After waiting patiently (?) for 4 to 6 weeks, you get the email from FTDNA that your results are ready! The email will give you the information you need to go to the website to see your results.
Remember, you can check to see when your results are expected to be ready by going to your personal page at FTDNA and clicking on Pending Results in the left column.
Family Tree DNA makes results available to participants both electronically and by regular mail. When the lab completes a test, they upload the results to their database and notify you via e-mail that the results are available online. The online results are accessed from the login box on FTDNA’s home page.
To see an example of online results for a standard user, click here.
A certificate and a report are sent by regular mail. The certificate contains the name of the tested individual, the results, and, in the case of the Native American or Cohanim test, shows whether the results were positive or negative. To see examples of the certificates, click here.
When your test results are returned to you, you will be given access to the second part of your Personal Page, which we call Stage 2.
When you receive the email from FTDNA that your results are ready, you will want to log in at FTDNA, using your kit number and the password they sent you when your kit was returned) to see your results, the information about them, and, of course, your matches.
It is very important that you set your preferences on your Personal Page, as this will determine how your results will be compared to others. In addition, there are other features of the FTDNA website that will now be available to you.
We highly recommend that your read our guide to the FTDNA Personal Page: Updating your Personal Page at FTDNA for more information.
(Until your test results are returned, you have only limited access to your Personal Page. To learn more about how to use your Personal Page before your get your results, take a look at this page: Access Your Personal Page.)
You will want to spend some time on the features of the Personal Page, as this is the place where FTDNA will give you all the information about your test results: your test result markers, your matches, your haplogroup, along with explanations of what it all means. There are links that will allow you to order upgrades and certificates, and upload your results to Y-search and your GEDCOM to FTDNA.
Within a few days, your Project Administrator will post your results on the project's Results Page on the project's website. (You should receive an email whenever new results are posted on the project's Results Page.) You will want to find your results on the Results Page, see who they match, and check to see if your matches have posted pedigrees for display on the Patriarch Page. If so, the pedigree will be identified with his code identity number for the project, and his contact information will be at the end of the first line of the pedigree (change the AT to @).
For more information on understanding the results, please read the "Notes for Understanding Results" on the project's Results Page.
