Paternity & Relationship Testing Markets 2027–2031

Paternity & Relationship Testing Markets: Market Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Technology and Regulatory Outlook, 2027–2031

Global forecasts by application, technology, sample type, channel and product, for 14 countries and regions, with 47 company profiles.

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Our Take

Governments are reshaping relationship testing. The market grows from $1,250 million in 2026 to $1,800 million in 2031, at 7.6% a year. Immigration agencies are moving DNA testing earlier in the process, kinship and identification work is growing fastest, and SNP panels, sequencing and Rapid DNA are taking share from the STR test that built the industry.

Market Size 2026: USD $1.25B Market Size 2031: USD $1.8B CAGR: 7.6%

Situation Analysis: what is really happening

• Immigration testing moves earlier. USCIS Policy Alert PA-2026-06 (5 August 2026) tells officers to suggest DNA testing whenever a claimed relationship is not established, and a proposed DHS rule would let USCIS require it. Immigration and family reunification testing grows 10.9% a year to $252 million.
• Beyond the STR ladder. STR testing remains the largest technology at $725 million in 2026, but its share falls from 58.0% to 49.0%. Rapid DNA grows 18.2% a year and sequencing 17.5% a year, and ICE has expanded Rapid DNA testing of claimed families with a new $10.1 million task order.
• Identification is the fastest application. Kinship, missing persons and identification testing grows 12.5% a year, and Othram's purchase of Sorenson Forensics joins STR casework with sequencing-based genealogy.
• Consumers want privacy. Consumer peace-of-mind testing is still the largest application at $450 million, but the 23andMe bankruptcy, an $18 million settlement with 42 states and new genetic privacy laws in Connecticut, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah raise the cost of selling direct to consumers.
• Prenatal testing moves to the blood draw. Non-invasive cfDNA samples account for $138 million of prenatal paternity testing in 2026, rising to $216 million by 2031.
• The US leads, China grows fastest. The US is 41.8% of the market at $522 million, and China is the fastest-growing country at 9.9% a year.

Company Analysis: who is positioned, who is exposed

• Eurofins and DDC: The most active consolidator, combining DDC, the largest US consumer and legal relationship testing business, with Cellmark in the UK.
• Labcorp: Serves US child support agencies through its IdentiLink system and state contracts, alongside consumer and legal testing.
• Thermo Fisher Scientific, Promega and Qiagen: Supply the STR chemistry for most of the world's tests. Thermo Fisher won FBI approval for RapidINTEL Plus on RapidHIT ID, Promega launched a 24-capillary Spectrum CE, and Qiagen agreed to a takeover led by EQT at €46.50 a share.
• SNA International and ANDE: SNA runs Rapid DNA family-unit testing for ICE, and ANDE makes one of the two leading Rapid DNA systems.
• Othram: Adds STR casework to sequencing-based kinship and genealogy with Sorenson Forensics.
• AlphaBiolabs: Aims to be the single supplier for UK family courts and local authorities.

In all, 47 company profiles, each one to two pages with a fact box covering website, headquarters, ownership, revenue, employees and key products.

Questions this report answers

• How much will new US immigration DNA policy add to testing volumes?
• How fast will SNP panels, sequencing and Rapid DNA take share from STR testing?
• Which applications, channels and products will add the most new spending?
• How will new genetic privacy laws change direct-to-consumer and retail testing?
• Who are the leading laboratories and suppliers, and who is buying whom?
• How large is each country market, and how fast is China growing?

What's inside

• 309 pages, 24 chapters, 57 tables and 52 figures
• Forecasts for 2027–2031 from a 2026 base year, by application, technology, sample type, channel and product, for 14 countries and regions
• Legal and child support testing, immigration and humanitarian identification, technology landscape, laboratories, kits and instruments
• Regulation, accreditation and privacy, consumer and prenatal testing, an Asia-Pacific chapter, a deal database and operations and chain of custody
• 10 market-moving developments from 2025 and 2026, SWOT, Porter's Five Forces and strategic recommendations
• 47 company profiles
• Download the Table of Contents (PDF)

Who buys this report

• Laboratory executives and business development teams: size legal, immigration, consumer and prenatal opportunities and find partners and acquisition targets.
• Kit, instrument and software suppliers: judge demand for STR, SNP, sequencing and Rapid DNA products.
• Investors and analysts: model the effect of immigration policy and privacy law and benchmark deal values.
• Government agencies and contractors: plan child support, immigration and identification testing programmes.

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ABOUT THE LEAD AUTHOR

Mr. Greg Powell, B.Sc., M.B.A., is the President of Howe Sound Research. His education includes:

Finance for Senior Executives - Harvard Business School

Market Research - Burke Institute

M.B.A. (Finance and Policy) - University of British Columbia

B.Sc. (Chemistry) - University of British Columbia

He is an experienced business and clinical professional. He is co-author of the paper "The Radioimmunoassay of Angiotensinogen by Antibody Trapping." He has worked in laboratory testing and management for over 20 years.