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[[quoteright:150:[[Webcomic/EscapeFromTerra https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/clipboard_4.png]]]]

->''"[A] clipboard is as good as a skeleton key."''
-->-- '''Michael Westen''', ''Series/BurnNotice''

When the characters are engaging in a BavarianFireDrill, are ImpersonatingAnOfficer, need to [[DeliveryGuyInfiltration infiltrate the enemy base]] and/or [[SurpriseInspectionRuse pose as surprise inspectors to do so]], or are DressingAsTheEnemy, their credibility is greatly enhanced if one of them is holding a clipboard.[[note]]In more futuristic settings, a DataPad also works.[[/note]] Nothing terrifies human beings as much as an ObstructiveBureaucrat on the move.

See also RefugeInAudacity. As shows like ''Series/TheRealHustle'' can attest, this is TruthInTelevision.

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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Played with in ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex''. To enter a Yakuza hangout, Kusanagi pretends to be picking up the garbage. When the Yakuza refuse to let her in, she insists they have to sign the required paperwork (Japan has strict recycling laws) which is on a clipboard too large to pass through the peep slot, so they have to open the door.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comics]]
* ''ComicBook/CommandoComics'': Inverted in "The Silent Strike" when a British diplomat has to meet a RebelLeader, so he enters a British oil refinery in his official capacity and exits dressed in overalls in the passenger seat of a truck, holding a clipboard, so the SecretPolice won't realise who he is.
* ''ComicStrip/ModestyBlaise'' uses what Willie calls the 'universal passport' in "Garvin's Travels" to infiltrate a spy ring hiding in a resort. She adds to the effect by asking the first employee to see her if he's new; he chalks it up to the place being so large.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10485934/1/Inspected-By-No-13 Inspected by No. 13]]'', Harry discovers that flying near a nesting dragon is pretty much suicide, which screws up his only plan for the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament (remember, he's only a fourth-year and does not know sufficiently advanced magic to cope with the task), so he decides to try to bluff with a clipboard and badge the Weasleys gave him as a souvenir of a trip they took. Turns out it's not ''just'' a souvenir....
* In ''Fanfic/VoyagesOfTheWildSeaHorse'', Ukyo muses that being dressed as waitstaff while carrying an expensive bottle of wine is practically a free pass to wander around a noble's mansion. She even manages to steal from the lord's office without anyone suspecting her.
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13886259/1/We-ve-Been-Betrayed We've Been Betrayed]]'', Lily, James, and Frank at one point masquerade as a maintenance crew, with Lily carrying a clipboard with several sheets of paper.
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[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/FoodFight'' literally has a character named Mr. Clipboard who intimidates people into buying his products.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', Wolf uses a clipboard as part of his disguise as an evil lair inspector.
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[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
* In ''Film/{{Chappie}}'', while the villain Vincent secretly uploads his virus at Tetravaal's high security area, security guards enter the room, which prompts Vincent to grab a random clipboard in hope it makes him look like official staff. The trick works.
* ''Film/TheDreamTeam'': This eases Henry Sikorsky in doctor-impersonating.
* ''Film/JamesBond'':
** Bond does this in ''Film/DrNo''. While [[DressingAsTheEnemy dressed in a radiation suit]] he [[MuggedForDisguise stole by knocking out a guard]], he picks up a sheaf of papers to make himself look official.
** He does it again, this time with an actual clipboard (while posing as "Klaus Hergesheimer, G Section"), in ''Film/DiamondsAreForever''. Unfortunately, the real Hergesheimer walks through the door just after he leaves...
* In ''Film/ThePaper'', Henry Hackett claims (and demonstrates) that all you need to get into any building in the world is a clipboard.
* In ''Film/TheRiseAndRiseOfMichaelRimmer'', the titular character managed to successfully become part of an advertising agency by going in with a clipboard, looking like he knew what he was doing and saying he was with "efficiency", and everyone buys it!
* ''Film/SherlockHolmes2009'': Watson grabs a clipboard to infiltrate a factory, briefly acting like an overseer while Holmes, carrying a barrel, plays the common worker. They do this without exchanging words, implying this is a trick they've used before.
* In ''Film/{{Sneakers}}'', Martin Brice claims (and demonstrates!) that all you need to get into any building in the world is a clipboard and a confident wave.
* Lampshaded in ''Film/{{Tenet}}'', along with Reflective Vest of Authority (ironically just when the Protagonist comes up against a door he can't get through).
-->'''Barbara:''' With a high-vis vest and a clipboard, you can get almost anywhere. Almost.
* Downplayed in ''Film/WonderWoman1984''. Diana Prince and Steve Trevor briefly pick up a box and papers when slipping into Maxwell Lord's office, but abandon them on seeing the employees are too busy fielding calls to pay attention to intruders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* In the ''Franchise/BattleTechExpandedUniverse'' novel ''I Am Jade Falcon'', while infiltrating a secret laboratory, main character Joanna tells the warrior helping her to "pick up a clipboard and look like you are annoyed by something" in order to avoid being hassled if they're discovered. The ruse works.
* In the ''Literature/{{Dexter}}'' novel ''Dearly Devoted Dexter'', Kyle Chutsky points out that "No one ever stops a man with a clipboard."
* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** In ''Literature/{{Moving Pictures|Discworld}}'', it's said that you can get into anywhere with a piece of paper, rolled-up sleeves, and a purposeful expression.
** Nobby Nobbs uses a sheaf of papers (Colon's shopping list), a purposeful expression, and a constant shout to bluff the guy running the city armory in ''Literature/MenAtArms''.
** A similar point is made in ''Literature/InterestingTimes''. Discworld protagonists use the BavarianFireDrill a ''lot'', so it's not too surprising.
--->'''Truckle the Uncivil:''' Why're we carrying pieces of paper?\\
'''Teach:''' Because no-one looks at you in a place like this if you're carrying a piece of paper.
* In ''Literature/{{Doom}}'', Fly and Arlene need to get to a radio they don't have access to. Arlene hands Fly a clipboard, and he plays inspection sergeant all the way to it.
* In the ''Literature/{{Dortmunder}}'' novel ''What's the Worst That Could Happen?'', Dortmunder and Kelp are able to gain access to almost every area of the Watergate complex by dressing as engineers and carrying clipboards.
* In the ''Literature/DragonridersOfPern'' novel ''Dragonseye'', Weyrleader S'nan always carries a clipboard around, which is rumored to have been handed down by the first Weyrleader, Sean Connell.
* ''Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' has this with ''[[NoodleImplements towels]]''.
-->"If you have your towel, everyone automatically assumes that you are an extremely on-top-of-it person, and thus will be happy to lend you anything you may have misplaced (food, money, etc.)."
* ''Literature/TheLaundryFiles'': Lampshaded and riffed on in ''The Rhesus Chart''. A think tank of investment bankers discover they've become vampires, so set about investigating in an organised manner how they'll get blood and what their powers and vulnerabilities are, turning up at hospitals and butcher shops wielding clipboards (even to church mass or nightclubs, where it's completely unnecessary).
-->[[StockJokes Two vampires with clipboards walk into a bar...]]
* No clipboard, but in ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeaTimeOfTheSoul'', Dirk Gently gets into a crime scene by being right behind a uniformed policeman, and when that policeman got stopped to show his ID Gently just walked by and said "He's with me."
%% * In ''Literature/TheScarpettaSeries'' by Creator/PatriciaCornwell, Dr. Scarpetta does this on one occasion.
* ''Literature/{{Spenser}}'' does this at least once, while commenting on the phenomenon.
* ''Franchise/StarWarsLegends'':
** One of the tricks Qui-Gon teaches Obi-Wan in the ''Literature/JediApprentice'' books.
** In ''[[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Dark Force Rising]]'', when Luke is rescuing Karrde from a Star Destroyer, they use a DataPad to this effect.
** In the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', Iella and Mirax pull this, with Iella as the exec and Mirax as the hapless technician having to guide her around.
* Disturbing variant in one of the ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' novels. When [[TheEmpire the Imperial Order]] conquers a city she's in, Jebra hides out for several days in a cellar, managing to avoid the invading army. When she finally comes out, she finds them doing their [[RapePillageAndBurn usual thing]]... but they leave her alone, apparently on the assumption that if a woman ''isn't'' being brutally raped already, then she's a woman they're not supposed to brutally rape.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* Discussed by Liz and Carol on an episode of ''Series/ThirtyRock'', though not about an actual clipboard: "You walk briskly in a pilot's uniform, you can go pretty much anywhere. I've been inside the Lincoln bedroom."
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' and team use this trope a couple times to infiltrate the evil law firm of Wolfram and Hart. This nearly backfires on Angel when another lawyer points at him accusingly, only to start talking about a business deal he thinks Angel had a part in.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': In "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E14GoodbyeIowa Goodbye Iowa]]", Buffy infiltrates the Initiative's ElaborateUndergroundBase by posing as a scientist with a clipboard and NerdGlasses. The clipboard actually comes in useful when she uses it to stop a door closing.
* Michael and his colleagues put this to use more than once in ''Series/BurnNotice'', usually accompanied by being so loudly bureaucratic that everyone listens to them without question. They can also use it to be seen as a harmless, self-important nobody when they need a distraction. A pushy representative of the Homeowner's Lawn Association gets told to [[{{Pun}} sod]] off, not shot at.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Doctor's psychic paper, carried in a wallet, credentials-style, often functions as this. The Doctor isn't the only one to use this tool, as Rose Tyler and Clara Oswald also made use of it from time to time. The paper is most often used to make people think that the Doctor, Clara, etc. is a person of authority who is not to be questioned.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E1TheWomanWhoFellToEarth The Woman Who Fell to Earth]]", as part of a BavarianFireDrill to evacuate a construction site, Graham and Grace don reflective vests and grab themselves clipboards.
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E7Kerblam Kerblam!]]", the Doctor takes note of executive Jarva Slade's clipboard when she first meets him. Later, she and her companions wonder why, in a company that does everything electronically, he's using ''[[NoPaperFuture paper]]'': [[spoiler:because he thinks that the computer has something to do with the mysterious employee disappearances, and wants a record only he can access.]] Head of people Judy Maddox also carries around a tablet that looks like a clipboard.
* In ''Series/GoodGirls'', Annie has a one-night stand with a guy working at a Costco-like store who steals a paper with his phone number containing crucial information the girls need. Annie doesn't know much about him so at the store, sister Beth grabs a clipboard and marches up to a veteran employee, making it sound like she's from a major corporate office and demanding information as part of some checks. While Annie and Ruby are impressed, Beth lampshades "It's the clipboard."
* Invoked by the ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' team nearly every time they need to infiltrate a corporate headquarters. Clipboards, suits, and maintenance gear have allowed them to walk right past armed security while said security is actually looking for them.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'', brandishing one of these is one way how TheFace might talk their way into the MegaCorp facility ''du jour''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsGame''. When Homer mistakes a level boss for "boss-as-in-manager", he tries to "act natural" by [[SmartPeopleWearGlasses putting on glasses]] and [[LookingBusy pretending to write on a clipboard]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Webcomics]]
%%* This is how Robyn and Sajjan escaped the lunar penitentiary in ''Webcomic/EscapeFromTerra''. [[http://www.bigheadpress.com/eft?page=460 Page image source.]]
* ''Webcomic/{{xkcd}}'' has [[http://xkcd.com/699/ a variation:]] "Did you know you can just buy [[LabcoatOfScienceAndMedicine lab coats]]?"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Two words: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milgram_experiment Milgram experiment]]. 65% of completely normal, mentally stable people "killed" another person by "excessive electrocution" just because a guy with a lab coat and clipboard told them to do so.
* Lab coats (or scrubs) are nearly as good as a valid photo ID badge in hospitals, as long as you act like you know where you're going.
* Proven true in a number of circumstances, making this TruthInTelevision. One of the ways to convince people you belong there is to look and ''act'' as though you do. Doesn't always work, but moving with a sense of purpose and giving the appearance that you belong there is one of the most effective ways to avoid drawing attention.
* DJ Kenny Everett claims to have infiltrated Creator/TheBBC in order to obtain an audition by carrying a large reel of tape.
* When he was filming ''Film/InTheLoop'', Armando Ianucci convinced the State Department that his BBC pass was "access all areas". He spent the next three hours taking photographs of the US State Department.
* Poet Rives has a performance piece about trespassing on a construction site. Before starting he explains that this is very illegal, and if you want to do it you should grab some safety gear and a clipboard so no one tries to stop you.
* A couple waltzed in to a White House state dinner and met President UsefulNotes/BarackObama by simply ''looking the part'' according to the Secret Service after they'd been embarrassed about letting in two uninvited people into the most highly secure building in the world. They wore a suit and evening gown respectively and simply acted like they belonged. When Secret Service agents didn't see them on the guest list they assumed such well dressed folk must have been somehow accidentally left off the guest list and let them in.
* A [=CompTIA A+=] textbook by Mike Meyers (no, not ''that'' one) tells the story of how a former college classmate challenged him to gain access to his employer's server, having convinced them to stump up for some new and very flashy security software[[note]]whether he cleared this OPFOR exercise with his employers is not mentioned[[/note]]. Meyers then proceeded to drive over to his friend's workplace wearing a boiler suit and an old photo ID badge on his lapel, and pushing a parcel trolley, he talked his way in without the slightest difficulty and walked out with the server.
* On Air Force flightlines, a clipboard is the universal sign for QA inspectors. Many maintainers will actively avoid drawing attention from anyone carrying one, regardless of whether or not they're actually QA.
* Generally, you can just waltz into any rail yard in a high-visibility vest and do as you please, as long as you're not wearing an action camera such as a [=GoPro=] on your head.
* [[http://99percentinvisible.org/episode/guerrilla-public-service/ Richard Ankrom]] "vandalized" (read: made much clearer) a sign on a stretch of LA Highway in broad daylight simply by wearing a high-vis vest and knowing what he was doing. The California Department of Transportation apparently liked his sign.
* Variation: A BBC journalist once claimed to have gained access to a sensitive facility behind the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain because a confidante had told him it was unthinkable for anyone to be there without authorisation. In other words, once he was there, everybody had to assume he ''was'' authorised.
* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunter_Wallraff Günter Wallraff]] is a German undercover journalist, who, in his most famous exploit, managed to pass as a Turkish low-paid worker for a ''few months'', with nobody realizing anything, including actual Turks.
* While it certainly depends on the circumstances, one way a soldier might avoid being given orders while on base basically amounts to "grab a clipboard and act like you know what you're doing".
* This was actually par for the course for Allied resistance members and [=POWs=] during WWII: If you had a convincing appearance and spoke fluent German, you could pretty much get away with almost ''anything'' so long as you acted like you belonged there. There's even a recounting of a group of American [=POWs=] who escaped using nothing more than ''a clipboard and measuring tape'': they would inch towards the camp's gates (kept open to allow labor and supply trucks to pass freely during the day) and every time a guard would approach them they would act like workers taking measurements. They did this across the camp grounds, out the gate, and even ''through the German/French countryside'' until they were finally able to meet up with the French Resistance and secure passage back to England.
* For all the reasons mentioned here, this is part of the repertoire of consultants hired to test a building or organization's physical security measures. For consultants hired to test network security, getting into the building tends to be the most difficult step.
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