Cellmark

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.

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

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

• DNA relationship testing
• Forensic DNA analysis
• Paternity testing services
• Immigration DNA testing
• Drug and alcohol testing

Headquarters

HQ city

Abingdon

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Immigration DNA Testing: DNA tests for UK visa applications accepted by UK Visas and Immigration and immigration departments worldwide.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core 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

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LextoxcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 February 2026Cellmark 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 GroupcoreOthers · 20 August 2024On 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)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCellmark 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

Direct 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

• Xx.com/cellmarkdna
• Facebookfacebook.com/cellmarkdna

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cellmark