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# Identifying the dead: primary and secondary methods

- Topic

A body's identity is confirmed by fingerprints, teeth or DNA; everything else (clothing, tattoos, visual recognition) only supports it.

Updated Nov 5, 2026

## Key points

- Primary (INTERPOL): fingerprints, comparative dental analysis and DNA.
- Secondary: description, medical findings, tattoos, scars, clothing, jewellery, documents.
- Visual recognition is unreliable: stress and changes in the body cause errors.
- DNA is the only primary method that needs no prior records of the person: it can be compared with relatives.
- Serial numbers on prostheses and pacemakers can identify reliably.

## What it is

Identifying a body is a duty to the family and to justice: it allows the body to be released, the death certificate to be issued and the investigation to move forward. INTERPOL's disaster victim identification guide treats friction ridges (fingerprints), comparative dental analysis and DNA as the primary, most reliable methods; unique serial numbers of medical implants can also be reliable. Secondary methods (physical description, medical findings, tattoos, scars, clothing, jewellery, documents) support identification and, depending on the context, may be enough. Visual recognition by relatives is unreliable and should not be the only means.

## Key facts

- Every identification compares postmortem data (from the body) with antemortem data (about the missing person).
- Documents and clothing may belong to someone else: they do not identify on their own.
- Children often lack dental records: fingerprints and DNA carry more weight.
- Decomposed, burnt or fragmented bodies: teeth and DNA are usually the useful methods.

## Identification methods in the INTERPOL guide

| Type | Method | What is compared |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Primary | Friction ridges (fingerprints) | The body's prints with fingerprint records |
| Primary | Comparative dental analysis | Teeth and dental work with dental records and X-rays |
| Primary | DNA | The body's profile with personal items or with relatives |
| Secondary | Medical and personal | Scars, surgery, tattoos, clothing, jewellery, documents |

## Next step: what to do and document

- Do not identify a body just because someone recognised it or it carried a document; record that as presumptive.
- Describe individualising features in detail: scars, tattoos, prostheses, malformations, dental work.
- Make sure the judicial police take fingerprints and, if needed, DNA samples and a dental chart before the body is released.
- Ask the family for antemortem data: treating dentist, X-rays, medical records, photographs.
- For victims of enforced disappearance, Law 1408 of 2010 created a Missing Persons Genetic Profile Bank under the Fiscalía (art. 4).
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co.

## Legal framework in Colombia

- Law 1408 of 2010, art. 4: creates the Missing Persons Genetic Profile Bank, directed and coordinated by the Office of the Attorney General (Fiscalía General de la Nación).
- Law 1408, art. 5: state forensic genetics laboratories enter into the bank the profiles from bodies and remains and the reference samples that relatives authorise with informed consent.
- Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co (Gestor Normativo).

## Test yourself

Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.

## What are the primary identification methods according to INTERPOL?

Friction ridge analysis (fingerprints), comparative dental analysis and DNA.

## Why is visual recognition by a relative not enough?

Because changes in the body and emotional stress cause errors; INTERPOL regards it as unreliable and not sufficient on its own.

## What advantage does DNA have over fingerprints and teeth?

It needs no prior records of the person: the profile can be compared with personal items or with biological relatives.

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## Connections

## Related 5

- [Dental identification (forensic odontology)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/dental-identification/)
- [Fingerprints (lofoscopia)](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/fingerprints/)
- [DNA identification: basics](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/dna-identification-basics/)
- [The skeleton: sex, age, stature and ancestry](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/the-skeleton-sex-age-stature-and-ancestry/)
- [Disaster victim identification](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/disaster-victim-identification/)

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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: [Disaster Victim Identification Guide (2023)](https://www.interpol.int/content/download/589/file/DVI_DVI%20Guide%202023.pdf) (INTERPOL, 2023); [Disaster Victim Identification Guide, Annexure 8: Methods of identification](https://www.interpol.int/content/download/5759/file/DVI_DVI%20Guide%20Annexure%208.pdf) (INTERPOL, 2023); [Ley 1408 de 2010, tribute to victims of enforced disappearance and measures for their location and identification](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=40201) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2010).

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