What Certifications Should a Court-Qualified Forensic Handwriting Expert Have?
When hiring a forensic document examiner, two things matter most: certification and proficiency testing. Here’s what to look for, and why it matters. Even experienced examiners who developed their skills through government agencies or on-the-job training benefit from independent certification, because it confirms their competence through an objective third party.
How Certification Works
In 2005, I founded the first international school of forensics. It had a two-year curriculum. The curriculum includes in-person instruction, online coursework, and audio training modules. We train people using three textbooks, and then they take certification tests.
We now have a 100-question certification test that’s not open-book. They have to take it; they have to pass it. And then, on top of that, we recommend that people go to a proficiency testing center, which has organizations around the world that simply send you documents and can tell you who signed them and who didn’t. In fact, we developed our own proficiency tests for the school; we now have ten of them.
Creating a valid proficiency test is harder than it sounds. You need to know with absolute certainty who wrote what. To build ours, we recruited volunteers, carefully documented who wrote each sample and who forged others, and used that controlled set to assess our students’ ability to determine authorship. So just make sure they’re trained in that and that the certification is from a reputable organization, like ours, which is an international school.
And obviously, if they’ve never passed a proficiency test or they don’t have a certificate, you have to wonder what their training was. It’s worth noting that formal training programs in this field are still relatively rare worldwide. There wasn’t an international school dedicated to forensic document examination until I founded one. So, obviously, everybody has been trained over the last hundred years through work and on-the-job training.
When evaluating a potential expert, look for three things: a certificate from a recognized training program, evidence that they have passed independent proficiency tests, and confirmation that a judge has court-qualified them as an expert witness. Together, those three things tell you a great deal about whether that person is ready to hold up under cross-examination.
My name is Bart Baggett. If you’d like help finding a certified, court-qualified forensic document examiner, reach out to us at handwritingexpertusa.com. We’ll make sure you get someone with the credentials to back up their opinion in court. Thanks for reading.
Bart Baggett
The Nation’s Leading Forensic Handwriting Expert
CEO of Handwriting Experts Inc.
Forensic Document Examiner • Expert Witness • Legal Consultant
“We solve million dollar forgery cases.”
Telephone: 1-800-980-9030
YouTube: @thehandwritingexpert
LinkedIn: bartbaggett
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FAQ
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Q1: What certifications should a forensic handwriting expert have?
A: A forensic handwriting expert should hold a certificate from a recognized training program, have passed independent proficiency tests, and have been court-qualified as an expert witness by a judge. Together, these three credentials demonstrate readiness to withstand cross-examination.
Q2: What is a proficiency test for forensic document examiners?
A: A proficiency test is an independent assessment in which an examiner is sent unknown handwriting samples and must correctly determine authorship. It confirms practical competence through objective third-party evaluation rather than self-assessment.
Q3: Who founded the first international school of forensic document examination?
A: Bart Baggett founded the first international school of forensics in 2005. The school offers a two-year curriculum that includes in-person instruction, online coursework, audio training modules, and a 100-question closed-book certification exam.
Q4: Why is independent certification important even for experienced forensic examiners?
A: Even examiners who developed their skills through government agencies or on-the-job training benefit from independent certification, because it confirms their competence through an objective third party rather than experience alone.
