Your paternity test result will vary from company to company; some DNA testing companies will give you a test result presented on a single page and others may provide you with far more information over an 8 page document. However, all results carry an interpretation of the report and this can be one of two interpretations:
- The alleged father is the biological father of the child- in this case, you will have an interpretation that reads something on the lines of “the tested man/father cannot be excluded as the biological father of the child”. You will then have a “probability of paternity” which should not be lower than 99.9%
- The alleged father is not the biological father of the child- in this case, you will have an interpretation that reads on the lines of “the tested father/man cannot be included as the biological father of the child”. The probability of paternity in this case will be of 0%.
It is in most cases regarding paternity DNA tests, it is safe to say you can expect a clear-cut result that will leave you in not doubt as to whether the man who has submitted his DNA samples (the alleged father) is the biological father of the child or not. However, there may be some rare instances in which results may turn out to be unexpected; for example in cases where there is a genetic mutation.
Paternity test results and genetic mutation
Don’t be alarmed by the term “genetic mutation”; these mutations happen naturally and the ones we are talking about have no health implications. In cases of mutations, the father and child will share most of their genetic markers but perhaps just have a single genetic marker which is different- this is likely due to a mutation. This means that the probability of paternity will be lower than 99.9% and the test is essentially inconclusive.
In cases of genetic mutations in your paternity test results, testing additional genetic markers or adding the mother’s sample will give a conclusive result.
