How to submit your DNA to FamilyTreeDNA

Last updated: 1 February 2023.

This page is designed to answer the frequently asked questions encountered when collecting DNA samples.

There are two ways to obtain a DNA kit from FamilyTreeDNA:

1. order the kit from the website and pay for shipping (currently USD12.95 as of 30 March 2018); or
2. obtain the kit directly from a representative of a project such as DNA Outreach IRL and avoid the shipping costs.

• two cheek swabs (there is a best before date on the cheek swabs, but using them after the best before date does not appear to prevent successful processing of the DNA sample);
• two labelled vials containing a preservative solution (take care not to spill the solution);
• a labelled white order form; and
• a labelled green release form.

• a password to allow you to log in to the FTDNA website (To avoid confusion, you should not mail the kit without logging in first, as this password will probably be changed if the kit is received before you log in);
• a coupon code entitling you to a discount from the standard prices for some products;
• a padded return envelope, normally pre-addressed;
• a postage stamp (the postage from Ireland increases almost annually; it increased to EUR2.50 on 13 April 2017 and increased again to EUR2.80 on 4 April 2018 and will probably have increased again by the time you read this; the current rates can be found here);
• a form or card or package to retain confirming your kit number;
• this Welcome to FTDNA letter;
• this explanatory letter should your package be opened by the postal authorities; and/or
• this Before You Swab guide.

• You must fill in your contact details here.
• You will be prompted to enter your Kit Number and Password when you follow the above link.
• The first time you sign in, you may be asked to confirm your
• name: if you are a married woman (or for any other reason use a surname other than one of those from which you could have inherited DNA), then you may want to use your maiden surname (a) to attract the attention of potentially related DNA matches with your surname in their family tree and (b) to avoid attracting the attention of probably unrelated DNA matches who have the surname of your husband (or stepfather, adoptive father, etc.) in their family tree, but married women using their maiden surname should not use the "Mrs." title!
• e-mail address (twice): you may copy and paste your e-mail address into the first box, but any attempt to copy and paste it into the second box generates the message "Please manually re-enter your e-mail address"; if your kit is registered to the e-mail address of the DNA Outreach IRL representative who handed it to you, then you must immediately change that to your own e-mail address; and
• gender.
• When you click Confirm and Proceed, you will be asked to agree to the FamilyTreeDNA Terms of Service and Privacy Statement and other terms and conditions.
• You may have to click here again to fill in your other contact details. If you don't have the required Zip code, you can just enter 00000. Remember to include the country code (e.g. +353 for Ireland) in your phone number.

• All details should be entered on the form exactly as they were entered on the website and vice versa. If you are helping someone who is not computer literate, then you can ask him or her to fill in the contact details on the first part of the form and transcribe them to the website yourself.
• Although the form says that it can be disregarded if you order online, it used to be essential to complete it as it was the only place that the test subject's gender was requested. Kits can be switched between males and females up to the point of online confirmation of gender or up to the point of submission by mail or up to the point at which a Y-DNA product is ordered, whichever happens first. It will of course be clear on examination of the DNA whether it contains two X chromosomes (female) or one X and one Y (male), but it makes life a lot simpler if the gender is specified correctly at the time of submission.
• Keep a scan or photocopy or photograph of the form for your records and forward it to the project representative if there are any problems. I do not want the responsibility of storing your credit card details, so please pay online. If you are including card details on the form, then please either make the copy before you add them or crop them from the image or conceal them before making the copy.
• Some kits were shipped without individually labelled order forms: make sure that your correct kit identifier appears at the top of the order form.
• Split your snail-mail address across the six lines provided; it will only be required if for some reason DNA cannot be extracted from your kit now or in the future and a replacement kit has to be shipped to you.
• The most crucial item on the form is your e-mail address, as this is how all communications take place. Write it clearly above the fold on the page so that it does not become creased and illegible in transit. If you do not receive any e-mail message from FamilyTreeDNA within a month or so, then your e-mail address will probably have been misread. If you have not yet received a password and want to check whether your e-mail address has been correctly associated with your kit number, then you can use the password reset page. If this page still returns an error message several weeks after mailing your kit, then ask the project representative who gave you your kit to investigate.
• Most people will begin by ordering Test Type: Family Finder and the Payment Total in that case is normally USD79 (as of 30 March 2018), although there are frequent sales for special occasions.
• If you do have a password for your kit and have paid online, then just tick the relevant box (the last one on the form).
• If you do not have a password for your kit, then you can include payment details on the form.
• While the form says "Credit Card", Debit Cards are also accepted.
• Indicate whether you are using MC, Visa or AMEX.
• The long blank after this is for your 16-digit card number, which must be included if you are paying by card and have not paid online.
• You may not be notified if there is any transcription error which causes your credit card transaction to fail, so make sure to check that your kit is being processed by using the password reset page to obtain a password if necessary, logging in and checking the order history page and the status of pending tests page, which gives a two-week period within which your results are expected (with the dates in one of the ambiguous all-numeric formats which beginning genealogists quickly learn to avoid!). You can also check with your bank that your card has been billed.
• If you do not have a password for your kit and want it added to any FTDNA projects, such as the Clare Roots project or the relevant surname project, then please write a message to this effect in the blank space at the end of the form.
• If you do not have a password for your kit but have a valid coupon code, then please also write the details of this in the blank space at the end of the form.

• You will not be able to make contact with your long lost relatives (or vice versa) unless you sign this form.
• Your date of birth is requested in the ambiguous all-numeric mm-dd-yyyy format, not in either the dd-mm-yyyy format which most readers of this page will be familiar with, or in the unambiguous formats which genealogists quickly learn to use.
• The "Country of Origin" question on older versions of this form relates to where your Y-DNA comes from (or would come from if you were male) and where your mitochondrial DNA comes from. In other words, what country does your most distant known patrilineal ancestor come from (your father's father's father's father ...)? And what country does your most distant known matrilineal ancestor come from (your mother's mother's mother's mother ...)? For most people reading this page, the answer to both questions will probably be Ireland.

• two vials;
• the completed white order form;
• the completed green consent form; and
  
• the explanatory letter.