| Distance | Relatedness | Explanation |
| 0 | Related | Your perfect 25/25 match means you share a common male ancestor with a person who shares your surname (or variant). These two facts demonstrate your relatedness. |
| 1 | Related | You share the same surname (or a variant) with another male and you mismatch by only one 'point' on only one marker. For most closely related and same surnamed individuals, the mismatch markers are usually either DYS 439 or DYS 385 A, 385 B,389-1 and 389-2 from our first panel of 12 markers, and on the following from the second panel: DYS #'s 458 459 a 459b 449, 464 a-d, which have shown themselves to move most rapidly. The probability of a close relationship is very high. |
| 2 | Probably Related | You share the same surname (or a variant) with another male and you mismatch by two 'points' among the 25 markers we tested. For most closely related and same surnamed individuals, the mismatch markers are usually either DYS 439 or DYS 385 A, 385 B,389-1 and 389-2 from our first panel of 12 markers, and on the following from the second panel: DYS #'s 458 459 a 459b 449, 464 a-d, which have shown themselves to move most rapidly. The probability of a close relationship is good, however your results show mutations, and therefore more time between you and the other same surnamed person. |
| 3 | Probably Not Related | You share the same surname (or a variant) but are off by 3 'points' or 3 locations on the 25 markers tested. If enough time has passed it is possible that you and another distantly related family members' line each have had a mutation, or perhaps 2. The only way to prove that is to test additional family lines and find where the mutation took place. Only by further testing can you find the person in between each of you... this in 'betweener' becomes essential for you to find, and in their absence the possibility of a match exists, but further evidence should be pursued. |
| 4 | Not Related | 21/25 is too far off to be considered related. Unlikely but vaguely possible that the rule for ONLY “Probably Not Related” applies. It is important to determine what set of results (or haplotype) most typifies 'most' members of the group you are close to matching. You may be 21/25 with an individual, but 23/25 with the center (most common) of the group, and your potential relatedness to him is through the center of the group. |
| 5 | Not Related | 20/25 You are not related and the odds greatly favor that you have not shared a common male ancestor with this person in excess of 2,000 years. |
| 6 | Not Related | 19/25 You are not related and the odds greatly favor that you have not shared a common male ancestor with this person in excess of 5,000 years. |
| >6 | Not Related | You are totally unrelated to this person. |