Questioned documents

Subspecialties: Documents, Handwriting, Passports, travel & ID

Specialists in questioned documents all have a general understanding of issues that routinely arise in their field. These include methods of examining documents to show their authenticity; alterations to them; the examination and comparison of handwritings; and general examinations such as for indented impressions. Beyond this general knowledge, practitioners must have a general awareness of the more specialised examination methods other practitioners may be able to offer.

Specialists in handwriting and signatures examine samples, usually to determine authorship. In addition to the general awareness all documents examiners must have, their expertise is in interpreting observations, taking into account many influences such as taught styles, age and disguise; and offering an opinion of authorship which takes into account any constraints in the evidence.

Specialists in the non-handwriting aspects of document examination look in depth at all the other issues that arise routinely in this field, such as how documents are produced (for example copying, printing, typing); the materials from which they are produced (for example paper, ink, other writing media); and general aspects such as impressions and folds in the paper.

Some related aspects require expertise in highly specialised fields such as security printing or the detailed analysis of specialised inks or papers. Such specialists may not necessarily have a detailed knowledge of the other aspects of questioned documents, but they can apply their particular expertise to particular document types, such as passports or identity documents.


Download an application pack