AABB Accreditation Explained: What It Means for DNA Testing Labs

When people compare paternity tests, the word "accredited" gets used a lot. Not every accreditation carries the same weight, and not every claim to be accredited holds up on close inspection. In relationship DNA testing, one specific credential — AABB accreditation — is the one that courts, immigration officers, and child-support agencies look for when a DNA result has to hold up as evidence. This guide explains what AABB accreditation is, what it requires a laboratory to do, why it matters for legal and immigration testing, and how to verify a lab's accreditation status before you order a kit.

Short version. AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks) is a private, non-profit standard-setting body based in Bethesda, Maryland. Its Relationship Testing Program accredits laboratories that perform DNA-based parentage and kinship testing. When a court, a state IV-D agency, or a U.S. embassy requires a DNA test for a legal purpose, it almost always requires the testing be performed by an AABB-accredited relationship testing laboratory. For a private, at-home test — where the answer is for you and nobody else — accreditation matters less. For anything that ends up on a birth certificate, in a support order, or in a visa petition, it matters a great deal.

Below: what AABB accredits, what the standards require, how the accreditation process works, how AABB compares to other lab-quality standards like CAP and ISO 17025, and how to check a laboratory's current accreditation before you buy.

What AABB Is and What It Accredits

AABB was founded in 1947 as the American Association of Blood Banks, a professional society for transfusion medicine. Over decades its scope broadened into cellular therapies, biotherapies, and relationship testing. The organization eventually dropped "Blood Banks" from its full name and now simply goes by AABB.

The AABB Relationship Testing Program is the accreditation track for laboratories performing DNA-based parentage, kinship, and identity testing. It has been the recognized standard for legally defensible relationship testing in the United States since the mid-1980s. The program grew out of a 1984 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services request that AABB develop uniform standards for laboratories performing paternity testing on behalf of state IV-D agencies. Every version of the standard since then has built on that foundation.

AABB accreditation for relationship testing covers:

• Paternity testing (single-alleged-father, motherless, or with the biological mother's sample included)
• Maternity testing
• Sibling testing (full and half-sibling analysis)
• Grandparent testing
• Aunt and uncle (avuncular) testing
• Twin zygosity testing
• Complex kinship reconstructions using multiple family members

What AABB does not accredit under the Relationship Testing Program is ancestry, ethnicity, or genealogy testing. Those services fall outside the program's scope entirely.

What the AABB Standards Require of a Laboratory

The current standard is the AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, updated on a multi-year cycle. Each edition sets requirements across every stage of the testing workflow, from sample intake to the signed final report. This is not a set of general good-practice suggestions. It is a specific, auditable document, and accredited laboratories are held to every clause.

The categories the standards cover include:

• Chain of custody. How samples are collected, sealed, labeled, tracked through the lab, and stored. For legal testing the chain begins at the collection site, with a witnessed identification of every donor and photographic or fingerprint documentation. The chain follows the sample through every hand-off inside the laboratory and is reconstructible from the paperwork.
• Personnel qualifications. The laboratory director must hold a doctoral degree and have documented experience in genetics or a related discipline. Technical supervisors and testing personnel have their own minimum qualifications, and continuing education is required each year.
• Method validation. Every DNA-typing method the lab uses has to be validated for accuracy, precision, sensitivity, specificity, and the population data supporting the statistical calculations. Method changes require re-validation before they can be applied to case work.
• Proficiency testing. Each accredited lab enrolls in an external proficiency testing program and analyzes blind samples on a scheduled basis. Results are graded by AABB, and repeated failures affect accreditation status.
• Statistical calculations. The standard specifies which population databases may be used for allele frequency estimates, how the paternity index is calculated, and how the probability of paternity is derived. The identification standard for a paternity finding is a probability of paternity of at least 99% and a combined paternity index of at least 100 to 1. Nearly every U.S. jurisdiction now applies that standard for legal testing.
• Report content. The final report must include the case identifiers, the loci tested, the genotypes for every tested party, the combined paternity index, the probability of paternity, and a plain-language conclusion. Reports for legal cases include the chain-of-custody documentation and the affidavits from the laboratory director.
• Quality management. The lab has a written quality management program, documented procedures for every workflow step, internal audits, root-cause analysis for deviations, and a defined process for corrective and preventive action.
• Facility and safety. Physical controls to prevent sample cross-contamination, separate pre- and post-amplification workspaces, and biological-safety practices for handling human tissue.

Failing any of these on inspection is not academic. AABB assessors have the authority to place a laboratory on probation, restrict its accreditation, or revoke it. Revocation means the lab can no longer perform the legally defensible testing that most of its business depends on. That structural pressure is why the standards translate into consistent day-to-day behavior at accredited labs.

How AABB Accreditation Works

Accreditation is not a one-time credential. It is a recurring cycle with real deadlines.

• Initial application. A laboratory that wants to be accredited submits an application, pays program fees, provides documentation of its quality system, and identifies the specific testing services it wants covered.
• Document review. AABB reviews the laboratory's written procedures, quality manual, personnel files, method-validation documentation, and proficiency-testing history against the current standard.
• On-site assessment. Trained AABB assessors conduct an on-site inspection. They walk the sample workflow from receiving to reporting, interview personnel, observe live case work where possible, and review case files against the report each generated.
• Findings and response. The assessment produces findings. Non-conformances have to be addressed with a documented corrective action plan, which AABB then reviews. Some findings can be closed on paper; others require verification on a follow-up visit.
• Accreditation decision. Once findings are resolved, AABB grants the accreditation for a defined period (currently two years for relationship testing).
• Reassessment. Before the accreditation expires, the laboratory goes through the full cycle again. Proficiency testing continues throughout, and mid-cycle checks are possible if AABB has reason to look.

A laboratory can lose accreditation between cycles for cause. Repeated proficiency testing failures, uncorrected findings, or serious quality-system failures can trigger probation or revocation. That is why "accredited" is not a permanent adjective attached to a lab name. It is a status that has to be verified as of the date you care about.

When AABB Accreditation Matters and When It Does Not

Not every DNA test needs to be performed by an AABB-accredited lab. Whether it matters depends on what the result is going to be used for.

When AABB Accreditation Is Effectively Required

Any DNA test that has to hold up as legal evidence, satisfy a government agency, or become part of an official record almost always has to come from an AABB-accredited laboratory. The main scenarios:

• Court-ordered paternity, maternity, or kinship testing. Courts admitting DNA evidence for parentage determinations look for AABB accreditation as a threshold for reliability. See our guide on the court-ordered paternity test process for how this plays out in practice.
• State IV-D child-support cases. State child-support agencies overwhelmingly contract with AABB-accredited labs for the testing they use to establish support obligations. See our overview of paternity testing for child support for the standard flow.
• Adding or correcting a father's name on a birth certificate. State Vital Records offices generally require the DNA test to be from an accredited relationship testing laboratory. See our guide on how to establish paternity for the mechanics.
• U.S. immigration DNA testing. USCIS and the U.S. Department of State require DNA testing for I-130 and other family-based petitions to come from an AABB-accredited relationship testing laboratory when biological relationship is being verified. See our guide on how USCIS uses DNA for visas for the full workflow, including how kits are shipped to overseas panel physicians.
• Estate and probate proceedings. When DNA evidence is being offered to establish heirship or contest a will, courts apply the same admissibility standards used in parentage cases.

When AABB Accreditation Is Not the Deciding Factor

For a private, at-home test where the result is for the family and will not be used in any legal or governmental setting, the accreditation of the laboratory is less critical than its actual analytical practice. What matters most in that setting:

• The number of genetic markers analyzed (industry standard is 20 or more; some labs analyze up to 28)
• Whether the lab reports a probability of paternity of at least 99% for inclusions and 0% for exclusions
• Whether the lab performs each test with an independent second-technician review
• The clarity and completeness of the written report

An at-home test performed by any competent lab will give you the same biological answer as a legal test. What the at-home test lacks is the chain of custody and the accreditation-backed reporting that a court, agency, or embassy needs to accept the result as evidence. That is a paperwork and process gap, not a science gap. For more on the difference, see home paternity test vs legal paternity test.

AABB Compared to Other Lab Quality Standards

Consumers sometimes see other credentials on a lab's website and wonder whether they are equivalent to AABB. They are not. They cover different things.

• CAP (College of American Pathologists) accreditation. CAP accredits clinical laboratories broadly, including hematology, chemistry, and molecular pathology. A CAP-accredited lab has strong general laboratory quality controls, but CAP accreditation is not specific to relationship testing and does not by itself establish that the lab is qualified to perform legally defensible parentage testing. Many labs hold both CAP and AABB accreditations for that reason.
• ISO 17025. ISO/IEC 17025 is an international standard for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories. It is a general framework covering quality management, personnel competence, and method validation, rather than a relationship-testing-specific standard. Some AABB-accredited labs also hold ISO 17025 accreditation.
• CLIA certification. CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) is a U.S. federal regulatory framework administered by CMS that governs laboratories performing testing on human specimens for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of disease. Paternity testing is not diagnostic health testing, so CLIA does not require or address parentage testing directly. A CLIA certificate on the wall does not translate to relationship-testing accreditation.
• BBB (Better Business Bureau) accreditation. BBB accreditation is a business reputation and customer-service program, not a technical laboratory standard. It says nothing about DNA-testing methodology, chain of custody, or statistical rigor. For a fuller comparison, see our post on BBB-accredited paternity testing.
• State licensing. A handful of states — New York and Maryland most prominently — require separate state permits or licenses for laboratories performing testing on residents of the state. These are state regulatory requirements layered on top of any national accreditation, not a substitute for it.

None of the alternatives above stand in for AABB accreditation when the context is legal or immigration relationship testing. A laboratory that holds CAP, ISO 17025, CLIA, and BBB but not AABB is not what a court or embassy is asking for.

How to Verify a Laboratory's AABB Accreditation

Verifying accreditation is a two-minute task and worth doing before you order any test that has to hold up outside the family.

AABB maintains a public, searchable directory of accredited relationship testing facilities. Go to the AABB website's "Accredited Facilities" or "Find an Accredited Facility" page, select the accreditation type (Relationship Testing), and search by facility name or by state. The directory shows the laboratory's legal name, address, the type of accreditation held, and the accreditation status as of the query date. If a lab claims AABB accreditation but does not appear in that directory under the Relationship Testing category, ask for clarification before you order.

Other verification steps that are worth doing for any legally significant test:

• Ask the lab in writing which specific case types the AABB accreditation covers
• Ask for a copy of the current accreditation certificate
• Confirm that the laboratory director's name on the certificate matches the person signing the final reports
• Ask what proficiency testing program the lab participates in and when the most recent results were reported

None of those questions should be difficult for the lab to answer. If the answers are vague or slow to arrive, that itself is useful information.

What "Accredited by AABB" Should Mean on a Report

A legal report from an AABB-accredited relationship testing laboratory should include, at minimum:

• The full legal name of the laboratory and the AABB accreditation reference
• The laboratory director's name, credentials, and signature
• Case identifiers and the chain-of-custody documentation for every tested sample
• The genetic loci tested and each tested party's genotype at those loci
• The paternity index at each locus and the combined paternity index
• The probability of paternity, calculated with a stated prior probability (traditionally 0.50)
• A plain-language conclusion (for example, "The alleged father cannot be excluded as the biological father of the child")
• The signed affidavits or notarizations required by the requesting authority

If a report reaches you missing any of those elements and it is going to be used for a legal or immigration purpose, ask the lab for a complete replacement report before submitting it. Missing elements are the most common reason legal filings and USCIS petitions get sent back.

Choosing the Right Test for Your Situation

The AABB question is really a question about purpose.

If the DNA test is for your own knowledge — before a signature, before a conversation, before a decision — a private at-home test gives you the same biological answer as a legal test and does it without paperwork you do not need. USDC offers a home paternity test kit for $79 that analyzes up to 28 genetic markers with results in about 7 to 10 business days from order to results. Similar home options exist for sibling, grandparent, and aunt/uncle testing.

If the result has to become part of a legal record, a support order, a birth certificate correction, or an immigration petition, the test needs to come from a laboratory with a currently active AABB Relationship Testing accreditation and a documented legal chain-of-custody workflow. Verify the lab's accreditation in the AABB public directory before you order, and confirm in writing that the accreditation covers the specific case type you need. For an overview of what legal-track testing involves, see our pages on the legal paternity test, legal maternity test, and immigration maternity test.

For a broader tour of the science that underlies both types of testing, see our guides on DNA profiling and why paternity testing is conclusive.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is AABB accreditation the same as being FDA-approved?

No. The FDA does not "approve" paternity or relationship DNA testing services. Some individual reagents and instruments used in DNA testing are cleared by the FDA for particular uses, but relationship testing itself is not FDA-regulated as a diagnostic test. AABB accreditation of the laboratory is the standard of quality assurance that applies to the testing service.

Does AABB accreditation guarantee a specific price?

No. AABB sets quality standards, not pricing. Accredited labs price their services independently. Legal testing generally costs more than at-home testing because the added chain-of-custody, collection, and reporting requirements add real cost.

If I only need a private answer, am I wasting money paying for a legal test?

Not wasting, but paying for capabilities you will not use. A private at-home test provides the same biological answer at lower cost, and you can always order a legal test later if the situation changes. Ordering a legal test first and later deciding you did not need the legal paperwork means you paid for chain-of-custody you did not use.

Can an AABB-accredited lab also do at-home testing?

Yes. Many labs run both service lines from the same facility, using the same analytical methods and often the same personnel. The difference between the "at-home" and "legal" product is the sample-collection protocol, chain-of-custody documentation, and report format, not the underlying DNA analysis.

What happens if a lab loses its AABB accreditation while my case is pending?

Notify the requesting court, agency, or petitioner immediately. Most authorities will accept an updated report from a currently accredited lab or a replacement test. Waiting to see if the issue resolves itself is generally the worst option.

Is AABB accreditation recognized outside the United States?

For U.S. immigration testing performed at overseas collection sites, AABB accreditation of the analyzing U.S. laboratory is what USCIS and the State Department require. Some countries have their own accreditation frameworks for domestic legal use; those requirements are separate from the U.S. system.

The Bottom Line

AABB accreditation is the standard that lets a paternity, maternity, or kinship test do work outside a household. Courts, child-support agencies, Vital Records offices, and U.S. immigration authorities all look for it, and none of the alternative credentials — CAP, ISO 17025, CLIA, BBB, or state licenses — substitutes for it. For any test whose result you need to submit somewhere, verify the lab's current AABB accreditation status in the public directory before you order, and ask for a written confirmation of scope. For a private test where the answer stays with your family, the accreditation question matters much less than the analytical quality of the work. Match the test to the purpose, and the accreditation question answers itself.