Court Ordered Paternity Test
Where you aware that only a chain of custody paternity test will hold up in court? Although a basic paternity test is just as accurate you can expect to pay two times more for a chain of custody test.
The extra cost is to cover the additional steps that must be taken to ensure the integrity of the DNA samples. Throughout the entire DNA test process your specimen will be accounted for and logged.
When you go in for a court ordered paternity test you can expect a different experience than simply getting a regular paternity test. With a basic DNA test no government issued identification is required and no steps are taken to confirm your identity. There is no standard for how a DNA sample is provided. On one occasion a nice young lady showed up with young child in one hand and a used tooth brush in the other. All do-it-yourself home DNA kits are considered “non-chain of custody”.
As a side note, collection is where practically all errors are made. Even with sketchy DNA labs I have not heard of an error occurring at the laboratory. Incorrect collections with home DNA kits are extremely common and I do not advise them at all.
What to Expect From a Court Ordered Paternity Test.
Bring your drivers license and you will have to take off hats and/or optical lenses such as sunglasses. A photo will be taken during the collection process for verification purposes. DNA samples are most often taken by swabbing the inside of the mouth with a cotton swab. Although it is not required you should take note that your DNA sample and the child’s DNA sample are collected and processed separately prior to being packaged and shipped to the laboratory. I have heard of situations where an incorrect chain of custody paternity test resulted in the father having female DNA and the daughter having male DNA. In this situation the entire DNA test was not accepted by the court and the father and daughter had to redo the paternity test.
How Much Should a Court Ordered Paternity Test Cost?
Pricing varies lab to lab, state to state and country to country. It even varies according to how far you live from a major city. Nowadays every city with over 100k people has a DNA collection center. A certified lab normally charges about $375-$500 for a chain of custody DNA test using saliva samples. However, more often than not this does not include collection fees. It is very important that you determine all hidden costs before choosing your DNA lab. Paternity testing is a competitive market and many labs only post part of the total cost in order to capture a larger amount of sales.
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