FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINATION RELATES TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF HANDWRITING, TYPEWRITING, THE AUTHENTICITY OF SIGNATURES, ALTERATIONS OF DOCUMENTS, THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INKS AND PAPERS, AND OTHER MATTERS OF AUTHENTICATION FOR LEGAL PURPOSES. GOOD VISION AND CONVINCING PUBLIC SPEAKING ABILITY ARE REQUIRED FOR DOCUMENT EXAMINERS. IN ADDITION TO A BACCALAUREATE DEGREE, THE POTENTIAL DOCUMENT EXAMINER MUST RECEIVE LENGTHY ON-THE-JOB TRAINING IN A QUESTIONED DOCUMENT FORENSIC LABORATORY. SOME OF THE FEDERAL AGENCIES THAT MAINTAIN SUCH LABORATORIES INCLUDE THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION, THE U.S. POSTAL INSPECTION SERVICE, AND THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE. IN ADDITION, MANY CITY AND STATE POLICE LABORATORIES HAVE QUESTIONED DOCUMENT FACILITIES. ALTHOUGH THE UNDERGRADUATE DEGREE NEED NOT BE IN ONE SPECIFIC FIELD, IT IS RECOMMENDED THAT TRAINING INCLUDE EXTENSIVE CHEMISTRY COURSES, MICROCHEMICAL ANALYSIS, WRITING, AND PHOTOGRAPHY. MOST OF THE TIME, FORENSIC DOCUMENT EXAMINERS DEAL WITH HANDWRITING QUESTIONS. THE INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON'S HANDWRITING STEM FROM SUBCONSCIOUS, AUTOMATIC, RECURRING WRITING HABITS. TO DETERMINE THE IDENTITY OF THE WRITER OF A SPECIFIC DOCUMENT THE EXAMINER COMPARES THE WRITING OF THE QUESTIONED DOCUMENT WITH A SAMPLE OF THE POSSIBLE AUTHOR'S WRITING; THE SAMPLE IS TERMED AN EXEMPLAR OR STANDARD. SIGNIFICANT SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO ARE NOTED, AND THE EXAMINER DRAWS HIS CONCLUSIONS. COMMON DOCUMENT PROBLEMS WHICH THE EXAMINER SOLVES INCLUDED DETERMINING THE GENUINENESS OF DOCUMENT SIGNATURES AND DATES, AND THE SEQUENCE OF EXECUTION IN MULTIPAGE DOCUMENTS. PHOTOGRAPHS AND A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY ARE INCLUDED IN THE CHAPTER.