Cellmark
Cellmark is a UK-based DNA testing company founded in 1987, providing court-approved relationship, immigration, hair drug, and alcohol testing services to private individuals, legal professionals, local authorities, police forces, and government agencies. Now a subsidiary of Eurofins Scientific Group.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersAbingdon, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Cellmark does
Cellmark is a UK-based DNA and forensic testing company founded in 1987 as the world's first private DNA fingerprinting service. The company, legally Orchid Cellmark Limited, operates from headquarters in Abingdon, Oxfordshire with additional facilities in Chorley, Lancashire and Durham, and employs 400+ staff. Its core offering is court-approved DNA relationship testing (paternity, maternity, sibling, avuncular, grandparentage, and immigration) using Short Tandem Repeat (STR) profiling with PCR amplification and a 22-24 marker genetic test panel. Complementary services include hair drug testing (29 substances of abuse), alcohol testing (EtG, EtPa, PEth, CDT biomarkers), forensic science services, environmental eDNA testing, and genomic assay services through sub-brands (DNA at Home, Cellmark Forensic Services, Cellmark Genomic Solutions, Great Crested Newt eDNA Testing).
The business operates a direct-to-consumer plus enterprise sales-led model. Private individuals register cases online or via phone (£324-£465+VAT per relationship test), while sales engagement with solicitors, barristers, local authorities, police forces, and government agencies includes 'catch-up' sessions, awareness training, and free sampler training programs. Revenue is generated almost entirely on a transactional per-test basis rather than subscription or licensing, with sampling fees layered on top (approximately £40-50 at GP surgeries, £90+VAT for Cellmark-trained samplers, ~US$50 overseas). A global sampler network covering 50+ countries underwrites immigration testing services.
Since August 2024, Cellmark has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Eurofins Scientific Group, an international life sciences company operating 900+ laboratories. In February 2026, the drug and alcohol testing service was transferred to sister Eurofins company Lextox, refocusing Cellmark on its core DNA testing proposition while leveraging group-wide forensic and toxicology capabilities. The company holds Ministry of Justice accreditation for parentage tests, UKAS laboratory accreditation (No. 2045), and ISO 17025/9001/14001/27001 certifications, positioning it as a leading accredited provider of court-admissible DNA evidence in England and Wales.
Cellmark firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Cellmark
- Legal name
- Orchid Cellmark Ltd.
- Website
- https://cellmark.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Cellmark is a UK-based DNA testing company founded in 1987, providing court-approved relationship, immigration, hair drug, and alcohol testing services to private individuals, legal professionals, local authorities, police forces, and government agencies. Now a subsidiary of Eurofins Scientific Group.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Cellmark industry classification
Industry- Product category
- DNA Testing Services
- NAICS
- Medical Laboratories (621511), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (62151)
- SIC
- In Vitro & In Vivo Diagnostic Substances (2835), Services-Medical Laboratories (8071), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Molecular & Genetic Testing (PCR/NGS/qPCR) (HLAGADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Molecular Diagnostics (PCR/qPCR, NGS-based assays) (HLAAALAA), Genetic & Genomic Testing (germline, somatic, carrier, pharmacogenomics) (HLAAALAD)
Keywords
Where Cellmark is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Abingdon
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices3 records
Markets served
Cellmark business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- DNA Relationship Testing Services: Court approved DNA testing for establishing paternity, maternity, sibling, grandparentage, and immigration relationships. Pricing based on number of individuals tested with standard next-day turnaround.
- Hair Drug Testing: Hair strand drug testing services providing evidence of drug use history. Testing for 29 common drugs of abuse and metabolites. Results reported within 5 working days.
- Alcohol Testing: Hair and blood alcohol testing including EtG, EtPa, PEth, and CDT markers for detecting chronic excessive alcohol consumption. Services provided via partner Lextox from February 2026.
- Immigration DNA Testing: DNA tests for UK visa applications accepted by UK Visas and Immigration and immigration departments worldwide.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard DNA Relationship Testing - £324 + VAT (up to 3 individuals) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Immigration DNA Testing - £396 + VAT (up to 3 individuals) |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Legal/Standard DNA Testing - £465 + VAT (up to 3 individuals) |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels8 records
Cellmark product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Cellmark provides court-approved DNA relationship testing (paternity, maternity, sibling, grandparentage, avuncular, Y-chromosome, and immigration tests), hair drug and alcohol testing, and forensic DNA services. Samples are processed in a UKAS-accredited laboratory using STR profiling with PCR amplification, typically analysing up to 24 genetic markers to deliver legally defensible results for courts, solicitors, government agencies, and private individuals.
Product overview
Cellmark is a DNA and forensic testing company offering a comprehensive suite of relationship DNA testing services (paternity, maternity, sibling, grandparentage, avuncular, immigration) as its core product, complemented by hair drug testing and alcohol testing services including PEth blood testing. The company operates through its main DNA testing platform with sub-brands including DNA at Home (consumer convenience), Cellmark Forensic Services (criminal forensics), Great Crested Newt eDNA Testing (environmental), and Cellmark Genomic Solutions (research services). Supporting infrastructure includes an online case registration portal, instant quote system, nationwide sampling network, and global sampler network spanning over 50 countries. In August 2024, Cellmark became part of the Eurofins Scientific Group, expanding its service capabilities.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Legal DNA Relationship Testing
- DNA at Home (Home Paternity DNA Test)
- Immigration DNA Testing
- Maternity DNA Test
- Sibling DNA Test DNA test to assess the biological relationship between alleged siblings, available for legal and personal use cases.
- Grandparentage DNA Test DNA test to establish a biological relationship between a child and alleged grandparents, typically used when a parent is unavailable for paternity testing.
- Aunt / Uncle (Avuncular) DNA Test DNA test to assess whether an alleged aunt or uncle is biologically related to a child, used when the alleged parent is unavailable.
- Y-Chromosome DNA Test Y-chromosome STR analysis used to confirm a paternal lineage relationship between male relatives when direct paternity testing is not possible.
- Hair Drug Testing (Drugs of Abuse) Hair-based drug testing service detecting historic drug use over an extended window. Samples are collected through a nationwide GP surgery and mobile sampler network for employers, occupational health providers, rehabilitation services, legal professionals, and private individuals.
- Alcohol Testing (with Lextox partnership) Alcohol testing service delivered in partnership with Lextox, providing hair and blood alcohol markers for family court and child care cases, legal professionals, and private individuals.
- Cellmark Forensic Services Forensic DNA casework service for UK police forces, the Home Office, and international government agencies, covering evidential sample analysis for criminal investigations and intelligence work.
- Great Crested Newt eDNA Testing Environmental DNA testing service for detecting Great Crested Newt presence in water samples, used by ecologists, developers, and planners for environmental impact assessments.
- Cellmark Genomic Solutions Genomics service brand (Cellmark Genomic Solutions) operating alongside the core DNA testing laboratory, linked to Eurofins Genomic Services following the August 2024 acquisition, supporting genomic and genetic analysis needs.
Quantifiable outcome
- 99.9999% probability of paternity when man is biological father
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Cellmark
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Cellmark technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Cellmark partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- LextoxcoreCellmark transferred its drug and alcohol testing service to Lextox (another Eurofins company) from 2nd February 2026. Lextox arranges hair sampling appointments, provides toxicology analysis, and expert witness reports. Lextox is a UKAS accredited testing laboratory No. 7516.
- Eurofins Scientific GroupcoreOn 20th August 2024, Orchid Cellmark Limited (trading as Cellmark) became part of the Eurofins Scientific Group, an international life sciences company and global scientific leader in bioanalytical testing with over 900 laboratories worldwide. This acquisition provides greater financial resilience and opportunities for further service development.
- Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC)minorCellmark works with the JCCC to support recovery of remains and provide DNA identification through DNA analysis and comparison with samples from living relatives. This partnership supports identification of unknown British and Commonwealth soldiers from World War I and other military conflicts.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Cellmark competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DNA Diagnostics Centre (DDC): DDC is a long-established competitor in court-approved paternity and relationship DNA testing in the UK and internationally, offering an almost identical menu of relationship tests (paternity, maternity, sibling, immigration) — making it Cellmark's closest head-to-head competitor.
- AlphaBiolabs: AlphaBiolabs is a UK-based DNA, drug, and alcohol testing laboratory with overlapping relationship-DNA and toxicology offerings and similar direct-to-consumer plus legal-customer channels, competing directly with Cellmark across its core product line.
- EasyDNA: EasyDNA is an international relationship DNA testing provider offering paternity, sibling, and immigration tests across multiple geographies, directly competing with Cellmark in the immigration DNA segment served by Cellmark's 50+ country sampler network.
- DNA Worldwide: DNA Worldwide is a UK-based DNA testing provider offering paternity, relationship, and ancestry testing with similar direct-to-consumer and legal channels — competing on price and turnaround in the same UK market as Cellmark.
- Lextox: Lextox is a UKAS-accredited drug and alcohol testing laboratory and a fellow Eurofins-owned entity that has taken over Cellmark's drug and alcohol testing service from February 2026 — operating as a sister company in overlapping toxicology-adjacent customer segments.
Broad incumbents
- Eurofins Genomic (Eurofins network): Eurofins' broader genomic and bioanalytical testing network (the parent group that acquired Cellmark in August 2024) offers molecular and genomic testing services across pharma, food, and clinical markets — overlapping with Cellmark's PCR-based DNA capabilities at a wider scale.
- 23andMe: 23andMe is a large-scale consumer DNA testing platform whose ancestry and health genetic testing could expand into relationship verification, representing a potential commoditizing competitor in the broader DNA testing category where Cellmark operates.
- AncestryDNA (Ancestry.com): AncestryDNA is a high-volume consumer genetic testing service with the largest autosomal DNA database — a broad incumbent whose relationship-finding features overlap with Cellmark's family-relationship verification offering at consumer scale.
Regional players
- Sorenson Forensics / Identilab: Identilab is an Australia-based NATA-accredited DNA testing provider offering paternity, relationship, and forensic DNA services — comparable in scope to Cellmark but operating primarily in the Australian/NZ market rather than competing head-to-head in the UK.
Emerging players
- Bureau of Crime Reference (Forensic Access): Forensic Access is a UK forensic science provider overlapping with Cellmark Forensic Services in criminal DNA analysis and expert witness reporting — comparable in capability though narrower in court-approved civil relationship testing.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Cellmark social profiles
Digital presenceCellmark compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance8 records
Cellmark financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Cellmark leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Cellmark subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries4 records
Cellmark funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Cellmark M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Cellmark
What does Cellmark do?
Cellmark provides court-approved DNA relationship testing (paternity, maternity, sibling, grandparentage, avuncular, Y-chromosome, and immigration tests), hair drug and alcohol testing, and forensic DNA services. Samples are processed in a UKAS-accredited laboratory using STR profiling with PCR amplification, typically analysing up to 24 genetic markers to deliver legally defensible results for courts, solicitors, government agencies, and private individuals.
Is Cellmark a public or private company?
Cellmark is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Cellmark founded?
Cellmark was founded in 1987. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Cellmark based?
Cellmark is headquartered in Abingdon, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Cellmark make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. DNA Relationship Testing Services are the primary driver. The others are hair Drug Testing, alcohol Testing and immigration DNA Testing.
Who are Cellmark's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DNA Diagnostics Centre (DDC), AlphaBiolabs, EasyDNA, DNA Worldwide and Lextox. Broad incumbents are Eurofins Genomic (Eurofins network), 23andMe and AncestryDNA (Ancestry.com). Sorenson Forensics / Identilab is listed as a regional player. Bureau of Crime Reference (Forensic Access) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Cellmark have an API?
No public API is recorded for Cellmark.
What industry is Cellmark in?
Cellmark's product category is DNA Testing Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGADAF, Molecular & Genetic Testing (PCR/NGS/qPCR), with a secondary code of HLAAALAA, Molecular Diagnostics (PCR/qPCR, NGS-based assays). Its NAICS code is 621511 and its SIC code is 2835.