Why should you choose a legal parentage test?

When you have a peace of mind (home) paternity test done, the swabs for sample collection are sent directly to the donor(s) at their home and they take their own samples. This does not allow any means of confirming that the sample truly originates from the stipulated donor. When you have a legal paternity test done, each donor must attend a proper collection to have a buccal swab (mouth swab) taken. Also, verification measures (such as photo identification) are in place to confirm that the samples have come from the stipulated donor.
Please note that it is not possible to upgrade from a peace of mind test to a legal test once you have had a peace of mind test done.
ISO standards are strictly enforced when we handle, process, and report your legal parentage test. Please contact our friendly customer service staff at any point during your testing and they will be more than happy to guide you through the process and answer your queries. The steps involved in the process for a legal paternity test are outlined below. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you prefer to have it explained to you instead of reading it!
It is required by law in NZ to include a mother in a legal paternity test. If the mother is deceased, we will require documentation of this (death certificate, obituary, etc.) prior to processing a test without a mother.
Once you have decided to do a legal paternity test or would like to talk through the options with our DNA Solutions staff, contact our office on 0800 362 837.
Once you are ready to proceed with a legal parentage test, we will arrange to send you the paperwork that you will need; we can send this via normal post, email, or fax, or you may download the paperwork yourself by clicking on the links below.
- Parentage Test Order Form
- Donor Details
- Report Release Form
- Sample Collection Instructions for Donors
- Affidavit - Adult
- Affidavit - Minor
- Collection Form
Also in this initial phone call (if you are ready to do so) we can organise your collection. We have collection points established around New Zealand and can set up additional collection points, so we will find the nearest collection point to you. This may require us calling you back in 2-3 days with the information for your collection point. You may have your own doctor collect your sample, if you prefer, and please be prepared to provide us with their name, address, and telephone number when you call.
Once the collection point has been established, we will send your collection kit via Express Post. The collection point should receive this kit within approximately 4 business days at which point you can contact the collection point and identify yourself by name and set up an appointment to have your collection done. If they do not have your collection kit after 4 - 7 business days, please notify us on 0800 362 837.
When you contact the collection point to make an appointment, please keep in mind that you have to go to a Justice of the Peace prior to your collection on that same day (discussed in more detail three points below).
Often in a legal parentage case, the alleged father, mother, and child may not wish to attend collection together. We are quite happy to work with each adult party separately and to organize separate collections, if that is better for your situation.
Once you have your paperwork (or while waiting for it to arrive), you can organise for two (2) passport sized photos of each donor. These photos must be passport sized (not actual passport photos), full frontal original colour photos with none of the facial features obscured.
On the day of your collection, but prior to your collection, go to a Justice of the Peace (JP) and have your Affidavit witnessed.
Who is a Justice of the Peace?

A Doctor is NOT necessarily a Justice of the Peace

A police officer with a rank of Sergeant or above is a Justice of the Peace

A solicitor/lawyer is a Justice of the Peace
Payment can be made in a number of ways, all of which are detailed in the paperwork that you will receive.
When you go to your collection, take your Affidavit, Collection Form, and the Parentage Testing Information Sheet, as the collector will return all paperwork along with the samples directly to DNA Solutions via Express Post (envelope provided in the collection kit).
Our Sample Reception staff will review the paperwork and samples against the ISO guidelines as they are received. If there are any issues with the paperwork or samples, we will contact you as soon as possible.
Once all samples, paperwork, and payment has been received and approved, we will begin processing your test. Normal testing time is ten (10) business days from the day that we approve all the samples and paperwork.
Upon completion of testing, an analyst will call each adult donor to issue the results. Original hard copies of reports will be mailed to each adult party involved in the testing. The report will include statistics calculated for your particular case if the result is a match and this value should exceed 99.9%. If the result is a mismatch, it is 100% that it is a mismatch and the statistics are therefore not calculated nor reported.