Secretarial Signatures: When Someone Else Signs the Autograph
What secretarial (proxy) signatures are, why they're not authentic autographs, how they happen, and how collectors and authenticators identify them.
By the MAS Certified authentication team · Updated October 2026
A secretarial signature is an autograph signed by an assistant, family member, studio staffer or team employee on the celebrity's behalf. It's usually done in good faith to answer fan mail, but it isn't the real signer's hand — and it's one of the most common non-genuine autographs in circulation.
How secretarial signatures happen
Popular figures can receive more requests than they could ever sign. Offices, studios and teams have historically had staff sign photos and cards to keep up. These signatures were never meant to deceive fans, but they often reach the secondary market sold as real autographs.
What gives them away
A secretary is copying someone else's signature, usually quickly and without deep familiarity. The overall shape may be close, but the construction is different — letters are formed in a different order, the slant changes, or the flow feels like the writer's own handwriting rather than the celebrity's.
- Letter construction that differs from verified examples
- The writer's own handwriting habits showing through
- Inconsistent signatures across items from the same source
- Neat, readable signatures from someone known for a quick scribble
Why exemplars matter
Spotting a secretarial signature depends on knowing exactly how the real signer writes. That's why authenticators rely on large libraries of verified examples, ideally from the same years.
Secretarial signature checklist
- Obtained through fan mail or a team/studio office
- Different letter construction from known examples
- Handwriting that looks 'too neat' or too different
- Several signatures from the same source that don't match each other
Questions collectors ask
Are secretarial signatures fake?+
They aren't usually made to deceive, but they are not authentic autographs because the named person didn't sign them.
Do secretarial signatures have any value?+
Very little to collectors compared with genuine hand-signed autographs.
Can MAS tell if a signature is secretarial?+
Our authenticators compare the signature to verified examples to identify construction and handwriting that doesn't match the real signer.
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