A sexual assault evidence kit is a standardized container that trained medical professionals use to collect DNA, biological samples, and documentation of injuries after a sexual assault. The forensic exam that fills the kit is free under federal law, you do not have to file a police report to have one done, and the evidence preserved inside can identify a perpetrator, link separate cases, or support charges filed years later. Federal law also gives you specific rights over how long your kit is kept and whether you are notified before it is destroyed.
The Exam Costs You Nothing
Federal law prohibits charging a survivor for the forensic medical exam. Under 34 U.S.C. § 10449, any state, tribal, or local jurisdiction that receives federal STOP Violence Against Women grant funding must certify that a government entity covers the full out-of-pocket cost of forensic exams and coordinates with providers so survivors know the exam is available at no charge.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 34 USC 10449 – Rape Exam Payments This holds whether or not you have insurance, and whether or not you report to police.
What’s free is the forensic work itself: the physical examination, evidence collection, and the patient interview. Treatment for injuries, testing or medication for sexually transmitted infections, pregnancy testing, and prescriptions may generate separate bills. Those costs are often reimbursable through state victim compensation programs. The Office for Victims of Crime supports compensation programs in every state, Washington D.C., and U.S. territories, which can cover crime-related medical costs, counseling, and lost wages.2Office for Victims of Crime. Victim Compensation Eligibility rules vary, so contact your state’s program directly.
Deciding to Go: Timing, Consent, and Whether to Report
The exam is conducted by a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) or other trained forensic clinician, usually at a hospital emergency department or a specialized advocacy center. Before anything is collected, the examiner walks you through informed consent. You decide which parts of the examination you agree to and whether your evidence is released to law enforcement. It is not all-or-nothing. You can consent to some portions and decline others.
How Soon You Need to Go
The traditional guideline has been 72 hours from the assault, but useful biological material can sometimes be recovered after that window. The decision depends on the type of assault, physical symptoms, and what evidence is most likely to still be present. If you are unsure whether it is too late, go anyway. The examiner can assess whether collection is worthwhile.
To preserve the best evidence, try to avoid showering, brushing your teeth, eating, drinking, or changing clothes before the exam. If you have already done any of these, go anyway. Staff will ask about the incident to decide which swabs and samples are most relevant and will record the time since the assault and any areas of pain or injury.
You Do Not Have to Report
Many jurisdictions offer a non-report or “Jane Doe” option. The kit is collected and stored without your identifying information attached to it or without being released to police. The evidence sits in storage, untested, giving you time to decide. If you later choose to report, the kit can be released for testing. If the storage period runs out without a report, you typically receive written notice and a window to respond before the evidence is destroyed. Storage periods vary widely by jurisdiction.
What Happens During the Exam
Expect the exam to take between two and several hours. The examiner performs a methodical head-to-toe assessment, using specialized light sources such as a Wood’s lamp to detect bodily fluids not visible to the eye. Swabs are taken from body surfaces, including oral, vaginal, and anal areas as relevant, and from skin where the perpetrator may have made contact. Fingernails are scraped or clipped to capture DNA transferred during a struggle. Hair may be combed for foreign hairs.
Each sample is immediately labeled and sealed in a designated envelope inside the kit to prevent cross-contamination. Visible injuries such as bruises, lacerations, or redness are documented using body diagrams and sometimes forensic photography. Every item collected is logged on a master inventory list, and each container is sealed with tamper-evident tape. That packaging is what creates the chain of custody, the documented record showing the evidence was never altered between collection and the courtroom.
Medical Treatment at the Same Visit
The exam is also a medical visit. The most time-sensitive treatment is HIV postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), a 28-day course of antiretroviral medication that should begin as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours and no later than 72 hours after exposure, for anyone at substantial risk of HIV acquisition.3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antiretroviral Postexposure Prophylaxis After Sexual, Injection Drug Use, or Other Nonoccupational Exposure to HIV – CDC Recommendations, United States, 2025 The first dose should not wait for lab results.
Clinicians also offer presumptive treatment for sexually transmitted infections, usually antibiotics covering chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis, along with hepatitis B vaccination when appropriate.3Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antiretroviral Postexposure Prophylaxis After Sexual, Injection Drug Use, or Other Nonoccupational Exposure to HIV – CDC Recommendations, United States, 2025 Emergency contraception and pregnancy testing are generally available. These treatments can carry separate costs, though state victim compensation often covers them.
What Happens to the Kit Afterward
If you consent to release the evidence, the hospital hands the kit to law enforcement under a strict chain-of-custody protocol. The medical professional and receiving officer both sign a transfer document, and the kit is logged into a tracking system that records every person who handles it. Many jurisdictions set deadlines for pickup so biological samples do not degrade. The kit must travel in stable conditions, since extreme temperatures or moisture can damage evidence. At the police evidence room it receives a unique tracking number and goes into secure, climate-controlled storage.
DNA Analysis and CODIS
At the crime lab, analysts open the sealed envelopes, extract DNA from the swabs and other items, and build a genetic profile. Your own DNA, collected as a reference sample during the exam, is subtracted so the perpetrator’s profile can be isolated.
A usable profile can be uploaded to the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBI’s national DNA database.4Federal Bureau of Investigation. CODIS and NDIS Fact Sheet CODIS searches that profile against known offenders and against evidence from unsolved cases across the country. A match sends a notification back to the submitting agency, giving investigators either an identity or a link to another case.
Not every sample produces a clean profile. Evidence containing DNA from more than one person can be harder to interpret and sometimes yields inconclusive results. The whole process is governed by federal Quality Assurance Standards that labs must follow to keep their CODIS access.5Federal Bureau of Investigation. Quality Assurance Standards for Forensic DNA Testing Laboratories
How Long Testing Takes
Timelines vary enormously. Once a lab begins work on a case, the complexity of the samples decides whether results arrive in weeks or months.6National Institute of Justice. How Long Will It Take and When Will the Results Be Available Backlogs at many labs add months or more before testing starts. A kit collected from a cooperative survivor who reported the same day can still sit untested for a long time.
Your Rights Under Federal Law
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3772, sexual assault survivors have the following rights regarding their evidence kits:
- You cannot be prevented from receiving, or charged for, a medical forensic examination.
- Your kit, or its probative contents, must be preserved without charge for the duration of the applicable statute of limitations or 20 years, whichever is shorter.
- You can be informed of any results from your kit, including a DNA profile match or toxicology report, as long as disclosure would not compromise an ongoing investigation.
- You are entitled to written information about the policies governing collection and preservation of your evidence.
- You can be informed of the status and location of your kit.
- Upon written request, you must receive written notification at least 60 days before the intended destruction or disposal of your kit.
- Upon written request, you can have your kit preserved beyond its scheduled destruction date.
Many states have added electronic tracking systems that let survivors check the status and location of their kit through a secure online portal, following the kit from hospital to law enforcement to lab through final disposition. Availability and features vary by state.
How Long Kits Are Kept
The federal baseline under 18 U.S.C. § 3772 requires kits from reported cases to be preserved for the applicable statute of limitations or 20 years, whichever is shorter.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3772 – Sexual Assault Survivors Rights Many states set longer retention periods on top of that floor, so evidence from a reported assault typically remains available for years or decades.
Unreported or anonymous kits follow different rules. Non-report storage periods vary significantly, from as few as five years in some jurisdictions to much longer in others. As the deadline approaches, survivors who left contact information generally receive written notice and a response window to either authorize release to law enforcement or request continued preservation.
If the period expires and no extension is requested, the evidence may be destroyed under departmental policy. The 60-day pre-destruction notice right under federal law is your last chance to intervene, but you have to have requested it in writing. Filing that request early is worth doing if you are undecided about pursuing charges.
Why the Backlog Matters to You
Hundreds of thousands of kits have sat untested in evidence rooms and crime labs over the years. Estimates of the total backlog have ranged from 90,000 to 400,000, and the exact figure is unknown because not every jurisdiction has inventoried its storage. As of the most recent available data, at least 25,000 untested kits remained in law enforcement agencies and crime labs, and that figure covers only about 30 states.
Reform efforts, including the federally funded National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative and state laws requiring prompt submission of newly collected kits, have cleared backlogs in some places and shortened them in others.8Bureau of Justice Assistance. National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) Overview But delays persist where funding and lab capacity have not caught up. If your kit was collected and tested promptly, that is the system working; if months pass without results, the backlog is the likely reason. Either way, your rights to status updates and to request preservation apply.