The main result of this paper is the extension of the adjoint state method to variational inequalities. This is done for the Signorini contact problem (Kikuchi N and Oden J T 1988 Contact Problems in Elasticity: a Study of Variational Inequalities and Finite Element Methods (Philadelphia: SIAM)) and used for the identification of elastic coefficients from an indentation test. The result is obtained by two independent approaches based on the penalized and respectively, mixed formulations of the direct problem, a Signorini contact problem. An important and astonishing result is that the obtained adjoint problem is a linear problem with Dirichlet boundary conditions. This is expected for problems described with variational equalities (Bui H D 1993 Introduction Aux Problèmes Inverses en Mécanique des Matériaux (Paris: Eyrolles) (Engl. Transl. (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press)), Lions J L 1968 Contrôle Optimal des Systèmes Gouvernés par des Équations aux Dérivées Partielles (Dunod)), but is a new result for problems described with variational inequalities. As an application, the elastic coefficients of an isotropic body have been identified from the knowledge of a displacement-force curve measured during an indentation test. The efficiency of the method is illustrated on numerical examples for the identification of a bimaterial and a functional gradient material.