DNA Testing in North Carolina: 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. North Carolina Child Support Services explains that when a parent applies for services and there is doubt about who the father is, the agency can arrange genetic (DNA) testing as part of its services, with blood or tissue samples used and DNA testing recommended whenever paternity is in question; details are listed on the CSS Services page. County programs, such as Wake County’s Paternity Establishment page, note that the natural mother, alleged father, and child are usually all required for testing and that the county coordinates cheek‑swab collections through its child‑support office.

North Carolina law allows paternity of a child born out of wedlock to be established by civil action at any time before the child’s eighteenth birthday. General Statute § 49‑14 on civil actions to establish paternity provides that if a case is brought more than three years after the child’s birth or after the putative father’s death, paternity cannot be established in a contested case without evidence from a blood or genetic‑marker test, and that in IV‑D cases the court must enter a temporary child‑support order when genetic tests show at least a 97 percent probability of parentage. North Carolina’s blood‑test statute, G.S. § 8‑50.1, described in UNC School of Government materials on genetic testing to determine paternity, sets out procedures for ordering tests, requiring written notice of test results, and treating results as competent evidence of paternity when no timely objection is filed.

Most paternity tests in North Carolina use buccal‑swab (cheek‑swab) samples, though blood or tissue samples are also permitted. North Carolina Child Support Services notes that “blood or tissue samples may be used for testing” but that the most common method is DNA testing, which is highly accurate for determining paternity. County guidance, such as Wake County’s Paternity Establishment information, explains that a swab is taken from inside the cheek of the mother, alleged father, and child and then sent to a laboratory for testing.

For at‑home kits, use the sterile swabs in your kit, rub firmly along the inside of each cheek for the full time recommended, let the swabs air‑dry, and place them in the labeled envelopes before mailing them back to the lab. General DNA‑testing guidance recommends avoiding food, drink, and smoking for at least 30 minutes before swabbing so the sample is clean and uncontaminated. North Carolina legal and child‑support materials emphasize that while private tests can give personal answers, legal paternity and child‑support orders rely on tests ordered through the court or Child Support Services so chain of custody is documented and results are admissible under G.S. § 8‑50.1.

GameDay DNA provides results through a secure online portal or encrypted email, with printed, notarized reports available for legal tests on request. In state‑run cases, county child‑support offices such as Wake County’s program explain that after cheek‑swab samples are collected and sent to Labcorp, results are returned to the child‑support office, which then notifies the parties and uses the findings to proceed with paternity establishment and child‑support orders. Under G.S. § 8‑50.1, summarized in UNC School of Government materials and the official statute PDF, written notice of test results may be served on the parties, and if no objections are filed in the prescribed time and manner, the results are admissible without foundation testimony as evidence of paternity.

Yes—blood and genetic‑marker test results that meet statutory requirements are strong evidence in North Carolina paternity cases. G.S. § 49‑14(f) states that in IV‑D cases, genetic‑test results showing a 97 percent or higher probability of parentage constitute “clear, cogent, and convincing evidence” of paternity and can support a temporary child‑support order while the case is pending; if paternity is not ultimately established, the putative father must be reimbursed for any support paid under the temporary order. G.S. § 8‑50.1, as outlined in the School of Government’s genetic testing outline, provides that properly noticed test results are admissible as evidence of paternity without the need for foundation testimony, and that the jury (or judge in a bench trial) should be instructed on how to weigh those results along with other evidence.

North Carolina statutes allow various parties to bring a civil action to establish paternity for a child born out of wedlock. G.S. § 49‑14 provides that such an action may be brought at any time before the child’s eighteenth birthday and that the case may be tried on request at the first court session after docketing, with the presiding judge retaining discretion to prioritize other matters. County child‑support offices, such as Cumberland County’s services page, explain that if the parents were not married, parentage can be established voluntarily through an Affidavit of Parentage or through court, and that DNA testing is available through Child Support if parentage has not already been established, meaning custodial parents, alleged fathers, or the state can all initiate paternity proceedings.

Yes—North Carolina law specifically addresses late‑filed and post‑death paternity actions. G.S. § 49‑14(d) states that if an action to establish paternity is brought more than three years after the child’s birth or after the death of the putative father, paternity cannot be established in a contested case without evidence from a blood or genetic‑marker test, underscoring the importance of DNA evidence in these situations. The statute also allows an existing paternity order to be set aside if genetic testing later proves the putative father is not the biological father and the original order resulted from fraud, duress, mutual mistake, or excusable neglect, with the court required to order genetic testing under G.S. § 8‑50.1(b1) when such a motion is properly made.