Guidelines for inclusion

1) Philatelists who wish to become expertisers of the Association must apply in writing to the Managing Director of the Federation of Philatelic Expertisers e. V. (BPP).

Applications must be made at the latest on 31 October of the year preceding the meeting that decides on the application.

Applicants should be aged under 65 with possible exceptions in duly justified cases.

The chosen expertising area is to be described as precisely as possible giving the MICHEL numbers.

The application must be accompanied by:

(a) a general curriculum vitae with police clearance and philatelic c.v.
(b) a list of the available literature
(c) an indication of resources of information on key items of the expertisation area and on forgeries
(d) a description of the scope and content of the philatelist’s reference collection (stamps, cancellations, etc.)
(e) an indication of the technical equipment available, giving the manufacturer (UV, scientific microscope, photo equipment, photocopier, computer, printer, scanner, etc.)
(f) proof of membership of the BDPh or APHV. For collectors membership of the BDPh; for traders the APHV.
(g) for the German inflation expertising area, proof of admission as expertiser of the INFLA-Berlin – Verein of the Deutschlandsammler e. V.
(h) typically an opinion of two ordinary members who are in favour of the application, giving the reasons in detail. Insofar as expertisers already exist for the selected area, the opinion should be through these.
(i) an email address.

If all these documents are not attached, the application will not be processed.

2) The applications are forwarded to the Presidents of the Bund Deutscher Philatelisten e. V. (Federation of German Philatelists, BDPh), the Bundesverband des Deutschen Briefmarkenhandels e. V. (Federal Association of German Stamp Dealers, APHV) and the Bundesverband Deutscher Briefmarkenversteigerer e. V. (Federal Association German Stamp Auctioneers, BDB) by 1 March of the following year for an opinion by the Managing Director of the BPP. Applications will be brought to the attention of the members of the BPP in a circular letter.

3) Applicants for associate membership are first to undergo an examination by the Federation Inspectorate of the BPP, which includes the following areas:

• General knowledge of philately, history, terminology
• Distinguishing genuine, forged or repaired stamps
• Paper, inks, gum, perforation, watermark
• Printing processes
• Cancellations
• Submission of an attestation

The examination usually takes place three to four months before the Annual General Meeting. In justified cases the Board of Directors may waive the requirement to participate in this examination.

4) After successfully passing the first examination, a second examination in the selected expertising area is held before an Expertising Commission designated by the Board of Directors of the BPP on the day before the meeting. Topics are, for example:

Knowledge of the chosen area of expertise

• Explanation by the applicant on the conduct of expertisation
• Distinguishing genuine, forged or repaired stamps and documents, as well as postmarks
• Submission of an attestation on a stamp presented by the Expertising Commission

The members of the Expertising Commission, the Board of Directors of the BPP and the representatives of the above-mentioned associations are entitled to submit selected comparison items chosen by them.

No later than four weeks prior to the examination of the applicant by the Expertising Commission, test items are to be sent – as far as possible – to the applicant for processing by the applicant, being a reasonable number of items within the expertising area. These must be dealt with within ten days. The applicant will be informed of the result of the vote on the inclusion of applicant at the meeting.

5) Neither the Expertising Commission nor individual members of the Commission are entitled to inform the applicant of the result of the examination.

The result of the examination is by vote of all members of the Commission determining, by a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote, the suitability of the applicant as an expertiser of the Federation. Abstentions by Expertising Commission members about the suitability of the examined candidate are not allowed. The Expertising Commission reports to the meeting on the progress and result of the examination of the applicant. It gives a non-binding recommendation to the meeting on the acceptance or rejection of the applicant by announcing the yes/no vote ratio within the Expertising Commission.

6) Before the meeting of the BPP votes on the inclusion of an applicant, he is to submit the legally signed declaration of commitment, pursuant to Section 4, Paragraph 3d of the Statutes.

7) Successful candidates may, according to personal performance, be accepted as associate members by the meeting of the BPP. Any comments by the representatives of the BDPh, of APHV and the BDB are to be taken into account and presented to the meeting. Typically, associate members carry out their activities together with a Federation expertiser (consultation partner). The applicable expertising fees are divided. The consultation partner shall be appointed by the Board of Directors of the BPP.

8) The Expertising Commission and the Board of Directors shall be entitled to arrange additional conditions.

9) Each applicant for associate membership is to pay a fee of €250 for submitting the application, by bank transfer to the account of the Association (VR-Bank Rhein-Erft e. G., Account No. 12 300 018, BLZ 371 612 89, BIC GENODED1BRH, IBAN DE53371612890012300018). This is refundable if the candidate is not admitted at the second examination.

10) In the case of an expertiser who has successfully become a Federation expertiser in the BPP by acceptance at the meeting on the basis of these rules, and whose membership has in the meantime expired for reasons that have not put into question his personal suitability, the expertiser may on request be accepted as an associate or ordinary member of the BPP with the approval of the Board of Directors on the basis of the members’ decision at a meeting.