Le paternity test is a genetic analysis allowing to confirm the links of biological parentage between a man and his child. We also talk about ” DNA test ».

It is usually requested in legal proceedings (ordered by the family court judge), but it is used more and more often, as it is now easy to obtain test kits freely on the Internet. However, this practice remains illegal in France.

According to a study published in The Lancet in 2006, in about one in 30 cases, the declared father is not the biological father of the child.

In the event of “parentage litigation”, that is to say when the parentage link is contested or the father has not recognized the child, for example, parentage may result from a judgment. This can be rendered in the context of several legal actions:

• paternity research (open to any child who has not been recognized by his father)
• the restoration of the presumption of paternity (to prove the paternity of a spouse in the event of divorce, for example)
• paternity challenge
• actions in the context of succession
• actions related to immigration, etc.

Remember that the parentage is associated with certain obligations, in matters of alimony or inheritance, for example. Thus, paternity test requests often come from women who claim alimony from an ex-spouse, from fathers wishing to obtain visitation or custody rights, or even wishing to shirk their responsibilities because they suspect that they are not biologically related to the child. In France, only certain laboratories are authorized by the Ministry of Justice to carry out these expertises, with the consent of the people involved (it is always possible to refuse to submit to a test).

Remember that the purchase of tests on the internet is illegal in France and punishable by heavy fines. Elsewhere in Europe and North America, the purchase is legal.

Today, the paternity test is carried out in the vast majority of cases from oral swabs. Using a swab (cotton swab), rub the inside of the cheek to collect saliva and cells. This rapid, non-invasive test then allows the lab to extract the DNA and compare the “genetic fingerprints” of those involved.

Indeed, if the genomes of all human beings are very similar to each other, there are all the same small genetic variations which characterize individuals and which are transmissible to offspring. These variations, called “polymorphisms”, can be compared. About fifteen markers are generally sufficient to establish a family link between two people, with a certainty close to 100%.