Legal Medicine

The LNS Analytical Chemistry Service (SCAN) specialises in identifying drugs and pharmaceutical products.

The SCAN service works mainly for public authorities such as the police, customs, the judiciary, the Ministry of Health and Social Security, the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), as well as social services (Jugend an Drogenhellef, Abrigado, etc.).

If there are concerns about pharmaceutical products (for example, suspected defects), private companies and individuals should contact the Pharmacy and Medicines Division within the Health Directorate.

No. Analyses are carried out only pursuant to a judicial decision.

Yes, in certain cases.

In the event of a natural death, the doctor (general practitioner or specialist) may request a medical autopsy, with the agreement of the deceased person’s family.

In this case, the autopsy will be performed by the National Centre of Pathology (NCP), which requires the following:

• a medical prescription requesting the medical autopsy and specifying the medical hypotheses to be confirmed or ruled out as a priority,
• written authorisation from the family,
• the declaration of causes of death form,
• and relevant information on the deceased person’s medical history.

If the death is violent, unknown or suspicious, the body is placed under judicial authority and a police investigation is conducted.

• As part of a judicial investigation, the competent District Court may, following a request from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, order a medico-legal autopsy. In this case, the LNS Department of Forensic Medicine is responsible for performing the autopsy. Such a request is made independently of the deceased person’s family and does not require prior consultation with them.
• If the body is released without the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office requesting a medico-legal autopsy, the family may request a medical autopsy which, if accepted, may be performed by the LNS National Centre of Pathology. In this situation, the body-release document issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office must be attached to the documents listed above that are required for the medical-autopsy request.

A distinction must be made between a medical autopsy and a medico-legal autopsy.

In the case of a medical autopsy (natural death), a copy of the report may be requested by the prescribing doctor from the National Center of Pathology (NCP) by telephone on (+352) 28 100 345.

Please note that reports are never sent by email and results are not communicated by telephone.

In the case of a medico-legal autopsy (violent, unknown or suspicious death; opening of a judicial investigation and involvement of the police), ordered by the District Court of Luxembourg or Diekirch, access to the report for the family must be authorised by the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office (Luxembourg City district, Tel.: (+352) 47 59 81 1; Diekirch district, Tel.: (+352) 80 32 14 1). Forensic doctors are not authorised to inform the family of the autopsy results unless expressly authorised by the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

In the case of a medico-legal autopsy, the body is placed under judicial authority and can only be returned to the family once the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office has issued authorisation for its release.

Once the body has been released, the family, in coordination with the funeral home of its choice, can proceed with the following steps:

• collecting the death declaration for municipal administrative procedures,
• completing the administrative formalities related to the death (death certificate, sealing of the coffin and authorisation from the health inspectorate for transport abroad),
• making an appointment with our service for a possible farewell ceremony at the LNS and/or ritual or funeral washing in accordance with religious practices. For any request or to arrange an appointment, you can contact us on the following numbers: (+352) 28 100 381 / 385 / 696 / 699
• collecting the body for funeral arrangements.

Families are strongly advised to contact a funeral home at an early stage to prepare for the handling of the body. The appointed funeral home can then coordinate between the mortuary and the deceased person’s family.

Yes. It is possible to see the deceased person after the autopsy once the body has been released (medico-legal autopsy) or once the examination process has been completed (medical autopsy).

The body is returned under conditions that ensure respect and dignity for the deceased. A farewell ceremony may also be organised at the LNS.

The ceremony must be organised by the funeral home and requires a prior appointment with the mortuary staff, who can be reached on (+352) 28 100 381 / 385 / 696 / 699.

No. Analyses are carried out only pursuant to a judicial decision.

No. Analyses are carried out only pursuant to a judicial decision.

No. Parentage tests are performed only pursuant to a judicial decision.

No. Parentage tests are performed only pursuant to a judicial decision.

You will receive an initial notification from the LNS Forensic Genetics Service (SIG) indicating the date and time of your appointment.

If you cannot attend or are otherwise prevented from attending, you can contact the service by telephone on (+352) 28 100 671 (Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except public holidays) or by email at secretariat.SIG@lns.etat.lu.

DNA samples are collected by appointment only, without exception.
Collection takes place at the LNS, 1, rue Louis Rech, L-3555 Dudelange.

The collection is painless, risk-free and non-invasive and requires no prior preparation.
DNA is collected by gently rubbing a swab against the inside of each cheek.

The report is sent to the court, which is responsible for communicating the results to the persons concerned.

The Forensic Toxicology Service performs toxicological analyses on hair to detect:

• various drugs of abuse: cannabis/THC (upon specific request: CBD, CBN and the THC-COOH consumption marker), amphetamines (including amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDA, MDMA and MDEA), cocaine (including cocaine and its metabolites BZE, norcocaine and cocaethylene), opiates (including morphine and 6-monoacetylmorphine, as well as the opioid methadone and its metabolite EDDP)
• the chronic alcohol-consumption marker ethyl glucuronide (EtG)
• various classes of medicines (antidepressants, antipsychotics, benzodiazepines, other opioids, sedatives)

No. We perform analyses only upon presentation of a medical prescription or at the request of a Luxembourg authority (for example, the Ministry of Transport).

You can make an appointment by clicking the following link: here. You will first need to create an account and follow the steps indicated.
You can also make an appointment by calling our service on (+352) 28 100 563, Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (except public holidays).

The exact price will be communicated when you make the appointment via the online portal. Payment is made on site at the LNS. Please note that this analysis is not covered by the CNS.

The appointment for hair collection must be booked in advance at www.portal.lns.lu. Collection is performed exclusively at the LNS, 1, rue Louis Rech, L-3555 Dudelange.

No. We do not accept samples collected by clients themselves for traceability and identification reasons. Collection is performed exclusively at the LNS, 1, rue Louis Rech, L-3555 Dudelange.

The sample must be approximately the thickness of a pencil; small quantities may be collected from several places at the back of the head to obtain the required amount.
The full length of the hair is not analysed: the proximal section (closest to the scalp) is used (for example, a maximum of 3 cm for the Ministry of Transport).

No. Only scalp hair is accepted.

For your appointment, please bring the following:

• A valid national identity card or passport;
• A medical prescription or a request from a Luxembourg authority (for example, the Ministry of Transport), dated less than six months ago;
• A means of payment (bank card or cash); payment is made on site at the LNS.

Note: To carry out this analysis, our teams must be able to collect at least 1 cm of hair.
If these requirements are not met, the appointment will have to be rescheduled.

Please contact our service to change or cancel the appointment on (+352) 28 100 563, Monday to Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (except public holidays).

The turnaround time is indicated in the analysis catalogue.

If the request for analysis was submitted by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, please contact the competent Public Prosecutor’s Office for any information.
If the request for analysis was submitted by a doctor, you can receive your analysis report if this option was requested at the time of prescribing. It will be sent by post to the address recorded in our systems.

Your test results are automatically sent to the healthcare professional who requested the test, as well as to any other healthcare professionals copied on the request, where applicable.
You may also receive your test report by post if this option was requested when the test was prescribed.

However, for certain tests, the reports cannot be sent directly to you.

This is particularly the case for certain genetic and pathology tests, which require appropriate support and additional explanations to ensure their results are properly understood. For these tests, the results are sent only to the requesting physician, so that they can be communicated to you with the appropriate guidance and in the context of your medical care.

Since 1 October 2026, pathology and cytology reports are directly integrated into your electronic healthcare record (DSP). You will therefore be able to see in your DSP that your examination report is available.

Pathology reports will remain locked in the DSP. Access to them can be unlocked by any healthcare professional who is part of the circle of trust defined by the patient. This measure ensures that the results, which may be complex to interpret, can be explained to you and put into context by a healthcare professional.

Cytology reports will be immediately accessible.

Turnaround times vary depending on the nature and complexity of the analyses performed. They can be found in the analysis catalogue.

Please note:

• For certain specialised examinations, additional time may be required because of the techniques used or additional analyses.
• Samples are generally processed on D+1 after collection. This period may be longer for certain analyses.
• Analyses are performed only from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Your prescribing doctor remains your main point of contact for explaining your test results and ensuring appropriate medical follow-up based on your clinical situation.