Forms
New Member Forms
For Regular, Corresponding or Associate Applicants:
MAAFS would love to have you as a new member. The Application Fee is $20. You must have attended a MAAFS Business Meeting within the past 4 years for Regular or Corresponding Membership. To apply, please have handy an updated CV and the names and email addresses of 2 MAAFS members in good standing willing to sponsor you. For Regular or Corresponding Membership, please also include verification of the completion of a documented training program if you are a bench scientist.
Please note that it could take up to 90 days from receiving your complete application, including the application fees, for your application to be fully reviewed.
For Student Affiliate Applicants:
MAAFS would love you have you as a new member. The Application Fee is $10. For Student Affiliate Membership, you must be attending an accredited college or university in a forensic or natural science program. To apply, please have handy a transcript listing your forensic or natural science coursework (unofficial is acceptable), and the names and email address of 1 MAAFS member in good standing willing to sponsor you.
Please note that it could take up to 90 days from receiving your complete application, including the application fees, for your application to be fully reviewed.
Scholarship Awards
Current students enrolled in an accredited college or university within the MAAFS Region can apply for a $1,000 scholarship. They must present a paper explaining their forensic research at the Annual Meeting. Current Student Members will be given first preference. Applications are due by August 1, 2026.
The Recommendation form process has changed this year. Rather than a pdf or paper form, the Recommendation form is now a web form. Professor, advisors, or thesis mentors should use the link below to compete the recommendation rather than using the old pdf form.
Professional Development
Award Form
The MAAFS Board is currently working on the Professional Development Form, so it is not currently available. We hope to have the redesigned form available again as of August 1, 2026.
All MAAFS members in good standing can apply for a Professional Development Award, to attend training, including MAAFS Meetings. The training must be forensic in nature. Preference will be given to those members who are active in MAAFS.
Membership Change Forms
Distinguished Member: To apply for Distinguished membership, you must first obtain 15 points related to your MAAFS Membership:
5 points: Serving as an officer.
4 points: Serving as chair of an annual meeting.
3 points: Serving on the Meeting Planning Committee. Organizing a training and education workshop (held at a time other than the annual meeting).
2 points: Presentation at a training and education workshop (either at the annual meeting or another time), presentation of a paper at an annual meeting, or serving on a committee
1 point: Attendance at a MAAFS annual meeting, including the business meeting (5 points maximum).
Retired Member: To apply for Retired Membership, you must have been a member in good standing for 5 years and retired from full-time work.
American Board of Criminalistics (ABC)
Free Exam Application
If you have been thinking about taking an ABC Exam, the ABC offers 1 free exam sitting per year for MAAFS Members. Preference will be given to those members who are active in MAAFS. Please email your completed Ed Rhodes Application to MAAFS4N6@gmail.com.
FOR 2026!
Although all of the forms below have a due date of March 1st, since the 2026 meeting is not being held until October, the 2026 deadline is August 1, 2026.
MAAFS Service Awards
Distinguished Service Award Form: To nominate a MAAFS member in good standing whose actions have resulted in marked improvement in the quality, recognition, or acceptance of MAAFS.
Forensic Scientist of the Year Award Form: To nominate a MAAFS member in good standing who has developed a method or methods which greatly improve the capability or accuracy of forensic science analyses or examinations. Or, a member in good standing whose actions have resulted in marked improvement in the quality, recognition, or acceptance in the forensic science community.
New Forensic Scientist Award Form: To nominate a MAAFS member in good standing who has less than five years experience in forensic science and who demonstrates a high level of motivation and contribution to forensic science.
Excellence in Forensic Science Award: To nominate a Laboratory within the Mid-Atlantic region which employees at least 1 MAAFS member in good standing with outstanding contributions to forensic science. This can be the development of a method or methods which greatly improve the capability or accuracy of forensic science analyses or examinations or action(s) which result in marked improvement in the quality, recognition, or acceptance in the forensic science community.