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The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Crime Laboratory Division announced the implementation of the state’s Limited Consent for DNA Testing Program for sexual assault survivors at the end of 2025. The first kit under this new program was collected the first week of December.
Created under House Bill (HB) 1422, the Limited Consent for DNA Testing Program allows survivors of sexual assault to obtain a forensic medical exam and have evidence collected and tested for foreign DNA material, free of charge, even if a report has not been made to law enforcement. Only evidence collected on or after Dec. 1, 2025, is eligible for this new program. Previously, sexual assault survivors would have had to involve law enforcement to have DNA evidence tested; HB 1422 eliminates that requirement.
“For months, DPS Crime Laboratory Division personnel have been committed to preparing for the roll-out of Texas’ new Limited Consent DNA Testing Program,” said DPS Crime Laboratory Division Chief Brady Mills. “It has taken a tremendous amount of time and dedication to get to this point, but our personnel have demonstrated — and continue to show — their steadfast commitment to supporting survivors of sexual assault.”
All Limited Consent for DNA Testing Program kits will be processed within 90 days of receipt at DPS’ Crime Laboratory in Houston. Through funding by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, survivors participating in program will be able to track the status and results of their kit through Texas’ statewide electronic tracking system, Track-Kit, DPS reported.
According to DPS, once a kit is analyzed, evidence tested under this program will be stored for a maximum of five years. Following the fifth-year anniversary of the date the evidence was collected, notification to the survivor is provided via Track-Kit and a response period of three months is granted before the evidence is destroyed.
Prior to the five-year deadline, a survivor may choose to report the offense to law enforcement and consent to the release the evidence and lab results. Survivor instructions and forms for the release of evidence and lab results can be found at www.dps.texas.gov/section/crime-laboratory/limited-consent-dna-testing-program.