1. Selecting Suitable Known Signatures for Comparison

• Match the style: Follow the "compare like to like" rule. Submit exemplars similar in style to the questioned document (e.g., cursive writing to compare to cursive, printing to printing, signature to signature, initial to initial, number to numeral to numeral, etc.).

• Consider formality and situation: Note that people have various signing styles for different situations: formal (contracts, wills, important documents), informal (personal letters, cheques, day-to-day work matters), careless (credit card slips, delivery confirmations), and initials. Formal signatures should be compared with formal known signatures, and so on.
   

2. Ensuring Verifiability of Known Signatures

• Format signatures (e.g. Official documents or cheques) are preferred for their verifiability.

• Informal signatures (e.g. Normal course-of-business exemplars) are also ideal.

• Requested writing or self-serving samples may be less helpful.

• For sources of known signatures, please refer to Examples of Sources.
   

3. Importance of Original Documents

• Originals are always preferred for analysis as they allow assessment of writing pressure and line quality, crucial for accurate comparisons. While photocopies or scans can be examined, they may lose some detail, original exemplars are always preferred to photocopies.

• If you must submit a photocopy, scan, or photograph of the document in question or an exemplar, please ensure you hold your photographing device (camera or smartphone) parallel to the document. In this situation, clear focus and alignment are more important than artistic flourishes.

• Multi-generational copies and faxes are not ideal for forming an accurate opinion due to potential quality degradation.
   

4. Quantity of Known Signatures

• Ideally, submitting 8-15 known signatures/handwriting exemplars might be enough . However, more exemplars is always better. The greater the variation in known signatures, the more exemplars are needed for comparison.

 

5. Contemporaneity

• People's handwriting naturally evolves over time. Therefore, older or more recent signatures may be less reliable for comparison. Ideally, known signatures and/or handwriting should be written within one to three years (preferably before) of the questioned signature or handwriting.

• When submitting known and questioned signatures and/or handwriting, it's crucial to also indicate the written date of each document. By providing the written dates, the examiner can assess how an individual's handwriting and/or signature has evolved over time, leading to a more reliable comparison with the questioned document.

 

6. Submitting Entire Documents

• The document examiner may find additional evidence like initials, marks, staple holes, font differences, erasures, etc., which can be significant. To ensure accuracy, exact-size copies are preferred.

 

7. Request Exemplars

• These are genuine signatures and/or handwriting samples written in the presence of an investigator or questioned document examiner. While request exemplars, might be necessary and can be compared to the questioned document, they hold less weight on their own.

 

8. Contextual Information about the Known Signature Writer

Background information about the known signature writer can be helpful, including:

• Age

• Gender

• Country of handwriting education

• Handedness

• Eyesight

• Education level

• Economic status

• Injuries (hand/arm)

• Health

• Medication

• Addictions

 

9. Avoiding selective bias of Known Signatures

• While we encourage clients to provide the best known signatures available, it's important to avoid selective bias. Do not select signatures based solely on their similarity or dissimilarity to the questioned document; instead, take a neutral and objective approach. Submitting biassed samples can weaken your case.

• Please remember, HANDWRITING HORIZON reserves the right to revise opinions based on any additional evidence presented throughout the investigation.

 

10. For case submission, you can choose from the following options:

• We recommend submitting your case in person. (An appointment is required.)

• However, if in-person submission is not possible, you have these additional options:

  • Send the registered mail or SF Express (Paid by shipper)

  • Email: Scan your documents and send them in a PDF format at 300+ dpi (600 dp is preferred) and actual size. Please note that email delivery may not be suitable for all cases.

 

Additional Notes

• The information provided is a general guideline. Specific requirements may vary depending on the case.

• This company prioritises the protection of all original materials. Destructive testing is not conducted.

• All materials are returned to the client upon case completion.