Legal Grandparent Testing $245

Smaller companies who advertise cheap DNA testing allow participants to choose their own collector. Surprisingly, they even mail the collection kit right to the client. Please beware – this practice does not follow chain of custody requirements. Their cheap grandparent DNA testing can end up being very costly to your family down the road.

It’s a direct violation of legal DNA testing requirements for anyone associated with the legal grandparent test to be in possession of the collection kit. This includes any test participant, family member or friend. When collection swabs have been in the possession of someone with an interest in the test result, there could easily be suspicion of tampering. For this reason, we never ship a legal DNA collection kit to anyone other than a medical clinic.

Secondly, a legally binding grandparent test must be collected by a medical or clinic professional. With PaternityUSA.com, you can use your doctor for the DNA collection or opt for professional collection service at one of over 4,000 network clinic locations. Again, having someone known to the test participant act as a collector, or “witness” the DNA collection, does not meet legal DNA test standards. A collection by a neighbor, friend or family member can easily be discredited; causing you to have to pay for another test.

A legal test conducted outside of the chain of custody is easily contested and disputed in court; and more importantly will not stand up as evidence.

In contrast, we don’t bend guidelines and risk injuring your case. We work to make sure every chain of custody requirement is followed to help ensure your result stands up in any legal matter facing your family. We understand the need for a legal DNA test is usually accompanied by a difficult situation. With that in mind, we handle every case with care and confidentiality.

What is Chain of Custody?

The AABB guidelines stipulate that for a legally binding or court admissible test must have valid chain of custody.  Simply put, chain of custody refers to the DNA collection in the presence of a medical professional and the legal identification of the test participants.  With every legal grandparent  DNA testing, the sample collection must be performed by a neutral medical professional who has nothing to gain or lose from the result of the test. You may not choose the collector for your legal DNA test unless you use a doctor’s office. Don’t be swayed by other labs saying your neighbor, non related friend, or even lawyer may act as a witness. With a network of over 4,000 locations where your DNA samples can be collected, there is sure to be one near you or in the next metropolitan area.

DNA Collection

The collection process is very simple. DNA is collected through a cheek swab, also known as a buccal swab, which is painlessly rubbed against the inside of the cheek. Our lab conducts all of our grandparent DNA tests twice. For this reason we collect 4 swabs per person. As a general rule, be sure the mouth is clean before swabbing by rinsing with water. Test participants should refrain from drinking coffee or tea or smoking for 3-4 hours before the DNA collection.

In certain situations where a family member may be deceased, depending upon the details surrounding the case, tissue or blood samples from the medical examiner or coroner’s office may be available. Their office should be able to advise you of what type of sample is available. Once you have established this information, call us to speak with an experienced Case Manager to discuss your situation and forensic processing.

Informational Grandparent DNA Testing And Other Test Services

Many times, families need these results to prove grand parentage in court, child custody or support situations, for insurance purposes, estates, wills, to change a name or social security benefits. While our legal grandparent test provides a court admissible certificate to prove your relationship, you may find you only need to verify the relationship for your own peace of mind or curiosity. If that is the case, our informational grandparent test may be best. Whether you chose a legally binding or informational grandparent test, rest assured that you are in good hands with PaternityUSA.  Since our partner lab is AABB accredited, both legal and informational DNA test samples are processed in the same manner once the samples are in the lab. The difference lies in the collection method – chain of custody.

We offer other relationship tests may also help establish paternity or maternity, such as a Siblingship test, an Avuncular Aunt/Uncle test , a Y-STR analysis with 2 or more tested males, and mtDNA testing for indirectly confirming maternity.

Fully Accredited USA Lab

All legal grandparent tests are performed in our partner AABB-accredited USA lab by PhD geneticists with 20+ years of experience. CLIA-certified for reliability, and AABB accredited for court admissibility.  Moreover all legal DNA tests adhere to AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories (17th edition effective January 1, 2026).