Paternity Testing Information for the
District of Columbia (DC)
Home Test vs. Legal
Test Home Test
Order Page Legal
Test Order Page
We have several Legal DNA Collection
Facilities across the District of Columbia.
Please call for
the nearest collection location which will be convenient to your schedule.
Toll Free
1-888-875-7574
Ask about our low
price guarantee for any DNA testing
The District of Columbia Statute
(a) Paternity may be established by:
(1) A written statement of the father and mother signed under
oath (which may include signature in the presence of a notary)
that acknowledges paternity; provided, that before the parents
sign the acknowledgment, both have been given written and oral
notice of the alternatives to, legal consequences of, and the
rights and responsibilities that arise from signing the
acknowledgment. (Oral notice may be given through videotape or
audiotape.) The acknowledgment shall include the full name, the
social security number, and date of birth of the mother, father,
and child, the addresses of the mother and father, the birthplace
of the child, an explanation of the legal consequences of the
affidavit, a statement indicating that both parents understand
their rights, responsibilities, and the alternatives and
consequences of signing the affidavit, the place the affidavit was
completed, signature lines for the parents, and any other data
elements required by federal law. Nothing in this paragraph shall
affect the validity of a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity
executed before December 23, 1997, or preclude the submission of
an acknowledgment of paternity that does not comply with the
requirements of this paragraph as evidence of paternity in a
judicial or administrative proceeding; or
(2) A result and an affidavit from a laboratory of a genetic
test of a type generally acknowledged as reliable by accreditation
bodies designated by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services that is performed by a laboratory
approved by such a body, that affirms at least a 99%
probability that the putative father is the father of the
child.
(a-1) A signatory to a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity
pursuant to subsection (a)(1) of this section may rescind the
acknowledgment within the earlier of 60 days or the date of an
administrative or judicial proceeding relating to the child in
which the signatory is a party.
(b) An acknowledgment in accordance with subsection (a)(1) of
this section, which has not been rescinded pursuant to subsection
(a-1) of this section, or a genetic test and affidavit that meet
the requirements of subsection (a)(2) of this section shall
legally establish the parent-child relationship between the father
and the child for all rights, privileges, duties, and obligations
under the laws of the District of Columbia. The acknowledgment or
genetic test and affidavit shall be admissible as evidence of
paternity.
(c) A public or private agency or institution that operates in
the District of Columbia shall accept as adequate proof of
paternity a birth certificate issued by the District of Columbia
after the effective date of the District of Columbia Paternity
Establishment Temporary Act of 1991 [June 18, 1991] or other
evidence that the requirements of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) of
this section have occurred.
(d) In the absence of an acknowledgment, or if the probability
of paternity shown by a genetic test is less than 99%, paternity
may be established as otherwise provided in this chapter.
This information is provided for reference only
