Questioned Documents

To contact our Document Examiners:

Tel: +44 (0)121 359 6463  
Email: info@DocEv.co.uk
Web: DocEv website

Forensic Document Examination

The Document Evidence team was established in 1992 by senior scientists from the Home Office Forensic Science Service and today comprises the most experienced team of document examiners in the country.

Please note, we are unable to take instruction from members of the public unless work is submitted via a solicitor. 

Handwriting Examination

Questioned Document examinations carried out by a handwriting analyst generally involve the comparison of a handwriting specimen (provable) against questioned handwriting (handwriting forgery) in order to determine authorship.

The handwriting expert requires suitable specimens in order to carry out such an examination. All specimens should be in the same handwriting style as the questioned handwriting (that is BLOCK CAPITALS, script or cursive).

Signature Authentication

In a forensic signature analysis, the signature expert compares specimen signatures with the disputed signatures to determine whether the signature is genuine or is a forged signature.

Questioned Document Analysis

Examination for indented impressions

If one document is written out while resting upon another then indented impressions of the handwriting may be created on the document beneath. The forensic document examiner can use impressions to link paper to pads, to identify the source of anonymous letters or determine if pages have been tampered with.

Examinations of Alterations and Obliterations

It is possible to determine whether a document has been completed using more than one ink, whether any alterations have been made to a document (such as changing a date or altering an amount) or what is present underneath an obliterated entry.

Examination of Office Equipment

The forensic document examiner can determine whether documents have been produced by a specific machine or whether a number of documents have been produced by the same machine. Counterfeits can be examined to determine how they have been produced and to link them together and/or to their source.