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CODIS markers

The 14 markers that are standard for states participating in the FBI's crime-solving database. The same set of markers is used in paternity tests and our DNA Fingerprint Test. For a complete description, go to CODIS homepage.

Spread across all chromosomes except for the sex chromosomes, thus qualifying as genome-wide, the 13 standard or core CODIS markers (14 with the addition of AMEL, which shows sex) are:

D3S1358
THO1
D21S11
D18S51
D5S818
D13S317
D7S820
D16S539
CSF1PO
vWA
D8S1179
TPOX
FGA

The official order of the 13 core CODIS loci given within the CODIS system itself is:

• CSF1PO
• FGA
• THO1
• TPOX
• VWA
• D3S1358
• D5S818
• D7S820
• D8S1179
• D13S317
• D16S539
• D18S51
• D21S11

Sometimes, the following two loci used more in Europe than America are added to make a standard 15:

D2S1338
D19S433

Each locus has two values, one from the father, one from the mother, though it is not possible without the mother or father's own profile to say who contributed which.

A typical profile in the locus order used by our lab (together with the range of values to the right) is:

In this scheme, green designates the 9 best known CODIS markers, yellow an extra 4 used in an amplified test kit, and blue an additional two loci part of the Identifiler system adopted in Europe.