How to Get a Paternity Test: Your Options, Step by Step

First decide whether you need a legal result. For your own answer, a home test is enough. For court, child support or a birth certificate, book a legal test with a witnessed collection.

Every route ends with the same lab work: the lab compares the child's DNA with the possible father's. What changes is who collects the samples, and so who can rely on the result.

Ways to get a paternity test

Route	Best for	How it works
Home test	Your own answer	A kit comes by mail. You swab cheeks and mail the samples to the lab. Not for court.
Legal test	Court, child support, custody and birth certificates	The lab books a collection near each person. A neutral collector checks ID, takes the swabs and seals them.
Court or child support agency	A case that is already open	A judge or the agency orders the test.
Prenatal test	An answer before the birth	A blood draw from the mother and a cheek swab from the possible father, from about 7 weeks of pregnancy.

Step 1: Decide whether you need a legal result

If a court, a child support agency or a birth certificate is involved, you need a legal test. AABB says many state laws require an AABB-accredited lab for results used in court, and accredited labs keep a chain of custody from the collection to the report. A home result can't be turned into a legal one later, so decide before anyone swabs. If you only want to know for yourself, a home test is enough.

Step 2: Order the test

Order online and say who is taking part. The lab should be accredited for relationship testing: AABB keeps a public list and says a lab that isn't on it isn't currently accredited. For a legal test, the lab books a collection appointment near each person.

If a case is already open, ask the court or agency which labs it accepts before you book. A judge can also order the test; see court-ordered paternity tests.

New York has its own rules. Cleveland Clinic notes that the state's Department of Health doesn't allow home paternity tests, and Health-Link DNA says testing there needs a request from a licensed doctor or another person the law authorizes.

Step 3: Agree on who takes part

The test needs the child and the possible father. The mother is optional: DNA Diagnostics Center recommends including her, and says her sample is essential when two possible fathers are related. People don't have to test together; AABB says accredited labs can schedule collections together or separately.

Every adult tested must agree, and a parent or legal guardian consents for a child. In Florida, testing someone's DNA without their consent is a crime under section 817.5655 of the state's statutes. If the possible father won't take part or has died, his relatives can test instead; see paternity tests without the father.

Step 4: Give the samples

For a home test, you rub a swab inside each person's cheek and mail the swabs to the lab; see how to do a home paternity test. For a legal test, each adult brings a government-issued photo ID to the appointment, and DNA Diagnostics Center accepts a birth certificate for a child without one. Health-Link DNA says a collection takes about 15 minutes, with four cheek swabs per person.

Step 5: Get the result

Labs report results about 1 to 5 business days after they have every sample. The report gives a probability of paternity: 0% when the man is not the father, and above 99% when he is.

How to get a DNA test for other relatives

The same tests cover siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and twins, with a home kit or a legal collection: see relationship DNA tests. They can answer a paternity question when the possible father can't take part. For a US visa, passport or citizenship case, AABB says the petitioner must start the test directly with an AABB-accredited lab; see immigration DNA tests.

When you know you need a result a court can rely on, see how the legal paternity test works, from booking the collections to the signed report.

Questions

Can I get a paternity test without the father's consent?

No. Every adult tested must agree. If he refuses, a court can order a test.

Do I need a doctor's order?

Not outside New York. Health-Link DNA says private individuals can take a DNA test without a doctor's or lawyer's request, except in New York.

Can I use a drugstore kit?

For your own answer, yes. Walgreens says most kits carry a separate lab fee, paid directly to the lab. A drugstore kit swabbed at home can't be used in court.

How much does a paternity test cost?

Labs list home tests from about $89 and legal tests from about $185, before any collection fees.

Sources

AABB: DNA relationship testing FAQs
AABB: Accredited relationship testing facilities
DNA Diagnostics Center: Legal paternity testing (dnacenter.com)
DNA Diagnostics Center: Non-invasive prenatal paternity testing (dnacenter.com)
DNA Diagnostics Center: Can I do a DNA paternity test with the father and child only? (dnacenter.com)
Labcorp DNA: Paternity testing (dna.labcorp.com)
Labcorp DNA: How DNA testing works (dna.labcorp.com)
Genetrack Biolabs: Legal paternity test (genetrackus.com)
Health-Link DNA: Frequently asked questions (healthlinkdna.com)
Cleveland Clinic: DNA paternity test
PaternityUSA: DNA tests and prices (paternityusa.com)
AlphaBiolabs USA: Paternity DNA test (alphabiolabsusa.com)
TrueTest Labs: DNA testing in the Chicago area (truetestlabs.com)
Walgreens: Paternity DNA tests (walgreens.com)
The Florida Senate: Section 817.5655, Florida Statutes

How to get a paternity test