Legal DNA Tests

Legal DNA testing is court-admissible DNA testing performed under a documented chain of custody. Unlike an at-home DNA kit, which is designed for personal knowledge, a legal DNA test uses a neutral third-party collector who verifies each participant's photo ID, witnesses the sample collection, seals the samples, and ships them directly to the lab. That paperwork trail is what allows a court, a state child support agency, USCIS, or a tribal enrollment office to accept the result as evidence. Families use legal DNA testing for a range of specific reasons. The most common is a court order in a paternity or parentage case, where a judge or child support agency requires a DNA test before adjudicating support, custody, or visitation. Legal DNA testing is also used to change or add a father's name to a birth certificate, to challenge or disestablish an existing paternity finding, to establish parentage in an inheritance or probate matter, to support an immigration petition when documentary evidence is thin, and to establish biological relationship for tribal enrollment and the benefits that follow. The lab science behind a legal DNA test is the same as an at-home test. Both look at short tandem repeat (STR) genetic markers, produce a Combined Paternity Index, and report a probability of paternity. The difference is not accuracy. It is the collection process. Because the samples are collected by a neutral witness under chain of custody, a legal test is admissible where a home test is not. If you have already taken an at-home test and now need the result for a legal purpose, you will need to arrange a separate legal test through an accredited lab. Immigration DNA testing is a specialized category. USCIS and U.S. embassies typically require testing to be performed by a lab with AABB accreditation, with samples collected at approved sites and shipped directly to the receiving embassy or USCIS office. Home tests are not accepted for immigration purposes. US Diagnostics Center's legal DNA test kits are coming soon. In the meantime, if you need court-admissible or immigration-related DNA testing today, work with your family law attorney, your state child support agency, or your immigration attorney to identify an accredited lab that can perform the testing under the correct protocol for your specific case type.