Journal
How to prepare for a cheek swab
What to bring, what to avoid for an hour beforehand, and who needs to agree.
A cheek swab is a soft brush rubbed inside the mouth. It is the usual sample for a relationship test. Read this the day before you come so the appointment stays short.
Before you leave home
- Eat and drink normally, then avoid food, drink, smoking, and chewing gum for about an hour before the swab.
- Bring a government photo ID for every adult attending.
- If a child is being tested, bring the adult who can consent for them, and a document that shows that relationship if you have one.
- Bring any letter from a solicitor, court, or embassy. The instructions in that letter decide the type of appointment.
At the studio
The coordinator reads the consent line aloud. Each adult signs for themselves. You may refuse, and the visit stops. The swab takes well under a minute for each person. You can watch the tube being sealed.
Afterwards
The receipt states the laboratory’s time window. That window, not a sentence on a homepage, is the date to plan around. When the report arrives, we read the conclusion with you and leave the interpretation of legal or medical consequences to your solicitor or clinician.