Document to be examined
The original is preferable; a good-quality photograph or scan may be sent for preliminary assessment.
Comparison samples
Documents bearing reliably attributed signatures and entries from comparable periods and conditions.
Case materials
Questions, a court ruling or appointment order, previous reports and relevant information.
Submission
The form accepts up to ten files of 10 MB each. Originals are submitted separately under an agreed transfer record and return procedure.
Terms for submitting materials
What to report about comparison signatures and entries
Specimens are useful when it is known who made them and in what circumstances. In the inventory, identify the document, the period of creation and the grounds for considering the signature or text to have been written by the person being examined. Disputed objects should not be included unnoticed among reliable specimens: this would make the comparison circular.
Try to preserve the range of natural variations in writing skill. One habitual signature on a different form and from another period may not represent every feature relevant to the disputed document. Quantity alone does not guarantee sufficiency: ten poor copies of one signature are not equivalent to ten independent, reliably attributed signatures.
- Separate documents created independently of the dispute from specimens obtained specifically.
- Provide information about the time of execution and known changes in writing skill if relevant to the task.
- Report an unusual position, limited space, a different writing instrument or other known conditions.
- Preserve information about the copies' provenance: who obtained them, from which document and by what method.
- Do not correct or complete faint strokes on the specimens.
The conditions for obtaining new specimens are agreed before they are made. Copying the disputed signature yourself does not create independent comparison material and may distort the assessment. If the required documents are not yet available, list the available and missing materials. This will help determine further actions for the specific object rather than collect a random quantity of handwriting.