{"id":2685,"date":"2026-03-20T02:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T09:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bartbaggett.com\/blog\/?p=2685"},"modified":"2026-05-07T00:20:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T07:20:04","slug":"whats-the-difference-between-simulated-and-a-trace-signature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bartbaggett.com\/blog\/whats-the-difference-between-simulated-and-a-trace-signature\/","title":{"rendered":"Q15 What’s the difference between a simulated signature and a trace signature?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What\u2019s the Difference Between a Simulated Signature and a Trace Signature?<\/strong><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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When a signature is faked, there are two main methods a forger uses, and understanding the difference between them matters both in how the fraud is committed and how it gets caught. <\/span>If you’re researching forgery, signatures, and document examination, you’ll see the words traced<\/strong>\u00a0and simulated<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bart<\/a>
This side-by-side graphic from forensic document examiner Bart Baggett clarifies why experts rarely use the word “forgery” in laboratory reports, and instead distinguish precisely between a simulated signature \u2014 where someone copied a model freehand \u2014 and a traced signature, where a physical overlay was used to follow the original ink path. Understanding this distinction is central to how Bart builds airtight forensic findings in disputed signature cases. Learn more at bartbaggett.com\/blog.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

First, let’s look at a fake signature that is simulated, which means someone is looking at a model and tracing it. Imagine a con artist sneaking into the Louvre at night to look at the Mona Lisa very closely and to sketch and paint his own forgery. He is simulating the Mona Lisa: freehand drawing a copy by studying the different lines and brushstrokes, and trying to make the picture look as much like the original as possible. A simulated signature is created the same way; a forger looks at a signature and tries to emulate it as closely as possible.<\/p>\n

Faking a signature by tracing would be like a con artist stealing the Mona Lisa, sticking a piece of paper over it, and then tracing it. With traced signatures, forgers take a signature, place a sheet of paper over it, and often use a backlight on the sheet with the original signature to see the outline clearly. Then they slowly trace the signature on the top paper.<\/p>\n