Abstract: A system embodying the invention for verifying signatures appended to bank checks comprises a check feed stand, a CMC7 code reader, a video camera and a control equipment. The checks are conveyed across the stand and are read in turn by the code reader and the camera which respectively issue the identity of the account holder and an image of the signature appended to the check. The control equipment is preferably comprised of a microcomputer in which algorithms are resident to authenticate the signatures by comparison with previously recorded reference signatures. The signatures are represented by static parameters relating to the shapes and dimensions of their drawings. The verification method embodying the invention therein comprises an optimization algorithm resident in the control equipment in order to specifically select for each signature the parameters that should be used to minimize a decision error.