Chain of Custody – Legal DNA Testing

In order for a Paternity DNA Test, or any DNA test for that matter, to stand up in court there must be a secure ‘chain of custody’ of the samples in order to ensure that the identity of the individuals providing the samples is known. There are a number of steps involved in this, the first of which is ascertaining the identity of the subjects.

Once the identity of those providing the samples has been determined beyond doubt by an independent third party, the samples will be taken by a nominated doctor (usually the same person as determines the identity). The samples are then sent to the laboratory by the same person that collected the samples along with the identity papers. In this way, no tampering can take place, and the samples are then logged in by an accredited laboratory. The samples are logged through every process in the testing procedure, and assuming that all of this is done the test results can be notarized as acceptable admissible evidence.

In the absence of this procedure, the Legal DNA test results are not recognized in court, and are for your own information only.