ABSTRACTInstrumented indentation was used to characterize the mechanical response of polymeric materials. A model based on contact between a rigid probe and a linear viscoelastic material was used to calculate values for creep compliance and stress relaxation modulus for epoxy, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and two poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS) elastomers. Results from bulk rheometry studies were used for comparison to the indentation creep and stress relaxation results. For the two glassy polymers, the use of sharp pyramidal tips produced responses that were considerably more compliant (less stiff) than rheometry values. Additional study of the deformation remaining in epoxy after creep testing revealed that a large portion of the creep displacement measured was due to post-yield flow. Indentation creep measurements of the epoxy using a rounded conical tip also produced nonlinear responses, but the creep compliance values appeared to approach linear viscoelastic values with decreasing creep force. Responses measured for the PDMS were mainly linear elastic, but the filled PDMS exhibited some time-dependence and nonlinearity in both rheometry and indentation measurements.