DNA Testing in Colorado: Legal Collection & At-Home Kits

You can test at GameDay DNA collection sites or use an at‑home cheek‑swab kit for private peace of mind. For legal paternity or child‑support cases, families can work with their county Child Support Services (CSS) office, which helps establish parentage and support orders at no fee, as described on the state’s Parentage page and in the Colorado Child Support Services Parentage FAQ flyer.

If parentage is not agreed upon, either parent—or the county CSS unit—can request genetic testing; the state’s Establishing Parentage FAQs explain that test results can create a legal presumption of paternity that the court uses to enter child‑support and parenting‑time orders. Colorado law (Section 13‑25‑126, C.R.S.) authorizes courts or delegate child‑support units to order genetic tests of the child, the alleged parent, and other relatives, and provides that properly documented test reports are admissible as evidence of parentage without additional foundation testimony.

Legal paternity tests in Colorado rely on buccal‑swab (cheek‑swab) samples from the child, the alleged parent, and often the birth parent, collected by an approved laboratory or a county Department of Human Services worker. County child‑support pages such as Otero County Child Support Services explain that, when paternity has not been legally determined, genetic testing may be ordered to compare DNA markers among the participants, and local family‑law guides like McCoy Family Law’s paternity overview describe cheek‑swab DNA testing as the standard for establishing biological fatherhood.

For at‑home tests, use the sterile swabs in your kit, rub firmly along the inside of each cheek for the full time listed in the instructions, let the swabs air‑dry, and seal them in labeled envelopes before mailing. Colorado courts stress that only tests performed under chain‑of‑custody procedures by an accredited lab will be accepted in a parentage case, as noted in the Colorado Judicial Branch self‑help guide on establishing someone as a parent and the Establishing Parentage FAQs.

GameDay DNA provides results by secure online portal or encrypted email, with printed reports available for legal tests. When genetic testing is arranged through CSS, parents typically receive results within 7–10 business days, and those results are then used in administrative or court proceedings; the Colorado Judicial Branch’s parentage FAQ notes that parents may be required to reimburse CSS for testing costs once paternity is adjudicated.

Yes—under C.R.S. 13‑25‑126, properly performed genetic‑test reports are admissible as evidence of paternity in child‑support and custody cases without additional proof of authenticity. Colorado family‑law resources, including the Colorado Family Law Guide on Paternity & Unmarried Parents, explain that an alleged father has the right to a genetic test and that judges rely heavily on DNA results when deciding parentage disputes.

Either parent, the child (through a representative), or a county Child Support Services office can initiate actions to establish parentage in Colorado. The state’s Parentage information page and Child Support Services Handbook explain that parents can apply for services in their county, after which CSS may begin administrative or court proceedings and request genetic testing if parentage is disputed. The Colorado Judicial Branch self‑help site on establishing someone as a parent provides the JDF parentage and genetic‑testing forms (JDF 1504–1506) for parents who file directly with the court.

Colorado statutes allow courts to order genetic testing of certain relatives when the alleged parent is unavailable, including testing of an identical twin or other family members under C.R.S. 13‑25‑126(4). Family‑law guides such as Robinson & Henry’s article on establishing paternity in Colorado explain that courts may combine DNA results from relatives with other evidence—like past support, acknowledgments, or vital‑records documents—to determine legal parentage and secure child‑support, inheritance, or Social Security benefits for the child.