ABMDI Board (F-ABMDI)

ABMDI certifies individuals who have the proven knowledge and skills necessary to perform medicolegal death investigations as set forth in the National Institute of Justice 1999 publication Death Investigation: A Guide for the Scene Investigator, with a 2011 updated version available. Build your study plan around that document rather than around general forensic textbooks.

There are no formal educational requirements specifically for medicolegal death investigation, according to ABMDI. Degree programs in forensic science, natural science, anthropology, nursing, or another medically related field would be useful, and several established training courses around the country teach the basic information needed to perform a thorough, competent investigation.

No - ABMDI states there are no formal requirements, and each coroner and medical examiner office has different hiring practices. An investigator must be knowledgeable of local, state, and federal laws, and must be the most medically knowledgeable person at the scene in order to determine whether further investigation is necessary.

Those specifics are not published on the ABMDI website reviewed here, so treat any number you see elsewhere as unverified. Request the official candidate handbook from the board for the current item count, time limit, fee, passing standard, and retake policy before you schedule.

Work through the 29 tasks identified in the national guidelines, which form the task basis for the credential. Organize study by practice area: jurisdiction and legal authority; scene investigation and documentation; decedent examination, identification, and property; death circumstances and injury interpretation; and reporting, death certification, and ethics.

The national guidelines were developed by a working group of 24 experts in medicolegal death investigation, including members of the Forensic Panel (NMRP), and 146 members of the TWGDI national reviewers network. ABMDI itself was created, designed, and developed by veteran, practicing medicolegal death investigators involved in that guide.

The ABMDI was first accredited by the Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board in 2005 and was reaccredited in 2010, 2015, 2020, and 2025. FSAB exists so the forensic community can assess, recognize, and monitor organizations or professional boards that certify individual forensic scientists or other forensic specialists.

ABMDI draws a clear line: the medicolegal death investigator is responsible for the dead person, while the local law enforcement jurisdiction is responsible for the scene. The investigator performs scene investigations emphasizing information developed from the decedent and determines the extent to which further investigation is necessary. Expect jurisdiction questions to test that boundary.

Weak spots typically show up where medicine and law overlap: legal authority and jurisdiction, and the discipline of documenting the scene and decedent thoroughly enough to support later follow-up. Because the investigator must be the most medically knowledgeable person at the scene, do not neglect injury interpretation and the reasoning behind whether further investigation is needed.

No - this is independent study material, not an official ABMDI product, and the board's opinions are its own. No announced changes to item count, time limit, passing standard, fee, retake policy, or recertification cycle appear in the source reviewed, so verify all of those directly with ABMDI.