PRIA Logo™
Title 10, Armed ForcesRelease 119-110

§1565 Dna Identification Information: Collection From Certain Offenders; Use

Title 10 › Subtitle A — General Military Law › PART II — PERSONNEL › CHAPTER 80 — MISCELLANEOUS INVESTIGATION REQUIREMENTS AND OTHER DUTIES › § 1565

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

Military leaders must collect a DNA sample from any service member who is or was convicted of a qualifying military offense. If the FBI’s CODIS already has that person’s DNA analysis, or a sample was or will be collected under section 3(a) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, the Secretary may choose not to collect another sample. The Secretary may make agreements with other federal, state, local, or private groups to collect the samples. The Secretary must give all collected samples to the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense must run DNA tests that meet CODIS rules and send the results to the FBI for inclusion in CODIS. A DNA sample means a tissue, fluid, or other bodily sample for DNA testing. A DNA analysis means testing the DNA in a sample. Qualifying military offenses include UCMJ crimes punishable by more than one year in prison and other UCMJ crimes comparable to qualifying federal offenses (see section 3(d) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000). If a qualifying conviction is overturned by a final court order and the Secretary of Defense gets a certified copy, the Secretary must promptly remove the person’s DNA analysis from the federal index named in subsection (a) of section 210304 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. A court order is not final while time for appeal or review remains. The Secretary of Defense must write rules to carry out this law, working with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, and apply them uniformly across the armed forces when practical.

Full Legal Text

Title 10, §1565

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Collection of DNA Samples.—
(1)The Secretary concerned shall collect a DNA sample from each member of the armed forces under the Secretary’s jurisdiction who is, or has been, convicted of a qualifying military offense (as determined under subsection (d)).
(2)For each member described in paragraph (1), if the Combined DNA Index System (in this section referred to as “CODIS”) of the Federal Bureau of Investigation contains a DNA analysis with respect to that member, or if a DNA sample has been or is to be collected from that member under section 3(a) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, the Secretary concerned may (but need not) collect a DNA sample from that member.
(3)The Secretary concerned may enter into agreements with other Federal agencies, units of State or local government, or private entities to provide for the collection of samples described in paragraph (1).
(b)Analysis and Use of Samples.—
The Secretary concerned shall furnish each DNA sample collected under subsection (a) to the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of Defense shall—
(1)carry out a DNA analysis on each such DNA sample in a manner that complies with the requirements for inclusion of that analysis in CODIS; and
(2)furnish the results of each such analysis to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for inclusion in CODIS.
(c)Definitions.—
In this section: (1)
(2)The term “DNA analysis” means analysis of the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) identification information in a bodily sample.
(d)Qualifying Military Offenses.—
The offenses that shall be treated for purposes of this section as qualifying military offenses are the following offenses, as determined by the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General:
(1)Any offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice for which a sentence of confinement for more than one year may be imposed.
(2)Any other offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice that is comparable to a qualifying Federal offense (as determined under section 3(d) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 14135a(d))).
(e)Expungement.—
(1)The Secretary of Defense shall promptly expunge, from the index described in subsection (a) of section 210304 of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, the DNA analysis of a person included in the index on the basis of a qualifying military offense if the Secretary receives, for each conviction of the person of a qualifying offense, a certified copy of a final court order establishing that such conviction has been overturned.
(2)For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “qualifying offense” means any of the following offenses:
(A)A qualifying Federal offense, as determined under section 3 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000.
(B)A qualifying District of Columbia offense, as determined under section 4 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000.
(C)A qualifying military offense.
(3)For purposes of paragraph (1), a court order is not “final” if time remains for an appeal or application for discretionary review with respect to the order.
(f)Regulations.—
This section shall be carried out under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General. Those regulations shall apply, to the extent practicable, uniformly throughout the armed forces.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 3 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, referred to in subsecs. (a)(2), (d)(2), and (e)(2)(A), is section 3 of Pub. L. 106–546, which was classified to section 14135a of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, prior to editorial reclassification as section 40702 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

. section 4 of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B), is section 4 of Pub. L. 106–546, which is classified to section 40703 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

. The Uniform Code of Military Justice, referred to in subsec. (d), is classified to chapter 47 (§ 801 et seq.) of this title. section 210304 of the Violent Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

Act of 1994, referred to in subsec. (e)(1), is classified to section 12592 of Title 34, Crime Control and Law

Enforcement

.

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 108–405 reenacted heading without change and amended text generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall determine those felony or sexual offenses under the Uniform Code of Military Justice that shall be treated for purposes of this section as qualifying military offenses. “(2) An offense under the Uniform Code of Military Justice that is comparable to a qualifying Federal offense (as determined under section 3(d) of the DNA Analysis Backlog Elimination Act of 2000), as determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Attorney General, shall be treated for purposes of this section as a qualifying military offense.” 2002—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 107–296 substituted “of Homeland Security” for “of Transportation”.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2002 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 107–296 effective on the date of transfer of the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security, see section 1704(g) of Pub. L. 107–296, set out as a note under section 101 of this title. Initial Determination of Qualifying Military Offenses Pub. L. 106–546, § 5(b), Dec. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 2733, provided that: “The initial determination of qualifying military offenses under section 1565(d) of title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), shall be made not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act [Dec. 19, 2000].” Commencement of Collection Pub. L. 106–546, § 5(c), Dec. 19, 2000, 114 Stat. 2733, provided that: “Collection of DNA samples under section 1565(a) of such title, as added by subsection (a)(1), shall, subject to the availability of appropriations, commence not later than the date that is 60 days after the date of the initial determination referred to in subsection (b) [set out above].”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

10 U.S.C. § 1565

Title 10, Armed Forces

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110