Home vs Legal Paternity Test

How do legal tests differ to home tests?

A legal paternity test will provide the same accurate result as that of a standard paternity test. However, the legal paternity test differs in that it requires a different sample collection procedure, also known as Chain-of-Custody, to ensure the correct identity of the samples sent for testing. The samples in a legal test have to be collected by an independent third party, normally a medical practitioner or qualified nurse, who will take responsibility to handle the DNA samples once they have been collected and act as a witness to the sampling.

By going through this procedure, the result of the legal paternity test can then be used for proceedings in a court of law or for applications to various government departments such as for immigration applications.  It is therefore important, prior to ordering your paternity test, to identify and be well-informed as to which type of test you require.

Can I upgrade to a legal test?

If you select the home paternity test, then it CANNOT be used for legal purposes and it CANNOT be upgraded to a legal DNA test at a later stage. This is because the samples in a home paternity test are not collected using the chain of custody procedure necessary for a legal paternity test. Moreover, you cannot use results of a home test in a court of law.