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Forensic Handwriting Analyst/Graphologist

Have you ever watched a T.V. show where a kid gets into trouble at school and has to get their parent to sign something? Or they want to go on a field trip that requires a permission slip signed by their parent but they forgot? Instead of getting punished or not being able to go on the trip, they sign themselves pretending to be their parent (forging a signature).


It’s the job of a forensic handwriting analyst (A.K.A. a graphologist) to look at the signature and say if it really is the person whose name is signed or whether someone else signed using their name. So watch out trying to sign as one of your parents!


Forensic handwriting analysts look at and analyze handwritten documents like letters and notes to see if they are real or fake. The reasons people want to know if handwritten documents are real or fake can be different, but when using a forensic handwriting analyst, it is for legal cases. For example, they may analyze a written document of someone admitting to committing a crime and say whether the person really wrote it or if someone else did to try and frame them.


A forensic handwriting analyst determines if someone really did write something by getting a sample of the person’s writing and comparing it to the document they were given. Graphologists can also use handwriting samples to find out what personality traits a person has.


To become a forensic handwriting analyst/graphologist you need a background in psychology and be trained in graphology.


Learn More about Forensic Handwriting Analysis/Graphology


The link below is an FBI training film. It shows the process of how to compare writing samples:

These links shows the basics of using handwriting to found out personality traits:

Test your Skills!
Think you can match handwriting samples? Put your skills to the test with this activity!