At Paternity For Life, we are following all advice provide by both the UK Government, local health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO) and taking extra precautionary steps to ensure the health and safety of our laboratory staff and customer service team to minimise any disruption to testing
Please be advised our laboratory is still operational, and we are currently not experiencing any delays with processing of samples.
For our Legal Collection Appointments, Paternity For Life recommends using WJ Legal. WJ Legal is a Legal Forensic Sampling Company who can attend your home address for collection of your sample. All WJ Legal Sample Collectors are forensically aware and can safely and hygienically take all needed samples. Our collectors already enforce strict hygiene practices during collections but will be taking extra precautions over the coming weeks including the use of gloves, face masks and sterile wipes.
That being said, if you are experiencing any virus-like symptoms or have travelled overseas in the past 14 days, we recommend delaying your collection or rescheduling your appointment to a later date.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact our friendly staff on 0330 133 1944
A Legal Paternity DNA Test provides court approved and legally admissible results that can be used for a range of legal disputes, including child maintenance and custody, changing the name on a birth certification, inheritance disputes and immigration purposes.
Government departments and courts require that any DNA testing done follows a legally compliant process before they will accept the DNA results as proof of a biological relationship. Therefore, it is important that if you are directed by the court under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969 to undertake DNA testing, that you select a company that is listed on the Ministry of Justice for the DNA test results to be accepted.
At Paternity For Life, all legal DNA testing and Immigration DNA testing is completed by our laboratory that has been accredited by the Ministry of Justice as a body that may carry out parentage tests directed by the civil courts in England and Wales, under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969. Because our laboratory has Ministry of Justice Accreditation, our legal DNA test results are accepted as evidence in British Courts, by the Child Maintenance Service and Her Majesty’s Passport Office.
For DNA test to be legally admissible, samples must be collected following a strict chain of custody. Samples need to be collected by an independent third party, typically a medically registered professional such as your local doctor or practice nurse. This person is known as a sampler, and they are responsible for verifying the identity of each party being tested. You will need to make an appointment with a registered sampler, who we will then send your collection kit to.
Please note, your sampler may charge a fee for taking the sample and this should be negotiated when making an appointment. The fee is not included in our charge and needs to be paid directly to the collector.
If you are having trouble locating a sampler, please contact us and we will be able to assist you in finding a doctor or sample collecting service in your area.
Paternity For Life will send a sample collection kit directly to your sample collector, which will contain all the necessary paperwork and mouth swabs needed to complete the collection. You will need to bring:
If DNA test participants live outside of the UK, we will send a testing kit to their nominated sampler in their country. Depending on the location of individuals we may have to send kits out using a courier service. In these cases, additional postage fees will apply. Please contact us for a quote before proceeding with DNA testing.
If a DNA test is required for Immigration, Visa or Passport purposes, then DNA sample collection will usually take place at the nearest embassy or consulate. Please see our Immigration DNA Testing page for more information.
Results will be available within 5 working days, from when we receive your samples at our laboratory. Results will only be sent to the parties being tested (or their legal guardian), to the email addresses provided at time of sample collection. A hard copy of your results can also be arranged (additional fees apply). Results can also be emailed to third parties, such as lawyers, where written consent is given by the parties being tested.
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