[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/) › [Clinical forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/areas/clinical/) › Age estimation in the living # Age estimation in the living - Method How the expert estimates the age of a person without documents: physical exam, teeth, hand X-ray and clavicle, always with a margin. Updated Nov 5, 2026 ## Key points - Methods are combined: physical exam, dental (third molar), hand and wrist, and clavicle. - The medial end of the clavicle is the last epiphysis to fuse: it helps decide whether someone is over 18. - The result is a range and a minimum age, never an exact figure. - In case of doubt, minority and the lower age are presumed (Law 1098 of 2006, art. 3). ## What it is The authorities request an age estimate when a person has no reliable documents and age changes their legal situation, above all to know whether they are under 18 (juvenile criminal responsibility, protection measures, migration). The estimate combines several methods, because none is exact: the physical exam with sexual maturation, the dental exam with a panoramic radiograph (especially the third molar), the hand-and-wrist radiograph and, once the hand has matured, imaging of the medial end of the clavicle. The result is a range and a minimum age, not an exact figure. In Colombia, in case of doubt minority is presumed and, among possible ages, the lower one (Law 1098 of 2006, art. 3). ## Accuracy and limits - No method is exact: each has a scatter of several years in the late teens and early twenties. - Combining methods improves accuracy; when several features are assessed, the highest minimum age applies. - The minimum age is that of the youngest person in the reference population with the same feature: this avoids overestimating age. - Ethnicity, socioeconomic status and endocrine diseases change maturation; use references from a comparable population. - Radiographs without a medical indication need a legal basis and an order from the authorities. ## What it is based on - Physical exam: height, weight, sexual maturation and a search for diseases that speed up or delay development. - Teeth: eruption and mineralisation; in adolescents and young adults, the third molar on the panoramic radiograph. - Hand and wrist: shape and size of the bones and closure of the growth plates, compared with reference atlases. - Clavicle: ossification of the medial end, assessed with thin-slice CT. ## How it is applied - Check the authority's order and obtain consent; explain that radiographs will be used. - Take the history and do the physical exam, including sexual maturation and signs of developmental disease. - Do the dental exam and order a panoramic radiograph. - Order a radiograph of the left hand; if its maturation is complete, assess the clavicle. - Compare each finding with reference studies from a similar population. - Combine the results into a probable age range and a minimum age, and explain the margin of error. ## Next step: what to do and document - Report a probable age range and a minimum age, and state which methods you used and their limits. - If the result leaves doubt about whether the person is under 18, say so explicitly: the law presumes minority. - Protect the presumed minor while age is being settled: notify the ICBF or the relevant authority. - Keep the images and the report in the expert file. - Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co. ## Common mistakes - Giving one exact figure instead of a range. - Using a single method, such as the hand radiograph alone. - Applying reference tables from another population without saying so. - Forgetting that, in case of doubt, the law presumes minority. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## Which methods are combined to estimate the age of an adolescent without documents? Physical exam with sexual maturation, dental exam with a panoramic radiograph, hand-and-wrist radiograph and, if the hand has matured, the clavicle. ## Why is the clavicle studied in young adults? Because its medial end is the last epiphysis to ossify and keeps changing after the hand has completed maturation. ## What does Law 1098 of 2006 presume when it is unclear whether a person is a minor? That the person is a minor and, if the age is in doubt, the lower age (art. 3, paragraph 1). ## What is the minimum age in an age-estimation report? The age of the youngest person in the reference population who has the same feature; it avoids overestimating age. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/forensic-medicine/age-estimation-in-the-living/) ## Connections ## Related 2 - [Dental identification (forensic odontology)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/dental-identification/) - [The skeleton: sex, age, stature and ancestry](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/the-skeleton-sex-age-stature-and-ancestry/) [← All of forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/) Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority. Sources: [Forensic age estimation: methods, certainty, and the law (Schmeling A et al.)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4760148/) (Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (PMC), 2016); [Ley 1098 de 2006, Código de la Infancia y la Adolescencia (art. 3)](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=22106) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2006). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. Report a mistake Representative model, for educational purposes only. --- Source: https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/age-estimation-in-the-living/ License: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Cite as: DurgiPedia (durgical.com), https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/age-estimation-in-the-living/