A DNA paternity test can produce one of two results: exclusion or inclusion. An exclusion means the alleged father is not the biological father of the child.
In a paternity test, the DNA profiles of the child and alleged father are compared. (The mother’s DNA profile is also used in the comparison if the mother contributes a sample.) If 4 or more of the DNA markers do not match between the profiles of the alleged father and child, the alleged father cannot be the child’s biological father. In other words, he is excluded as a possible father. On a paternity test report, an exclusion result is shown as a 0% probability of paternity.
An inclusion, the other possible result of a paternity test, implies that the alleged father is the biological father of the child. A probability of paternity of 99.99% or higher indicates an inclusion result.
