Frequently Asked Questions

We understand the importance of our reports being easy for our customers to interpret. This is why we make our DNA test reports simple and concise, giving a clear conclusion of the results. There are no grey areas with our DNA test reports and we always give a clear answer on our findings. Our friendly Customer Services team is available to help if there is something you are unsure about and we always have a team of experienced geneticists on hand.

Biotas can also provide Statement of Witness reports for our clients, which explain the fine details of our legal testing and are fully admissible in UK courts.

Our legal DNA testing follows strict procedures to maintain chain of custody, which means that our results are court-approved and are accepted by:

• Family law courts
• The Ministry of Justice
• The Child Support Agency
• The UK Visas and Immigration Service
• The Home Office

Zygosity twin testing is used to determine whether multiple children from the same birth (twins, triplets, quadruplets, etc.) are genetically identical or not. If siblings are identical, they are known as monozygotic.

This means that they were formed from a single fertilised egg, which went on to split into separate embryos and that their DNA is exactly the same.

Non-identical siblings are known as dizygotic. This means that they are the result of separate fertilised eggs and that they share half of their genes in common like other siblings.

There are various reasons why individuals may wish to gain an understanding of their own, or their children’s zygosity status. These may include the following:
• Their own interest
• To avoid embarrassment when asked the common question “Are they identical?”
• To reinforce the need to treat the siblings as individuals
• To assess the likelihood of conceiving twins again
• To participate in any research about multiple births

Twins

Triplets

Quadruplets etc.

The results of this test are more than 99.99% conclusive.

It may be for your own peace of mind to confirm you are the Grandparent of a Grandchild, or it could be that the legal authorities require evidence of a biological relationship.

Please choose from the following options the description that best sums up your reasons for wanting a DNA Grandparentage Test

You need a Grandparentage Test for your own peace of mind
As the title suggests, this test is purely to confirm the grandparentage of a grandchild for your own peace of mind. The results of this test cannot be used for legal purposes.
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You need a Grandparentage Test for legal purposes
You may require this kind of test to present to a Court as evidence or for the purposes of wills and probate.
Choose this test

Grandparentage testing determines whether a woman or man is the biological grandparent of the grandchild or grandchildren in question. We recommend that the mother of the child(ren) participates in these tests where possible, that way our scientists can eliminate the mother’s DNA from the child’s and compare the remaining DNA to the tested grandparent or grandparents.

Biotas will require DNA samples from the child and grandparent. We recommend that both alleged grandparents and the mother of the child participate where possible as this increases the accuracy of the test. An individual with Parental Responsibility will need to give consent for any participants under the age of 16. In most cases this is the child’s mother, or father if he is on the birth certificate. In some scenarios Parental Responsibility may have been passed to another family member or the local authority.

The likelihood of obtaining a conclusive result when undertaking a Grandparentage Test varies depending on which individuals are participating in the case:

• 2 Grandparents, Mother and Child – 99.9%
• 2 Grandparents and Child – 99.2%
• Grandparent, Child and Mother – 86%
• Grandparent and Child – 73%

Where a test comes back inconclusive, Biotas will recommend which additional individuals may be required to provide a sample to improve the likelihood of gaining a conclusive result. There will be additional charges associated in these instances.

DNA aunt/uncle testing (also known as avuncular testing) is often needed for establishing a relationship with a mother or father in situations where that parent is not available to be tested. The alleged aunt or uncle of the child who would like to establish their biological relationship to the child is therefore tested instead.

It may be for your own peace of mind to confirm you are the Aunt or Uncle of a child, for example or it could be that you have been asked by legal authorities to supply evidence of your relationship to a child.

Please choose from the following options the description that best sums up your reasons for wanting a DNA Avuncular Test

You need an Avuncular Test for your own peace of mind
As the title suggests, this test is purely to confirm whether an aunt or uncle is biologically related to an alleged niece or nephew, for your own peace of mind.
The results of this test cannot be used for legal purposes.
Choose this test

You need an Avuncular Test for legal purposes
You may require this kind of test to present to a Court as evidence or for other official matters.
Choose this test

Avuncular testing determines whether a man or woman is the biological uncle or aunt of a niece or nephew in question. The test compares the DNA of an aunt/uncle, niece/nephew and mother (if available). We recommend that the mother of the child(ren) participates in these tests where possible. This enables our scientists to eliminate the mother’s DNA from the child’s and compare the remaining DNA to the tested aunt or uncle.

We require DNA samples from the niece/nephew and aunt/uncle. We recommend that the mother participates in the case to improve the accuracy of the results. An individual with Parental Responsibility will need to give consent for any participants under the age of 16. In most cases this is the child’s mother, or the father if he is on the birth certificate. In some scenarios Parental Responsibility may have been passed to another family member or the local authority.

The likelihood of obtaining a conclusive result when undertaking an avuncular test varies depending on which individuals are participating in the case:

• Aunt or Uncle, Mother and Niece or Nephew –86%
• Aunt or Uncle and Niece or Nephew – 73%

Where a test comes back inconclusive, Biotas will recommend which additional individuals may be required to provide a sample to improves the chances of gaining a conclusive result. There will be additional charges associated in these instances.

A sibling test can be used to confirm whether two, or more brothers or sisters are related and to identify if they share one or both biological parents.

There are several reasons you may want to book a DNA Siblingship Test.
It may be for your own peace of mind to determine whether two people are full or half siblings or you may be required to prove siblingship as evidence to a government agency.

Please choose from the following options the description that best sums up your reasons for wanting a DNA Siblingship Test

You need a Siblingship Test for your own peace of mind
A Siblingship Test to confirm whether two or more individuals do or do not share one or two parents. The results of this test cannot be used for legal purposes.
Choose this test

You need a Siblingship Test for legal purposes
You may require this kind of test to present to a Court as evidence or for other official matters.
Choose this test

Siblingship DNA tests can be carried out to determine whether two people are full or half siblings (sisters or brothers).

• Full siblings have the same mother and the same father.
• Half siblings only share one biological parent.

• The potential siblings
• Any available parents – for example a shared mother, or if testing if two individuals are half siblings, both mothers.

A sibling test is not as conclusive as a paternity test and can only report the most likely relationship. The likelihood of obtaining a conclusive result when undertaking a sibling test varies depending on which individuals are participating in the case. However, if either of the parents of the siblings who are being assessed are available for testing, this will aid the testing and may increase the certainty of the result.

When testing if two individuals are Full or Half Siblings:

• Two Siblings and one shared parent – 96%
• Two Siblings – 78%

When testing if two individuals are Half Siblings or are Unrelated:

• Two Siblings and both mothers – 94%
• Two Siblings one of their mothers – 86%
• Two Siblings – 73%

Where a test comes back inconclusive, Biotas will recommend which, if any, additional individuals may be required to provide a sample to improves the chances of gaining a conclusive result. There will be additional charges associated in these instances.

A legal DNA Paternity Test from Biotas may be used to determine if a man is or is not the biological father of a child. Paternity testing may be required for several reasons:

1. Peace of mind to confirm you are the father of your child
2. When asked by legal authorities to supply evidence of your relationship to a child
3. When seeking legal custody of a child
4. For amending a child’s birth certificate
5. In response to a child maintenance claim

Please choose from one of the following options the description that best sums up your reasons for wanting a Paternity Test:

You need a Paternity Test for your own peace of mind

This Paternity Test is purely to confirm the parentage of a child for your own peace of mind. The results of this test cannot be used for legal purposes.

Choose this test

You need a Paternity Test for legal purposes

You may require a Paternity Test to amend a child’s birth certificate, present to a Court as evidence or to prove parentage to the Child Support Agency. Our legal DNA paternity test provides a report that is accepted as proof of paternity by courts and government authorities including the CSA.

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You need a Paternity Test for immigration purposes

You may require this kind of test to support an immigration application or to support an appeal to the immigration authorities.

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A paternity test determines the validity of whether a man is the biological father of a child (or children). The paternity test compares the DNA of a mother, a child (or children) and a possible father. Children inherit half of their DNA from their mother and half from their father. If a man shares certain DNA sequences with a child, then there is a 99.9% chance the man is the biological father of that child. If a man does not share those DNA sequences with a child, then he is not the biological father.

The DNA Paternity Test samples up to 24 ‘markers’ (areas of your DNA), to analyse the relationship of an alleged father and child. If the man is the biological father of the child, then the accurate results which will indicate a paternal relationship in excess of 99.9%. If the man is not the father, this will be a conclusive result with 100% certainty. Including a sample from the child’s mother is always recommended to ensure the most conclusive result.

On rare occasions (in cases where the test is between a single parent and child), the DNA profiles which Biotas analyse do not generate a strong enough statistic to produce a conclusive outcome. In these instances, our team will recommend the participation of the other parent which will incur an additional charge.

Other things to consider:

If a close male relative* of the man tested is a possible father of the child, that relative must also take the test. This will ensure the accuracy of the result.

*A close male relative is a father, brother or son.

Biotas may request evidence of parental responsibility if the child’s mother does not sign on their behalf.

For a Paternity Test from Biotas, we need DNA samples from the mother, child (or children) and the possible father. We highly recommend that a sample from the mother is also provided, and in most instances, this is no additional charge.

Where the potential father is not on the child’s birth certificate, the mothers must consent to child’s test. If the UK Courts have ordered the test or the father has parental responsibility we can proceed without the consent of the mother.

A maternity test can be used where a child has been adopted and has sought to find their birth mother – once re-united testing may be undertaken so that their true biological relationship can be confirmed.  Maternity testing is also sometimes used to confirm the biological links to a child conceived by in vitro fertilisation. Maternity testing may also be requested by government agencies to evidence the relationship between a mother and a child.

There are several reasons you may want to book a DNA Maternity Test. It may be for your own peace of mind to confirm you are the mother of your child for example or it could be that you have been asked by legal authorities to supply evidence of your relationship to a child.

Please choose from the following options the description that best sums up your reasons for wanting a DNA Maternity Test:

You need a Maternity Test for your own peace of mind

this test is purely to confirm the parentage of a child for your own peace of mind.

The results of this test cannot be used for legal purposes.

Choose this test

 You need a Maternity Test for legal purposes

You may require this kind of test to present to a Court as evidence or for other official matters.

Choose this test

A Maternity test determines whether or not a woman is the biological mother of a child or children in question by comparing the DNA of the possible mother and the child (children). If a woman shares certain DNA sequences with a child, then there is a 99.9% chance the woman is the biological mother of that child. If a woman does not share those DNA sequences with a child, then she is not the biological mother.

For a Maternity Test, Biotas require DNA samples from the mother, child (or children).

The DNA Maternity Test samples up to 24 ‘markers’ (areas of your DNA) to analyse the relationship of an alleged mother and child. If the woman is the biological mother of the child, then the accurate results which will indicate a maternal relationship in excess of 99.9%. If the woman is not the mother, this will be a conclusive result with 100% certainty. Including a sample from the child’s father is always recommended to ensure the most conclusive result.