We rely on parents or guardians to determine whether AncestryDNA® is appropriate for children under their care. When a minor uses AncestryDNA, the parent or guardian of that minor is responsible for the minor’s actions, and they are deemed to have consented to the use of the minor’s information by Ancestry®. By submitting a DNA sample of a minor, you represent that you are the minor’s parent or legal guardian.
Register a kit
- When asked who you’re registering this kit for, choose My minor child.
- DNA kits for children must be activated by their parents or legal guardians. If you are their parent or legal guardian, select Yes. If you are not not their parent or legal guardian, you cannot register their kit.
- Select Get started.
- Scan or enter the 15-character code (alternating letters and numbers) from your child’s saliva tube or instruction booklet and select Continue to link their kit to your account.
- Select your country and choose Continue.
- Enter your child’s name, birthdate, and sex assigned at birth, and then select Continue.
Their birthdate and assigned sex at birth are only used for matching and quality checks and won’t be shown to others. You can change these settings anytime.
- Let us know if you’ve sent a saliva sample for your child to AncestryDNA before.
- Let us know if your child has an identical twin or not.
- Let us know if your child has ever received a bone marrow or stem cell transplant from another person.
- Let us know if anyone else is submitting their sample now, too.
If anyone else is registering or submitting their saliva sample now, write their name on the instruction booklet with the code matching their saliva tube.
- Choose if you want your child to see and be seen by their DNA matches. To connect with them, choose Participate in matches. Otherwise, choose Don’t participate. You can change this setting anytime.
- If asked, choose how we should display your child to their DNA matches and then select Continue. Your choice will set how your child appears to others and the relationship terms we use for them. You can change this setting anytime.
- Read the DNA Processing Consent, then choose I consent or I do not consent. If you do not consent, you cannot register the kit.
- Read the information about Sample storage. If you want Ancestry to store your child’s sample, choose I give consent. If not, choose I do not give consent. Your choice won’t affect your child’s DNA results.
- In the Review section, check the information you’ve entered, choose your desired notifications, and select Looks good, register kit.
- To get text updates about your child’s kit status (U.S. only), check the box next to Text me kit status updates. Message and data rates may apply.
- To stop getting texts from Ancestry, reply STOP.
- To receive emails about new DNA information and relatives for your child, check the box next to Notify me when new information and relatives are discovered based on my child’s DNA.
- Check the status of your child’s DNA kit anytime by clicking the DNA tab at the top of any Ancestry page and selecting Your DNA Results Summary.
What’s next
If you haven’t already, collect your child's saliva sample and send it in. When we receive your child's sample, we’ll send you an email. This email may arrive up to 5 weeks after mailing their sample.
You can expect your child's results within 6 weeks of the date we receive their sample.
Troubleshooting
Lost registration code
A registration code is a 15 digit series of alternating letters and numbers printed both on the side of the collection tube and the instruction booklet. If the code is permanently gone and the kit isn’t registered, we’ll need to send you another kit, even if you mailed the sample. Contact us to request a replacement kit.
Registration code doesn’t work
If the code is more or less than 15 characters long, check which company the DNA test is from. Registration codes from AncestryDNA have alternating letters and numbers; if you’ve entered three letters or three numbers in a row, check the middle character. Make sure you don’t have the number “5” entered as the letter “S,” for example.
Blue solution doesn't release into the container
Carefully loosen the cap, then twist it on again tightly. Repeat until the blue solution is released. If the blue solution spills out of the container completely, contact us to request a replacement kit.
Lost plastic bag
Place the tube in a Ziploc-type bag and place the bag in the return box.
Contact us
How can we help?
For other registration problems, see DNA Registration Troubleshooting. For help with collecting your child's saliva sample, see Collecting a Saliva Sample.
