We offer two different types of transcription experiences on our site. We call them First Pass and Second Pass. 

To begin transcribing, go to billiongraves.com/transcribe and log in to your BillionGraves account.

First Pass

Our First Pass Transcription is the initial transcription of an image.  You can find more information on this topic by reading our First Pass Transcription Guide.  Typically, the first pass will be done by the photographer, who has reserved the photos to transcribe. 

The First Pass Transcription form will be blank and waiting for the transcription to take place. 

A photographer can choose to transcribe their own images before uploading them to the website. Before uploading from their device to the website, a photographer is given a prompt asking them if they would like to transcribe their own photos.  If they answer "yes" to the question, the photographer will have 14 days to transcribe their images before they will be turned over to the general public.  Once released to the general public, the images will have 45 days before our computer program* will begin transcribing the images.  

 If the photographer chooses not to transcribe their own images on their device prompt, by answering "no" before uploading them to the site, our computer program* will begin transcribing them. 

*Computer Program- Only available currently in the U.S. at this time.  Outside of the U.S., we rely on transcribers proficient in languages, besides English, to transcribe headstones.  If photos are taken outside of the U.S., a photographer can choose to have their images held for 14 days, before being released to the general public.

Second Pass

Our Second Pass Transcription is a "quality control" check of an image. Once the photo has been transcribed by either our computer program or another user, it will need to go through this process. You can find more information on this topic by reading our Second Pass Transcription Guide. 

The Second Pass Transcription form will be filled and waiting for a check to be performed on the transcription work currently done on the form. 

On the Second Pass Transcription form, information can be changed and corrected.  If the computer program was responsible for the transcription and did poorly, the whole form can be reset to First Pass.