The duty to disclose pertains to the federal system and most states that have enacted obligatory pre-trial disclosure statutes or court rules The scope of these statutes or court rules is often significantly narrower than most defense discovery requests. These statutes or court rules typically require the prosecutor to identify and include: the name of the DNA analyst, the DNA analysis report, the analyst's CV, the consent form to obtain the DNA sample, the DNA search warrants, the name of evidence collection officers, copies of their reports, and property receipts.

Some states also impose an affirmative obligation to notify a defendant regarding whether or not the government's typing will consume all of the evidence samples and thus preclude additional or independent typing.

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