This method outlines the requirements, capabilities, and limitations associated with the application of Design Recovery for the detection of counterfeit electronic parts including: Operator training, Sample preparation, Imaging techniques, Data interpretation, Design/functional matching, Equipment maintenance and, Reporting of data. The method is primarily aimed at analyses performed by circuit delayering and imaging with a scanning electron microscope or optical microscope, however, many of the concepts are applicable to other microscope and probing techniques to recover design data. The method is not intended for the purpose of manufacturing copies of a device, but rather to compare images or recover the design for determination of authenticity.