For a paternity test, what you need for a paternity test depends on why you’re testing. Every test requires a DNA sample from the potential father and the child, almost always a cheek swab. If the result is for personal knowledge only, that’s essentially it: an at-home kit, two swabs, and the mail. If the result might be used in a child support, custody, visitation, or immigration case, you’ll also need government-issued photo identification, a witnessed collection at an accredited lab, documented consent, and a chain-of-custody record. Picking the wrong type at the start can mean testing twice.
The DNA Sample
The standard sample is a buccal swab, a soft-tipped stick rubbed along the inside of the cheek for about 30 seconds. It’s painless and works on newborns, children, and adults.
When a cheek swab won’t work, labs can use other biological material. Blood draws are occasionally used and are generally reserved for situations where a swab is unreliable, such as when the person being tested has had a bone marrow transplant that can cause cheek cells to carry the donor’s DNA instead of the recipient’s. Hair can yield usable DNA, but only if the root follicle is still attached; a strand cut at the surface contains almost nothing. Labs prefer buccal swabs whenever that option exists.
Most labs analyze 20 or more genetic markers. Including the mother’s sample isn’t required, but when she participates the lab can isolate which half of the child’s DNA came from her, which makes matching the other half against the alleged father cleaner.
Decide First: At-Home or Legal
Both types of test use the same laboratory analysis and deliver the same scientific accuracy. The difference is paperwork, not science, and that paperwork decides whether a court will accept the result.
An at-home test is for personal knowledge only. You order a kit, swab the cheeks yourself, mail the samples back, and get a report. No one verifies who provided the samples. That makes it simple and private, and it also means no court will accept the result, because there’s no proof the samples came from the people named on them. You cannot convert an at-home result into a legal one later. If there’s any chance you’ll need the result in a legal setting, start with a legal test.
What an At-Home Test Needs
An at-home kit requires very little: the kit itself (typically $79 to $200, with some pharmacy collection kits running under $30 before a separate lab fee), cheek swabs for each participant, and a return mailer. There’s no identity check and no witness.
Consent is the one legal wrinkle at-home testers often miss. Because kits ship to consumers with no verification, one parent could theoretically swab a child without the other’s knowledge. Whether that’s lawful depends on where you live. Some states restrict unauthorized DNA collection; others are silent. Even where no specific statute applies, collecting another person’s biological sample without permission can create legal exposure.
What a Legal Test Needs
Legal paternity testing follows standards set by the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), which accredits relationship testing laboratories in the United States. Many state courts require results from an AABB-accredited lab, and the federal government requires AABB accreditation for all DNA tests used in immigration, visa, passport, and citizenship cases.1AABB. DNA Relationship Testing FAQs Three things come with that:
A Neutral Third-Party Collector
You cannot collect your own samples. AABB standards require a trained, disinterested person with no stake in the outcome to collect or witness every sample, usually a nurse, phlebotomist, or technician at a clinic in the testing company’s network. Collection materials never pass through the hands of any participant before or after the swab.2AABB. AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, 16th Edition
Identity Documents
Each adult brings government-issued photo identification to the appointment. A driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID all work. Many collection sites ask for a second form of ID as well, such as a Social Security card, utility bill, or insurance card. For a minor child, a birth certificate, Social Security card, vaccination record, or insurance card is typically accepted, and the parent or legal guardian accompanying the child must present their own photo ID.
The collector records each participant’s printed name, alleged relationship, and date of birth, photographs each person, and verifies that the sample label matches the individual who provided it. The person tested, or the accompanying guardian for a child, signs to confirm the label is accurate.2AABB. AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, 16th Edition
A Documented Chain of Custody
Chain of custody is the paper trail that tracks each sample from cheek to lab. After collection, samples go into tamper-evident packaging and ship directly to the laboratory, which checks package integrity on arrival. Every transfer is logged. Without that unbroken record, a court has no basis to trust the sample came from the person named in the report.2AABB. AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, 16th Edition
Consent
Every adult taking a legal paternity test must give informed consent before samples are collected. For a minor child or a legally incompetent adult, consent comes from someone with legal authority, which can be a parent, a legal guardian, or a court that has ordered the testing.2AABB. AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, 16th Edition If a legal proceeding is involved or anticipated and consent is contested, the safest route is a court-ordered test, which resolves the consent question through the judge’s authority.
If the Child Isn’t Born Yet
Testing can be done during pregnancy. Non-invasive prenatal paternity testing uses a standard blood draw from the mother and a cheek swab from the potential father. The lab isolates fragments of fetal DNA that circulate in the mother’s bloodstream and compares them to the father’s profile. It can be run as early as seven weeks into pregnancy, with accuracy matching postnatal testing at 99.9% or higher.
Older invasive methods still exist. Amniocentesis is typically performed after 15 weeks, and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) between 10 and 13 weeks; both carry a measurable risk of miscarriage.3PubMed Central. Pregnancy Loss Following Amniocentesis or CVS Sampling Because the non-invasive blood draw removes that risk, it has largely replaced them for paternity purposes. One limit worth knowing: a court cannot order invasive prenatal testing. If paternity is disputed during pregnancy, a judge must wait until birth unless both parties voluntarily agree to a non-invasive prenatal test.4Administration for Children & Families. Uniform Parentage Act (2000)
If the Alleged Father Has Died
Testing after the potential father’s death is possible but more complicated. If he was involved in a criminal case, the coroner’s office may have a DNA sample on file. If not, the body may need to be exhumed, which assumes burial rather than cremation. Once a body has been cremated, options are extremely limited.
Access to a stored sample typically requires a court order, even when the family cooperates. The process involves filing a petition to compel production of a tissue sample, and the timeline from petition to actual testing can run from three months to over a year. Labs performing post-mortem analysis generally require consent from the deceased’s next of kin, though a judge may order the lab to proceed over family objection based on the best interest of the child.
Cost and Timing
A legal paternity test runs roughly $200 to $500, with the collection site often charging an additional $25 to $100 per person on top of the lab’s fee. When a court orders the test, the judge usually assigns the cost to one party or splits it. At-home kits start around $79 to $200.
Results typically arrive within three to five business days. Most accredited labs offer rush processing for an added fee, sometimes in one to two days.
Health insurance almost never covers paternity testing; insurers classify it as non-medical. If you’re going through a child support case and can’t afford it, contact your state’s child support enforcement agency. Many states provide testing at reduced cost or no cost when paternity establishment is part of a public support case.