Updated: 2026-10-15
Quick answer: A court-ordered paternity test is a DNA test that a judge or a state child support agency orders in a case to decide who a child’s legal father is. You get one by filing a parentage case (or asking your state child support agency to open one) and requesting genetic testing, and in most states the court must order it when a party asks. The test is a cheek swab done by a neutral collector at an accredited lab, the person who asks usually pays up front unless the child support agency is handling the case, and a person who refuses can be held in contempt or have paternity decided against them.
Legal disclaimer: This article is general information, not legal advice. Parentage law, testing procedures, and deadlines differ by state and change over time. For decisions about your own case, contact your state child support agency, your court’s self-help center, or a family-law attorney.
A father who wants custody, a mother who needs child support, a man who has doubts about a child he has raised: all three can end up at the same place, asking a court to order a DNA test. An at-home kit from a pharmacy will answer the question privately, but it will not settle it legally. Only a court-ordered paternity test, or a test done under court-approved procedures, gives a judge something to rule on.
This guide covers how to request the test, what the process looks like, who pays, what happens if someone refuses, and how the results are used. If paternity has never been established and you are unmarried, start with our guide to custody laws for unmarried parents by state, which covers voluntary acknowledgments and birth certificates. For the bigger picture of what a father can ask for once paternity is settled, see our pillar on fathers’ custody rights.
Table of Contents
- What is a court-ordered paternity test?
- What is the difference between a legal father and a biological father?
- How do you get a court-ordered paternity test?
- Legal vs at-home paternity test: which one counts in court?
- Who pays for a court-ordered paternity test?
- What happens if someone refuses a court-ordered paternity test?
- How do courts use paternity test results?
- Can a court refuse to order a paternity test?
- What happens after the results come back?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is a court-ordered paternity test?
A court-ordered paternity test is genetic testing that a judge, or a state child support agency, orders as part of a case to establish who a child’s legal parent is. The child, the alleged father, and usually the mother give cheek-swab samples to a neutral collector, and an accredited lab sends a sworn report to the court.
What makes it “court-ordered” is not the science. The DNA analysis is the same one a private lab runs. The difference is the paperwork around it: verified identities, a documented chain of custody, and a lab the law recognizes. That is what lets a judge rely on the result without a lab expert taking the stand.
Federal law requires every state to have this process. Under 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(5), states must require the child and the other parties in a contested paternity case to submit to genetic tests when a party asks and backs the request with a sworn statement. The same section requires states to admit properly performed test results as evidence and to create a presumption of paternity once results pass a set probability threshold.
What is the difference between a legal father and a biological father?
A biological father is the man whose DNA the child carries. A legal father is the man the law recognizes as the child’s parent, with the rights to custody and parenting time and the duty to pay support. They are usually the same person, but not always.
A man can become a legal father without any DNA test:
- By marriage. A husband is presumed to be the father of a child born during the marriage, and for a set period after it ends. Our guide to divorce while pregnant explains how that presumption works.
- By acknowledgment. Both parents sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, often at the hospital.
- By court order. A judge adjudicates him as the father, with or without testing.
A biological father who is none of those things has no automatic legal standing. He has to establish paternity, and when the mother or another man disputes it, a court-ordered paternity test is how that gets settled. The reverse also happens. A man who is the legal father can find out he is not the biological father, and whether a DNA result can undo his legal status depends on timing and his state’s rules, covered below.
How do you get a court-ordered paternity test?
You ask for one inside a legal case. There is no stand-alone application. The two usual routes are a court case you or your lawyer file, or a case your state child support agency opens for you.
- Choose a route. If you want child support, your state’s child support agency can open a paternity case and order testing itself, often at no cost to you. If you want custody or parenting time, or want to dispute paternity, you usually file a petition to establish (or adjudicate) parentage in family court.
- Request genetic testing. File a motion asking the court to order testing, or ask the agency caseworker. Federal law ties a mandatory order to a sworn statement that either alleges facts showing a reasonable possibility of sexual contact or denies it.
- Get the order. In many states the judge has little discretion here. Texas law says a court “shall order” testing when a party to a parentage case asks (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.502), and California says the court “shall” order it on a party’s timely motion (Cal. Fam. Code § 7551).
- Attend the collection appointment. Each person shows photo ID, is photographed, and gives a cheek swab to a collector who is not related to the case.
- Receive the report. The lab sends a signed report to the court or agency, and the parties get copies. Watch the deadline to object to it, which can be as short as 14 days.
The order does not have to wait for both men or all parties to cooperate in sequence. If two or more men may be the father, Texas and California both let the court test them at the same time or one after the other.
Can you get a court-ordered paternity test before the baby is born?
No. Courts will not order testing during pregnancy. Texas law bars a court or agency from ordering in utero testing (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.502(b)), and Cal. Fam. Code § 7551(c) says the same. In Arizona, if a paternity case is filed before the birth, any party can ask the court to delay the case until after the baby is born so testing can be done (A.R.S. § 25-807(B)). You can still file the case during pregnancy in many states. Washington, for example, allows a parentage case to start before the birth, with enforcement of any order paused until the baby is born (RCW 26.26A.480).
Legal vs at-home paternity test: which one counts in court?
A legal paternity test counts in court. An at-home test almost never does. The DNA science is identical. What differs is whether anyone can prove whose cheek each swab came from.
| Legal test | At-home test | |
|---|---|---|
| Who collects | Neutral collector | You |
| ID check | Photo ID, photos | None |
| Chain of custody | Documented | None |
| Lab | Accredited | Any lab |
| Used in court | Yes | Rarely |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
State law spells out the lab standard. Texas requires testing by a lab accredited by the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics, or a body the federal health secretary designates (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.503). Washington requires AABB accreditation or a federally designated accreditor, and lists the chain-of-custody details that make a report admissible without testimony, including each person’s name and photograph and who collected each sample, when, and where (RCW 26.26A.315 and .320). The AABB publishes a list of accredited relationship testing facilities you can check before paying any lab.
An at-home result still has a use. It can tell you whether a case is worth filing. Just do not expect a judge to rule on it, and in Texas, if the child already has a presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated father, a test is inadmissible unless both the mother and that father consented to it or a court ordered it (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.621(c)).
Who pays for a court-ordered paternity test?
Usually the person who asks for the test pays up front, unless a child support agency is handling the case. The court can shift the cost later, especially to the man the test identifies as the father.
Texas lists the options plainly. The cost of initial testing is advanced by the support enforcement agency if it is providing services, by the person who asked for the test, as the parties agree, or as the court orders (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.506). When the agency pays, it can seek reimbursement from the man identified as the father. Washington’s statute uses nearly the same list (RCW 26.26A.330), and Arizona lets either party ask the court to decide how the initial cost is split and when it is paid (A.R.S. § 25-807(G)).
The federal rule behind this is 42 U.S.C. § 666(a)(5)(B)(ii): when a state child support agency orders testing, the agency pays, and the state may recover the cost from the alleged father if paternity is established. That is why going through the child support agency is often the cheapest route for a parent seeking support.
A second test costs more for the person who wants it. If the first test identified a man as the father and someone contests it, Texas and Washington require the contesting party to pay for additional testing in advance. Prices for private legal tests vary by lab and region, so ask the court-approved lab for a quote before the appointment.
What happens if someone refuses a court-ordered paternity test?
Refusing a court order to test usually backfires. The court can enforce the order through contempt, and it can decide paternity against the person who refused.
- Texas: A testing order “is enforceable by contempt,” and the court may adjudicate parentage contrary to the position of a person who declines to test (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.622).
- California: If a party refuses, the court may resolve parentage against that party or enforce its order, and the refusal is admissible as evidence (Cal. Fam. Code § 7551(d)).
- Washington: A testing order is enforceable by contempt (RCW 26.26A.310).
Can a mother refuse a court-ordered paternity test? She can decline to give her own sample, but that rarely stops the case. Texas says testing the mother is not a prerequisite; if she is unavailable or declines, the court can order testing of the child and each possible father (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.622(c)). Arizona’s statute says the same (A.R.S. § 25-807(C)). Keeping the child away from a lawful testing appointment carries the same contempt risk as refusing to test yourself.
How do courts use paternity test results?
If the result passes the state’s threshold, the man is presumed or identified as the father, and the burden shifts to anyone who disagrees. If the result excludes him, the court will usually rule that he is not the father.
| State | Result needed | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| TX | 99% and 100:1 index | Rebuttably identified |
| CA | 99% and 100:1 index | Identified as parent |
| WA | 99% and 100:1 index | Identified as parent |
| AZ | 95% or more | Presumed; rebut by clear and convincing evidence |
The “index” is the combined paternity (or relationship) index the lab calculates. Texas, California, and Washington use the same two-part test from the Uniform Parentage Act (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.505; Cal. Fam. Code § 7555; RCW 26.26A.325). In those three states, a man identified this way can challenge the result only with other qualifying genetic testing that excludes him or points to another man. Arizona’s threshold is 95%, and the person opposing paternity then has to disprove it by clear and convincing evidence (A.R.S. § 25-807(D)).
Objection deadlines are short. Arizona admits the examiner’s report unless someone files a written challenge within 20 days of the report being filed with the court, and Washington allows 14 days after a party receives the report. Miss the window and the report generally comes in without any expert testimony.
There is also no jury. Federal law requires states to decide paternity cases without one, and Texas codifies that in Tex. Fam. Code § 160.632.
Can a court refuse to order a paternity test?
Yes, in specific situations, mostly when the child already has a legal father. The usual rule that a court must order testing on request has exceptions built in to protect children from losing a parent they have relied on.
Texas gives a judge authority to deny testing of the mother, child, and presumed father when that party’s conduct estops them from denying parentage and disproving the father-child relationship would be inequitable (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.608). The court weighs the child’s best interest, including how long the presumed father has acted as the father, the nature of the relationship, the child’s age, and the harm the child could suffer.
Deadlines matter too. In Texas, a case to adjudicate the parentage of a child who has a presumed father generally must be filed by the child’s fourth birthday (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.607). There are two exceptions: the presumed father and mother did not live together or have sex during the probable time of conception, or the presumed father was misled into believing he was the biological father. California routes presumed-parent cases through a separate section (§ 7541) and bars testing to challenge the parentage of a parent through assisted reproduction or to establish a donor’s parentage (Cal. Fam. Code § 7551(b)).
A signed acknowledgment of paternity is a separate hurdle. After its short rescission window closes, it can usually be challenged only for fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact. Our unmarried parents guide covers those deadlines.
What happens after the results come back?
If the test identifies the man as the father, the court enters an order adjudicating paternity. That order is the legal foundation for everything that follows.
- Custody and parenting time. The father can now ask for custody or a parenting schedule on the same footing as the mother. Some states act sooner: Washington lets the court issue temporary child support during the case, including against an alleged father who declined testing, and that order can include parenting time (RCW 26.26A.470).
- Child support. A support order can follow, often in the same case. Our guide to how child support is calculated explains the formulas.
- Birth certificate. The court can direct the state’s vital records office to amend the birth record so it matches the order.
- Costs. The final order can assess testing fees and other costs against a party, which is how the “who pays” question is often settled for good.
If the test excludes him, the court will generally rule that he is not the father, and any temporary support tied to the case can end. A result that neither identifies nor excludes him does not end the case. In Texas, the court cannot dismiss it on that basis and can weigh the test results alongside other evidence (Tex. Fam. Code § 160.631).
For the next steps on the custody side, our fathers’ custody rights guide covers how to build a strong case, and child support explained covers the support side from start to finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get a court-ordered paternity test?
File a petition to establish parentage in family court, or ask your state child support agency to open a paternity case, then request genetic testing. In most states the court must order testing when a party asks with a sworn statement. The parties then give cheek swabs at an accredited lab, and the lab reports to the court.
Who pays for a court-ordered paternity test?
The person who requests it usually pays up front, unless a state child support agency is handling the case, in which case the agency pays and may recover the cost from the man found to be the father. The judge can also split the cost or assign it to one party in the final order.
Can a mother refuse a court-ordered paternity test?
She can decline to give her own sample, but the case can go ahead without it. Texas and Arizona both allow the court to test the child and the possible father without the mother’s sample. Refusing to comply with a testing order can also lead to contempt or to paternity being decided against the person who refused.
Can you get a court-ordered paternity test while pregnant?
No. Texas and California law both bar courts from ordering in utero testing, and Arizona lets a party delay a case filed before the birth until testing can be done afterward. You can often file the case during pregnancy so the testing order is ready after the baby is born.
Can a court-ordered paternity test be wrong?
Errors are rare because accredited labs follow strict identity and chain-of-custody rules, but they are possible. If you contest a result, the court must order additional testing on request, and in Texas and Washington you pay for that retest in advance if the first test identified the man as the father. Object in writing before the deadline, which can be as short as 14 days.
