep spec| Developer | For The Record (FTR) - fortherecord.com |
| Encoding | Binary (proprietary) |
| Audio channels | Multiple simultaneous channels - one per microphone/audio source (judge, witness, counsel, etc.) |
| Encryption | Optional password encryption via FTR Manager; required for playback of encrypted files |
| Typical file size | 50 MB - several GB (hours-long courtroom sessions) |
| Sample rate | 8 kHz - 44.1 kHz per channel |
| Video support | Optional video tracks supported in FTR Gold 7 recordings |
| Session metadata | Case number, hearing date, participant names, and timecodes stored in-file |
| Integrity checking | Proprietary internal tamper-detection mechanism (legally significant for admissibility) |
| Operating system | Windows |
| Legal context | Official court verbatim record; per-speaker channel separation is critical for speaker identification |
| Playback software | FTR Player (TheRecord Player) - variable-speed playback and per-channel mixing |
| Export formats | FTR Manager converts .trm to WAV, MP3, WMA, or AVI |
| Released | late 1990s (FTR Gold digital court recording system) |
| Latest version | FTR Gold 7.x (current as of 2026) |
| Specification | fortherecord.com |
TRM conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about TRM files.
