Chain of Custody

Making the DNA paternity test legal

The Chain of Custody documentation process is necessary to provide DNA paternity test results that are admissible in court. Some states, provinces and countries also require that your results come from a laboratory that is ISO certified. If you require paternity testing for legal purposes, be sure to adhere to both of these requirements.

The Chain of Custody process has been put in place to:

• protect the identity of those involved in testing
• to guarantee that the results are not tampered with during testing

You can choose a lab that is local, out of state or out of country. Most large, accredited laboratories have satellite locations throughout the world. You can do the test in a location convenient to you and have the test results sent to the laboratory of your choice, even if you choose to test with an international laboratory.

Do not feel you have to pay up front before finding out if the laboratory has a location nearby. Some will require a deposit before releasing a “convenient” location. If this occurs, consider a different laboratory.

The mother, the child, and the alleged father do not need to be tested in the same location. The tissue samples can be gathered at separate locations and sent to a central laboratory for testing.

To follow the Chain of Custody process properly, you will be required to:

• Go into a laboratory in person
• Have the tissue samples collected by an impartial third party – established through the accredited laboratory you choose
• Provide proper documentation (government issued identification, birth certificate, or social security card)
• Complete an identification and consent form
• You will be photographed
• You will be fingerprinted

Once the Chain of Custody documentation process has been followed, the test results are gathered in a central location and the DNA tissue samples are profiled. A final report of paternal probability is then created and sent out to the tested parties. Confidentiality should be maintained during all steps of the testing process. The results will be legally binding and can be used in a court of law.