Board of Forensic Document Examiners
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, abilities, training and education are encouraged to apply for BFDE certification.
Individuals with the requisite knowledge, skills, abilities, training and education are encouraged to apply for BFDE certification.
A baccalaureate degree or higher from an accredited university or foreign equivalency. **
- Training in forensic document examination foundation skills.
Fundamental training is defined as a syllabus which covers those areas of document examination, most recently described in ASTM E 2388-11 Standard Guide for Minimum Training Requirements for Forensic Document Examiners, as applicable to the period of time in which the examiner received his or her initial training, the services offered by the laboratory or the practice.
Initial training shall have been supplemented with educational endeavors to bring the applicant’s knowledge to a current level appropriate in the profession.
- Individuals are required to have participated in continuing education on a regular basis.
- The examiner must have continued to work in the profession on a regular basis after completing fundamental training and be currently employed in the profession.
- Two letters of recommendation are required from individuals who are familiar with the applicant’s ethics and work.
- The applicant must agree in writing to abide by the BFDE Code of Ethics and Code of Professional Responsibility.
- The applicant must read the polices and procedures of the certification program and agree in writing that he/she understands the procedures and requirements as written and will accept any future revisions made to these policies by Board action.
- The applicant must be of good moral character.
- All information provided in the application is subject to verification.
An applicant must have the following minimal laboratory equipment in his/her laboratory or unilimted access to the following: stereo microscope with oblique and ring or coaxial lighting, latent image development equipment, IR spectral examination equipment, light table, digital camera of sufficient resolution to produce quality images, PhotoShop® or other computer imaging software program.
The BFDE may revise the prerequisites as requirements of the profession change or the testing curriculum is revised. Revision History