DNA & Paternity

A step-by-step look at a legal paternity test appointment: check-in, ID, photos, the cheek swab and paperwork. Most visits take about 15 minutes.

From ordering to results, here is a realistic timeline for a legal paternity test, plus the things that most often cause delays.

Chain of custody is the paper trail that proves a DNA sample was never swapped or tampered with. Learn how it works and why courts depend on it.

Home DNA kits and legal paternity tests use similar lab science, but only a legal test documents identity and chain of custody. Here’s the difference.

Courts accept DNA paternity results only when identity, collection and chain of custody are documented. Here is what separates a legal test from a home kit.