This following information is released by the Department of Constitutional Affairs and is directed at organisations wishing to apply to become one of the accredited bodies for court-directed paternity testing in the UK.

Background

Courts have a statutory power to direct a scientific test to ascertain the parentage of a child. The legislation is in section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969. The courts usually only find it necessary to use their statutory power when one party does not want testing to be done. If the court does make a “section 20 direction” then they must choose a tester from a list of accredited bodies that we maintain.

We have certain requirements for accreditation that accredited bodies must meet. The criteria are designed to ensure that the scientific evidence is sound and reliable.

Remit of the accredited list

We are responsible for maintaining a list of accredited bodies to carry out court-directed tests for parentage in accordance with a direction made by a court pursuant to section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969. This list is a procedural device to allow the court to identify a tester in cases where the court makes a section 20 direction.

These statutory provisions do not apply where parties submit DNA evidence by agreement and without any section 20 direction being given. In those cases it is not essential for such tests to be carried out by a laboratory accredited by the Department.

Requirements for accreditation

As a result of a recent review of the procedures associated with the list, revised criteria for accreditation have now been agreed. The criteria are:

• Applicants must make a written application on a form provided by us, which must be signed and submitted in hard copy.
• Applicants must produce evidence of current accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 by sending either an original or certified copy of the certificate. ISO 17025 is an international laboratory standard concerning measurement and testing. The applicant must be accredited by an accreditation body which complies with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17011(formerly ISO Guide 58) evidenced by full membership of the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC);
• Applicants must give an undertaking to:
  • Comply with the Department of Health's Code of Practice and Guidance on Genetic Paternity Testing Services (or any revised version thereof) when carrying out court-directed tests under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969 (or any revised version thereof) when carrying out court-directed tests under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969;
  • comply with the Blood Tests (Evidence of Paternity) Regulations 1971 (as amended), or any revised version thereof (copies of the “as amended” 1971 Regulations can be obtained from commercial suppliers); and,
  • comply with the Department's requirements about how their accredited status is represented in advertising or informational material.

  We will consider applications from ISO 17025 accredited laboratories wherever situated, but will not consider applications from intermediary organisations. We will conduct an annual review of the continuing eligibility of each body on the list.

Completing the application form

To complete the application form you must do the following:

• Enter your company name where indicated on the form (this can be done electronically or by hand).
• You should consider carefully whether you can offer all the necessary undertakings.
• Once you have completed and signed the application form please post it with your original/certified ISO 17025 certificate to our contact address. Please note we do not accept applications by fax or email. We will normally acknowledge the application within one working day of receipt.

Representation of accredited status

• Regarding the undertaking on our requirements about how DCA-accredited bodies represent their accredited status on any promotional material, advertising, or web-site information, statements should be limited to the following:
  • "[Name of Organisation] has been accredited by the Department for Constitutional Affairs as a body that may carry out parentage tests directed by the civil courts in England and Wales under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969".
• Please note that we regard phrases such as 'Government approved', 'Lord Chancellor approved' or 'DCA approved' as misleading and therefore not acceptable.
• For clarification, DCA accreditation only applies where the court has directed tests under section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act. Where the court has not directed the test, parties to a case may submit DNA evidence by agreement and in accordance with the case management directions of the court. As with other evidence, it is for the court to consider questions of admissibility and weight.

Application form

The application form for accreditation by us to carry out court-directed parentage tests pursuant to section 20 of the Family Law Reform Act 1969, is available to download.

• Download application form [Word, 30kb, 2 pages]

The accredited list

If you would like a copy of the accredited list, please contact us.

What is genetic paternity testing?

Paternity testing using DNA is a well-established scientific procedure that can identify relationships between people. DNA paternity testing has become cheaper and more widespread. It used to require blood samples, but can now use alternative body samples such as mouth swabs. For evidential purposes, any sample must be taken under controlled conditions.

Paternity testing is often over 99% accurate. If the putative father is not related to the child it is possible to exclude paternity by testing only the child and the alleged father. To prove that a child is related to a putative father, samples must be tested from the mother, the child and the putative father.

Contact us

Family Relationships Branch 2
Family Justice Division
4th Floor, Selborne House
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW

Tel: 020 7210 2653
Fax: 020 7210 8681