Step 6: Find Your Closest Match
Your patient waiting is over. Your test results have “finally” come in! Use our Resource Library and “Free First Looks“to learn to navigate your DNA results.
It’s time to dive in to your DNA matches and The Methodology! Open your list of DNA matches.
If your test has found the person you are searching for – Congratulations! Your search is over. You’re ready to Prepare for Contact (Step 9).
Adoptees, Donor-conceived, and NPE searchers
If you have niblings (aunt/uncle/niece/nephew/grandparent/grandchild) or first or second cousins, you’re ready to use Pedigree Triangulation (Step 7) to narrow down the field of candidates.
If you have only third cousins or more distant matches, transfer your raw DNA to the following companies to hopefully find closer matches – you don’t know where your key matches will have tested. Click on a company name for transfer instructions.
Test at additional companies that don’t support DNA transfer
Birth and Donor Families
You are trying to be found – you don’t know where the person you are searching for will test – so fish in all the ponds (DNA companies)
Transfer your raw DNA to the following companies
Test at additional companies that don’t support DNA transfer
Help other searchers – Attach your DNA results to your family tree at AncestryDNA, MyHeritage, and GEDmatch
Learn more about how and where to test and transfer your results in our Intro to DNA (101) class.
Contacting Matches
During your search you may decide to contact some of your matches.
Do NOT mention adoption or donor conception in your initial message.
More about contacting matches including example messages can be found under the DNA Category in the Contacting Matches article on our Resource Library