Zoom writes meeting transcripts in exactly one format: VTT. Its file-format article states the output plainly — "Zoom computer recordings and cloud recordings save in MP4, M4A, M3U, TXT, CC.VTT, and VTT formats" — and SRT is not on that list. Zoom repeats the point in its transcription article: "Audio transcripts are saved in VTT format."
So there is no export button to hunt for. The job is to download the VTT that Zoom does give you and convert it yourself. This guide covers that, plus the two conditions that decide whether the file exists in the first place — because a large share of people searching this phrase do not have a transcript at all and do not yet know why.
Before you start
It has to be a cloud recording. Zoom's article on enabling transcription is unambiguous: "Audio transcription only applies to cloud recordings, not computer recordings that are saved to your device." The recording article says the same thing from the other side, listing "Audio transcription" among the features that "Computer recordings don't support." If you recorded to your own hard drive, there is no VTT to convert — see how to convert a Zoom recording to MP4 for what you do have.
The transcript shows up after the video does. Zoom notes that "Once the cloud recording becomes available, the audio transcript may take additional time to process." A recording that is ready to play without a VTT beside it is not necessarily broken; check again later.
Two different VTT files can appear, and they are not the same thing. Zoom's format article separates them: "CC.VTT: Text file that contains closed captioning for the cloud recording" versus "VTT: Text file that contains the audio transcription for the cloud recording." They come from two separate account settings — "Create audio transcript: Select this setting to automatically transcribe your cloud recordings" and "Save closed caption as a VTT file: The closed captions are saved as a VTT file that is accessible by users on the cloud recording detail page." If you want the full spoken record, you want the plain VTT.
Step 1: Open the recording in the Zoom web portal
Sign in to the web portal and find the recording. Be aware that the menu item is not named the same way on every Zoom help page: several articles say "In the navigation menu, click Recordings & Transcripts," one says "In the navigation menu, click Recording," and another describes clicking "Recordings then Computer Recordings." Expect the label to differ by portal version rather than assuming you are in the wrong place.
Zoom describes where the file turns up, and it is the recordings list rather than any separate transcripts area: once processing finishes, the transcript "appears as a separate VTT file in the list of recorded meetings."
Step 2: Download the VTT
Zoom's instruction for what to do with it is one sentence: "Audio transcripts are saved in VTT format. If you download the VTT file, you can open it with a text editor or word processing application. You can also view or edit transcripts in the web portal."
Two things commonly block this step, and Zoom documents both:
- No download control visible. Zoom's recording FAQ gives a specific fix: "Make sure your browser window is set to a minimum width of 1024 pixels. Maximize your browser window and set your monitor resolution to at least 720p (1280 by 720 pixels)." A half-width browser window genuinely hides the button.
- Downloads switched off by the host. Per the same FAQ, "The recording host may have restricted access to download the recording, meaning you can't download the recording even if you use a tool to search the URL for a download. Contact the host to gain access."
Step 3: Check the language before you convert
Convert first and you will redo the work if the transcript came out in the wrong language. Zoom says "By default, audio transcripts for cloud recordings are generated in English, but the default language can be chosen for a recording and have the transcript regenerated," and that "Zoom will reanalyze and transcribe the audio in the newly selected language."
Worth knowing: Zoom's own pages disagree here. The transcription article lists nineteen supported languages, including Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Simplified). A different Zoom article — the one about enabling the feature — still says "Audio transcription only supports English." The article with the actual language list and the switching steps is the more specific of the two, but if the option is missing in your portal, that second page is why you may have read otherwise. Confirm against the official documentation for your account.
Step 4: Convert the VTT to SRT
Renaming the file will not work. WebVTT's specification requires a full stop before the milliseconds — "A U+002E FULL STOP character (.). Three ASCII digits, representing the thousandths of a second" — while SRT files use a comma. Change the extension and the timestamps are still VTT timestamps, which is why players reject the result.
Try it right here
Runs in your browser. Your file is not uploaded anywhere.
This runs entirely in your browser tab: the file is read from disk and converted locally, never uploaded. That matters more for a meeting transcript than for most files, since the text is a verbatim record of what people said.
Here is precisely what the conversion does, so nothing surprises you later:
- Removes the
WEBVTTheader line and anyNOTE,STYLEorREGIONblocks. - Rewrites each timestamp's
.as,. - Renumbers the cues in order. WebVTT treats the cue identifier as optional, so the numbers SRT requires have to be generated rather than copied.
- Drops cue settings — the positioning and alignment values that can follow
-->on a timestamp line. SRT has no place to put them.
Point 4 is a real loss, but it is the format's limitation, not the converter's. For Zoom transcripts it usually costs nothing, since the text is plain. If you need to go the other direction later, the same tool handles VTT to SRT and its counterpart.
Common mistakes
- Expecting punctuation. Zoom states that you can edit the transcript "to add capitalization and punctuation, which are not included in the transcript." Clean up the VTT in a text editor before converting, not after — you will only have to do it once.
- Downloading the CC.VTT when you wanted the transcript. Two files, two settings, two different contents. Check which one you grabbed.
- Converting, then trimming the recording. Zoom warns that "Trimming affects all associated audio and transcript files, overwriting the original." If you plan to trim, trim first and download the transcript afterwards.
- Assuming the 2026 caption change removed transcript downloads. It did not. Zoom announced that "Starting May 18, 2026, users can no longer save or download closed captions" — a second Zoom page describes "a gradual rollout between May 24, 2026, and May 26, 2026" — but that change covers live in-meeting captions. Zoom scopes it explicitly: "Transcript settings for My Notes, archival, and cloud recordings will continue to be managed in separate locations in the web portal."
- Hoping the embedded transcript is a separate track. Zoom says "The transcript is automatically embedded within the audio and video file, but is hidden by default," and does not describe what form that takes in a downloaded file. Download the VTT rather than trying to extract anything.
FAQ
Can Zoom export an SRT file directly? Not according to its documentation. The formats Zoom lists for recordings are MP4, M4A, M3U, TXT, CC.VTT and VTT, and transcripts are described only as VTT. Convert the VTT yourself, and check the official documentation if you need to confirm this has not changed.
Why does my Zoom recording have no VTT file? Most likely it was a computer recording. Zoom limits audio transcription to cloud recordings, "not computer recordings that are saved to your device." The other possibility is timing — the transcript "may take additional time to process" after the recording itself is ready.
What is the difference between the VTT and CC.VTT files? Zoom defines CC.VTT as closed captioning for the cloud recording and VTT as the audio transcription. They are produced by separate settings, so one can exist without the other.
Can I just rename the .vtt file to .srt? No. WebVTT's specification requires a full stop before the milliseconds and SRT conventionally uses a comma, so a renamed file still carries VTT timestamps. Note also that SRT has no published specification — behaviour varies between players, which is exactly why a clean conversion matters. More on that in subtitle formats compared.
Does the transcript keep speaker names and timings? Timings, yes — Zoom says the transcript "is divided into sections, each with a timestamp showing how far into the recording that portion was made." Zoom also says you can "view or edit transcripts in the web portal," so make any text corrections there before downloading the VTT.
Quotes from Zoom's support articles on recording file formats, audio transcription for cloud recordings, enabling audio transcription, saving closed captions, trimming cloud recordings, and recording FAQs, checked 16 September 2026, plus the W3C WebVTT specification (Candidate Recommendation Draft, 20 May 2026). Zoom revises these pages — verify before relying on a step. Related: how-to guides, VTT to SRT, all Clapr tools.
