You can take a DNA test at home with a mail-in kit, at a pharmacy or retail store, through your doctor’s office, or at a specialized testing facility. The right option depends on why you need the test. A curiosity-driven ancestry test costs as little as $79 from your couch, while a legally admissible paternity test requires an in-person visit to a certified collection site, and a medical-grade genetic test typically starts with a referral from your doctor.
At-Home DNA Kits
The most popular option for ancestry and basic health screening is an at-home kit you order online or pick up at a store. You collect your own sample, usually by spitting into a tube or swabbing the inside of your cheek, then mail it to the company’s lab in a prepaid package. Results arrive digitally in a few weeks.
The major consumer kits range from $79 to $124 for ancestry-only reports. FamilyTreeDNA’s Family Finder kit sits at the low end at $79, while 23andMe’s ancestry service runs $99 and MyHeritage is $89. If you want health information on top of ancestry, expect to pay more. 23andMe offers an upgrade package for $199 that includes FDA-approved reports on carrier status for certain genetic variants and predisposition to specific health conditions. Living DNA sells a “wellbeing kit” for $225 that covers genetic factors related to nutrition and fitness.
These kits use saliva or cheek-swab collection, both of which yield reliable DNA without a needle. Saliva collection in particular performs well for genetic analysis and is the standard method for most consumer kits. No appointment, no blood draw, no clinic visit required.
Pharmacies and Retail Stores
If you’d rather grab a kit in person, major pharmacy chains carry them on the shelf. Walgreens, for example, stocks several options including ancestry kits, paternity test kits, and even early gender prediction kits for pregnancy. CVS and Walmart carry similar selections. You’ll find them near the health and wellness aisle, typically for the same price as ordering online.
One important distinction: paternity kits sold at pharmacies come in two categories. A “curiosity” or “peace of mind” paternity test lets you collect samples at home and get results, but those results are not admissible in court. If you need results for a legal proceeding, you’ll need a chain-of-custody test at a designated facility (more on that below). The pharmacy kit box will usually make this distinction clear.
Legal Paternity Testing Facilities
Court-admissible paternity tests require what’s called chain-of-custody collection. This means a trained collector must verify everyone’s identity, witness the sample collection, and handle the specimens according to strict protocols so the results hold up legally. You cannot do this at home.
These collections happen at dedicated testing centers, some medical offices, and certain labs that offer walk-in or appointment-based DNA collection. Companies like DNA Diagnostics Center and IdentiGene maintain networks of collection sites across the country, often numbering in the thousands. You can typically search by zip code on their websites to find the nearest location. Expect to pay $300 to $500 for a legally admissible paternity test, which includes the collection fee and lab processing.
Your Doctor’s Office or Hospital
Medical-grade genetic testing is a different category entirely. This is the route for diagnosing inherited conditions, assessing cancer risk, screening during pregnancy, or identifying genetic disorders in children. Major hospital systems like Mount Sinai operate dedicated genetics divisions that handle screening, diagnosis, and treatment for patients with suspected genetic diseases, birth defects, reproductive complications, or elevated cancer risk.
The process usually starts with your primary care doctor or a specialist ordering the test. From there, you may be referred to a genetic counselor who reviews your family history, explains what the test can and can’t tell you, and helps you interpret results. Blood draws are more common for clinical genetic tests than for consumer kits, though some clinical labs also accept saliva or cheek swabs depending on the specific test.
National diagnostic laboratories like Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics process many of these clinical tests, covering everything from chromosomal analysis to screening for conditions like Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, and developmental disorders. Your doctor handles the ordering; you just show up at a lab draw site. Insurance often covers medically indicated genetic tests, though coverage varies widely by plan and by the specific test ordered.
Lab Quality and What to Look For
Not all labs are equal. Any laboratory analyzing human samples for health purposes must comply with the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), a federal framework that sets standards for quality assurance, personnel qualifications, and testing accuracy. CLIA-certified labs undergo routine inspections on a two-year cycle.
For genetic testing specifically, some labs go a step further and participate in the College of American Pathologists (CAP) molecular genetics program. CAP inspection covers every step from receiving your specimen to delivering the final report, and it requires that technologists hold at least a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. If you’re choosing between testing providers for anything health-related, look for CLIA certification at minimum. CAP accreditation in molecular genetics is an additional marker of quality.
Consumer ancestry companies like 23andMe and AncestryDNA use CLIA-certified labs for their processing. However, the health reports from consumer kits are not equivalent to clinical genetic tests ordered by a doctor. They screen for a limited number of variants rather than performing comprehensive analysis.
Privacy Protections for Your Genetic Data
Handing over your DNA raises understandable privacy questions. Federal law provides some protection through the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), passed in 2008. GINA prohibits health insurers from using your genetic information to determine eligibility, set premiums, or make coverage decisions. It also prevents employers from using genetic information in hiring, firing, promotions, or job assignments. Employers cannot request or require genetic tests as a condition of employment.
These protections extend to private health insurers, Medicare, Medicaid, and federal employee health plans. The definition of “genetic information” under the law is broad: it covers your test results, your family members’ test results, and your family medical history.
GINA has notable gaps, though. It does not cover life insurance, long-term care insurance, or disability insurance. Some states have passed their own laws to fill these holes, but coverage varies. The law also doesn’t apply to employers with fewer than 15 employees, and the U.S. military is explicitly exempt.
Beyond legal protections, each testing company has its own data policies. Consumer DNA companies store your genetic data on their servers, and some share anonymized data with research partners unless you opt out. Before you spit in a tube, read the company’s privacy policy to understand who can access your information, how long it’s stored, and whether you can request deletion.