IAI SP9 study guide
IAI SP9 · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
IAI SP9 refers to the International Association for Identification's certification program, which the association presents as a set of discipline-specific certification boards listed under its Certification section: Bloodstain Pattern, Crime Scene, Footwear, Forensic Art, Forensic Photography & Imaging, Forensic Video, Latent Print, and Tenprint Fingerprint. The IAI describes itself as the oldest and largest forensic association in the world, representing a diverse, knowledgeable and experienced membership assembled to educate, share, critique and publish methods, techniques and research in the physical forensic science disciplines. The IAI SP9 study guide has 8 sections and about 2,816 words.
01Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
The Bloodstain Pattern domain tests whether you can describe a pattern physically, name the mechanism that produced it, and defend the limits of what a stain proves. Expect terminology tied to SWGSTAIN/IABPA vocabulary, angle-of-impact and area-of-origin maths, documentation standards, and report wording.
373 words, about 2 min02Crime Scene Investigation and Management
The Crime Scene domain tests the whole arc from first response to scene release: scene integrity, documentation, evidence handling, and defensible reconstruction. Questions favour practical decisions under pressure rather than definitions.
379 words, about 2 min03Footwear and Tire Impression Evidence
The Footwear domain tests recovery of two- and three-dimensional impressions, enhancement choices, casting technique, and the comparative ACE-V process that ends in a defensible conclusion. Photograph first: camera back parallel to the impression surface, frame filled, scale in the same plane, plus an orientation shot.
357 words, about 2 min04Forensic Art and Facial Imaging
The Forensic Art domain covers imagery made to identify or locate people: facial composites, postmortem and skull-based reconstruction, age progression, image modification and superimposition. The exam tests method, limits and ethics rather than drawing skill.
355 words, about 2 min05Forensic Photography and Imaging
The Forensic Photography and Imaging domain tests technical camera control plus the ability to produce accurate, reproducible, court-defensible images. Expect exposure calculation, lighting selection for specific evidence types, scale discipline and digital image integrity.
358 words, about 2 min06Forensic Video Analysis
Forensic Video tests the acquisition, preservation, interpretation and presentation of video evidence, including the technical limits that constrain conclusions. It rewards candidates who protect the original and document every transformation.
362 words, about 2 min07Latent Print Development and Examination
The Latent Print domain tests development chemistry by substrate, sequential processing order, documentation, and the ACE-V examination of friction ridge impressions. Non-porous (glass, metal, polished plastic): powder, cyanoacrylate fuming, small particle reagent, luminescent dyes and RUVIS.
293 words, about 1 min08Tenprint Fingerprint Records
The Tenprint domain covers recording, classifying and quality-controlling fingerprint records, whether inked or live scan. Expect pattern classification, ridge counting and tracing, Henry formula construction, and submission quality standards.
339 words, about 2 min