A legal DNA test is a straightforward test which can establish the parentage of a child or children. It is used when a court has ordered that a DNA paternity test must be undertaken.

Legal DNA testing is most likely to be carried out if you:

Need a legal DNA test for Child Support Agency (CSA) reasons

You want to change a birth certificate

You are a legal professional or social worker who needs a DNA test for a client

You need a legal test if a court has ordered that a test must be undertaken to confirm a relationship. It’s usually under Section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969. You must have your samples witnessed by an independent person who has no interest in the outcome of your case (often a GP, nurse, solicitor or government representative).

A legal DNA test must be conducted in the presence of a witness. Taking a sample is an easy, simple and pain-free process that requires a swab to be rubbed inside your mouth to collect a sample of cheek cells.

Your sample will then be returned to us in secure packaging, in order for our scientists to perform the DNA testing and provide a report. These stricter conditions eliminate any possibility of the sample being interfered with, ensuring the results are admissible in a court of law.

If you have any questions or queries about our legal and court-ordered DNA tests, you will find all the answers in our FAQs section here

When placing your order for a DNA paternity test, it is important that you have fully considered the implications of undertaking this test, and that you believe it is in the best interests of the child being tested.

It is important that you acknowledge beforehand that the result of the test may not be what you were expecting, or what you were hoping for. The result of a paternity test can bring with it significant, and possibly irrevocable, consequences that you may not have sufficiently considered before now. The impact on you, or your family, could be lifechanging.

It is always preferable that the mother of the child being tested also participates in the test. However, it can proceed without the mother, if necessary, but the mother should, in all instances, be aware that the test is taking place, and that she is the person providing consent on behalf of the child.

If the mother is unwilling to consent, and it is felt that it is in the child’s interest for the test to take place, then we will only be able to proceed if the test is ordered by a court. There may be limited occasions where we will accept consent from any person named on the birth certificate, for example, if the mother is deceased.

DNA paternity testing can be an emotional process, for everyone involved. How you understand the results, and the potential impact on you or your family, may prove difficult for you or other family members.

At Key Forensic Services, we are here to help and support you, and we recommend that you seek professional advice before and after testing is done.

Advice is available from the following services (but we must point out that KFS has no control or responsibility for the content of external sources):

• Relate - www.relate.org.uk/
• Mental Health Matters - www.mhm.org.uk/
• Samiritans - www.samaritans.org/
• Turning Point - www.turning-point.co.uk/
• Gingerbread - Single parent family charity - hwww.gingerbread.org.uk/
• The Fatherhood Institute - www.fatherhoodinstitute.org/
• Families Need Fathers - www.fnf.org.uk/

We have been conducting legal and court-ordered DNA test for many years, and all our tests are admissible to UK courts and recognised by the Ministry of Justice.

Our laboratories and processes are fully accredited, giving you the maximum assurance

We have an abundance of experience in working with the courts, and our standards and processes are acceptable to the courts

We are listed by the Ministry of Justice as an approved supplier for legal and court- ordered DNA testing services

We have a robust chain of custody, meaning our evidence will be legally considered in court

All tests and results are fully confidential

We don’t cost the earth

We have your best interests at heart