A minimum of 40 hours of education in the field of composite art from an approved school recognized by the IAI. The Forensic Art Certification Board should evaluate composite art schools or courses and provide a list of approved schools for our membership to choose from. One approved school or course will not be recommended over another. Each (approved) school will be provided with a study guide so that they can prepare their students for the certification exam. The Forensic Art Certification Board may, at it's discretion, or until an approved list of Forensic Art Schools is established, approve course work it deems appropriate to meet the education requirement for certification. Once course work has been approved for an individual it will continue to qualify that individual for certification as long as all other requirements are met.

An applicant must have at least one-year full-time experience and at least 25 completed hand drawn composites.

If less than full-time experience for the given time period is possessed, times must be accumulated to reach an acceptable minimum.

Three successful composite drawings (hits) of the individual's composite work must be submitted, with a written description of the process used to complete the drawings; the submission is to include specifics of the case for which the drawings were done. The submitted drawings will be reviewed and critiqued by the Certification Board. If the Certification Board determines the drawings do not qualify for certification the applicant will be rejected.

All applicants for certification must submit three (')) letters of recommendation. One letter should be from the individual's supervisor certifying that the drawings submitted are as stated. (In the case of a free-lance artist, this letter should come from a law-enforcement official using that person's services.) The other two letters should be from a high-ranking law enforcement official within the organization for which the work has been done; this may be a department chief, judge, or district attorney, who is also aft active member of the LAI. The letter should include:

   The final requirement would be a written and practical exam. It should be the task of the Forensic Art Certification Board to determine what material should be covered in the exam. Suggestions and input regarding the exam will be accepted by the committee from all sources, including any schools that would like to contribute, but they will not have access to any test that is developed. This exam would consist of forty (40) multiple choice questions (based on a suggested reading list supplied by the certification board), plus a composite drawing to be based on features selected from the FBI Identification Catalog. This drawing would be evaluated and compared with submitted samples to determine the individual's qualifications for certification.

120 hours of education: 80 hours in the field of composite art at an approved school, and 40 hours in approved related courses. (Time can be. substituted for some of the educational hours.) A member who has at least eight (8) years full time experience with a bona fide law enforcement agency and has completed at least 150 drawings will be credited for 80 hours of education credits. The artist must have devoted at least 60% of his/her time to Forensic Art to be considered full-time. A member who has at least 4 years full time experience and has completed at least 300 drawings will also be eligible for the 80-hour education credit. If less than full time experience for the given time period is possessed-, times must be accumulated to reach an acceptable minimum. All applicants are required to attend a basic 40 hour formal composite (classroom) training course at an approved school in this section, in no way, will nullify this requirement. The education credits mentioned above will be applied towards advanced standing only.

A minimum of five years experience with a bona fide law enforcement agency.

Five successful composite drawings (hits) must be submitted with copies of photos of identified individuals. Also, a written description of the process used to complete the drawings, including specifics of the case for which the drawings were done should be included.

Three letters of recommendation should be submitted. One letter should be from the individual's supervisor certifying the drawings submitted are as stated. (In the case of a free-lance artist, this letter should come from a law-enforcement official using that person's services.) The other two letters should be from a high-ranking law-enforcement official within the organization for which the work has been done; this may be a department chief, judge, or district attorney, who is also an active member of the IAI.

The final requirement would be a written, practical, and verbal exam. The written exam will be the same as given for Level I and it will consist of 40 multiple choice Questions (based on a suggested reading list supplied by the certification board), plus a composite drawing to be based on a pre-selected photo with an interviewed "witness." It should be decided if this interview should be audio-taped. This drawing would be evaluated and compared with submitted samples to determine the individual's qualifications for certification. The verbal exam would be an evaluation of the inter-view technique used during, the preparation of the composite (the cognitive inter-view) and a discussion of the law and court testimony.