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There are several types of DNA Paternity tests, however, the two main types that are commonly requested for paternity testing are: the Legal paternity test or a Home (a/k/a peace of mind or second opinion) test.  You can decide which is appropriate for you by answering a simple question.

Do I need my test because I want to know, get a second opinion, or answer some personal nagging question for myself? If you answer yes, then the Home test is all you need, or

Do I need my test result for some formal (legal) reason such as to add my name to a birth certificate, child support case, as proof for Social Security benefits, to establish a biological relationship for an immigration matter or some other formal matter which usually involves the government? If your answer falls in any of these categories, then the Legal test is what you need.

What’s the difference?  For the Home (a/k/a peace of mind or second opinion) samples may be collected by you and documentation paperwork is minimal.  For the Legal test, samples must be collected by a trained third party.  This method established a chain-of-custody of the collected samples as well as the accompanying documents, and all subjects are photographed and fingerprinted and must provide official government issued identification.  Minors who are babies up to a year old are not fingerprinted

A DNA paternity test will positively determine whether a man could be the biological father of a child. Everyone of us inherits our DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) our genetic material or fingerprint from our biological parents; one half from our mother and one half from our father. A DNA paternity test compares a child’s DNA profile with an alleged father’s profile for evidence of DNA inheritance.  This is the most definitive proof for establishing biological relationships.

The result of a DNA paternity test has one of two outcomes: the alleged father is not the biological father (an exclusion), or the alleged father is considered the biological father (an inclusion). For our standard paternity tests we guarantee at least a 99.99% probability of paternity for inclusion or 100% certainty of exclusion.

While there are other manners of dna testing that are in wide use today, there really isn’t another application of that science that has become as popular or widely used as the paternity test. Presently there are several different variations of this test and the legal paternity test differs from the home paternity test in the way that the results are used. 

Of course the legal paternity test is used to determine the legal responsibility and relationship of a man to a child, but while the ‘at home’ test strives to determine the same relationship, these paternity test results are not admissible in court. 

And there are other applications of dna testing that help to reunite people as well. For example, Immigration DNA testing is often a prerequisite from Embassies that have a request from one relative that would like to bring other family members with him to the county that he’s immigrated to.

 The point is clear. While the paternity test has become the more recognized application of dna testing that the general public sees, there are other uses that help people reunite in similar fashions.

As we all know, modern science has made astounding advancements in the area of the paternity test that have made the procedure a common way to test the biological relationship between a man and a child. As you might imagine, the path to this modern version that has resulted in the technology even being able accommodate a home paternity test has taken some time.

English Law

The early paternity test and the one that we are familiar with now have shared a common path that started with an adherence to sixteenth century English Common Law that stated unless a husband could prove impotency or that he was out of the country during conception; he was generally bound by law as the father.

Modern Advancements

It’s only been during modern times that science has taken over and established a better way of establishing a legal paternity test. All these later developments have followed advancements in the study of the human genotype and the latest techniques in molecular biology. Still, the science behind the modern paternity test was really still in its infancy for most of the 1970s.

DNA Testing

With the advent of DNA testing the science behind what we think of today as the modern paternity test was brought to life. As these techniques were more developed, a wide variety of both paternity tests and paternity test laws were brought to the forefront as the science developed. Today the modern test can even include prenatal paternity testing as well as a variety of other options including grandparentage and siblingship testing.

The results that people obtain from these paternity test procedures are often used to settle questions of parentage within families. Other forms of these tests are used by Embassies and Consulates (a/k/a immigration paternity testing) in determining which family members get into a country after one petitions for them and proves a biological relationship exists by submitting to the suggested DNA testing. However, while there are many variations of the paternity test and many applications for DNA testing in general that even include forensic DNA testing, the most popular avenue for these procedures is still the simple paternity test.

Two Divisions

Generally, there are two distinct divisions of the paternity test. The at home version is considered extremely accurate but the more formal version of the paternity test is the one that can be carried out in clinics under the supervision of trained collectors and the results obtained here are generally considered a legal paternity test with results that are admissible in a court of law.