Rape kit results typically take anywhere from about six weeks to several months once the kit reaches a forensic laboratory, and in jurisdictions with heavy backlogs the wait can stretch past a year. One peer-reviewed study of a major crime lab measured a median turnaround of roughly five months under standard procedures, which dropped to about six weeks after the lab adopted a streamlined workflow.1National Library of Medicine (NCBI). Data Driven Optimization of Sexual Assault Case Processing How long your kit takes depends on your state’s lab capacity, how many kits are ahead of it, and how complex the evidence is. You have a legal right to ask where your kit is and to be told the results, so you do not have to sit in silence while the lab works.
The Stages Between Exam and Results
A kit does not go straight from the hospital to a DNA profile. It moves through several hands, and each stage adds time.
After the forensic exam, the nurse seals and labels every swab, clothing item, and blood sample, initialing each seal with the date and time. That paperwork is the chain of custody, and it follows the kit everywhere. Any break in it gives a defense attorney room to argue the evidence was tampered with, so labs and law enforcement guard that documentation carefully.
Law enforcement then picks up the sealed kit from the medical facility and transports it to a forensic laboratory. A growing number of states now require police to submit collected kits to a lab within a set deadline, often between 10 and 30 days. Those laws exist because, before they were passed, thousands of kits sat in police storage for years without ever being sent for testing. The submission decision often fell to individual investigators, and many kits simply never moved.
Once the kit is at the lab, a forensic scientist screens each item for biological fluids such as semen, saliva, or blood. If something is found, the scientist extracts DNA and builds a genetic profile from it. That profile is then searched against the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), the FBI’s national database, which lets labs compare profiles against convicted offenders, arrestees, and evidence from other unsolved cases.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. CODIS and NDIS Fact Sheet A match is called a “hit.” Research on one large testing initiative found that roughly 40 percent of tested kits produced a database hit.3SAKI (Sexual Assault Kit Initiative). Performance Metrics and Research
Why the Wait Is So Long
The single biggest reason for delay is volume. Labs receive more kits than they can process, and when the intake outpaces staff and equipment, a backlog forms. A 2022 Congressional Research Service report estimated the national backlog somewhere between 90,000 and 400,000 untested kits, though the true number is hard to pin down because jurisdictions count differently.
Federal funding has moved a significant share of the older backlog. Labs supported by the Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI), run through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, have completed testing on more than 100,000 previously backlogged kits, generating over 20,000 CODIS hits and contributing to more than 1,600 convictions nationwide.3SAKI (Sexual Assault Kit Initiative). Performance Metrics and Research The backlog is still a moving target, though. New kits arrive every day, funding fluctuates, and hiring trained forensic scientists takes time.
Case complexity is the other factor. A kit containing a single well-preserved sample moves through faster than one with degraded material or a mixture of DNA from several contributors that has to be painstakingly separated. Labs may also prioritize cases with an active investigation or an imminent court date, so a kit tied to a case with no identified suspect can sit longer than one where prosecutors are waiting on a result.
How to Check on Your Kit
At least 37 states and Washington, D.C., have set up or committed to setting up an online tracking system for sexual assault kits. You receive a unique tracking number at the time of your exam and can log in to your state’s portal without giving your name. The system shows where the kit is at each stage: at the hospital, in police custody, at the lab, or completed.
If your state does not have a tracking portal, you can request a status update directly from the law enforcement agency that took custody of the kit. A victim advocate at a local rape crisis center can make that call for you if it feels easier.
What You’re Entitled to Be Told
The Survivors’ Bill of Rights Act, signed into law in 2016, gives you specific federal rights around your kit under 18 U.S.C. ยง 3772.4GovInfo. 18 USC 3772 – Sexual Assault Survivors Rights Those include:
- The right to have your kit or its probative contents preserved, at no charge, for the length of the maximum applicable statute of limitations or 20 years, whichever is shorter.
- The right to be informed of any test results from your kit, including DNA profile matches and toxicology reports, as long as disclosure would not compromise an ongoing investigation.
- The right to written information about how your evidence will be collected and stored.
- The right to ask for the current status and location of your kit at any time.
- The right to at least 60 days’ written notice before the agency holding your kit destroys it, and the right to request that it be kept longer.
Many states have passed their own notification laws that go further than the federal baseline. Some require law enforcement to tell you within a fixed number of days when the kit is sent to a lab and when results come back, including whether a DNA profile was developed and whether a database match was found. If weeks or months pass with no word, contact the investigating agency or a local victim advocacy organization. You are legally entitled to this information.
What the Results Actually Say
The lab report goes to the law enforcement agency that submitted the kit, not directly to you.5U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs National Institute of Justice. National Best Practices for Sexual Assault Kits: A Multidisciplinary Approach It describes what biological material was found, whether a DNA profile was developed, and whether that profile matched anyone in CODIS. The report does not draw legal conclusions. It presents scientific findings that investigators and prosecutors then use to build or advance a case.
If a CODIS hit identifies a suspect, the lab confirms the match through an internal verification process before releasing the name to law enforcement.2Federal Bureau of Investigation. CODIS and NDIS Fact Sheet Investigators then typically collect a fresh DNA sample from the identified person to confirm the match before making an arrest.
Not every kit produces a usable profile. The sample may be degraded, too small, or mixed with DNA from multiple people in a way that makes separation difficult. A result showing no usable DNA does not mean the assault did not happen. It means this particular type of physical evidence was not recoverable. Even without a hit today, a DNA profile developed from your kit stays in the database permanently and can match against future entries, so a kit that produces no hit now may generate one years later.
If You Had the Exam But Didn’t Report
You do not have to file a police report to have a forensic exam performed. Evidence can be collected and stored while you decide whether to move forward with the criminal process. These are sometimes called anonymous or unreported kits. Storage periods vary by state, typically ranging from several years to the full 20-year federal standard.
Unreported kits are generally not submitted to a lab for DNA analysis until you give written consent. The processing clock does not start until you decide to move forward. If you later choose to report, the kit follows the same path to the lab as any other, and the timelines above apply from that point.