As a contribution towards developing a platform for the mechanical characterization and eventual certification of steered fiber laminates, this paper presents a methodical breakdown of principal considerations. It is acknowledged that the synthesis of such a laminate will introduce curvilinear fibers that would result in a spatial variation in fiber orientation, which is one of the main characteristics that define the response of steered fiber laminates. The other important factors are identified as the presence of gaps and overlaps. Subsequently, the current publication proposes that these main characteristics interact to produce significantly complex stress-states in steered fiber laminates. By comparing the characteristics of steered fiber laminates with those of conventional laminates and laminates with ply drops, it is deduced that significant interlaminar stresses would develop especially at high stress gradient regions such as gaps and overlaps. Research on the examination of the effect of the principal factors – fiber orientation, interlaminar stresses, gaps and overlaps, are discussed in the context of the characterization and certification. For every principal factor, corresponding discussions are constructed by a review of literature firstly regarding their nature and existing methods for quantifying them, and secondly related to their implementation in characterization frameworks.