Implementing emerging customer screening standards for nucleic acid synthesis

The decision to fulfill an order for synthetic nucleic acids hinges on whether the customer can be trusted to receive them. A consensus on customer screening practices that allow synthesis providers to make that decision has begun to emerge. In 2024-2025, international and national-level guidance aligned on five practices: tiered screening, with more rigorous screening for orders containing sequences of concern (SOCs); identity verification for all customers; legitimacy verification for customers ordering SOCs; legitimate use verification for SOCs; and supply chain screening to address third-party vendors and multi-party distribution. Translating this emerging consensus into practical tools, however, reveals persistent ambiguities about appropriate due diligence and decision-making. Drawing on experience developing standardized customer screening forms, this paper describes the emerging consensus on best practices, analyzes implementation challenges, and recommends five projects to strengthen customer screening: establishing a globally-relevant baseline of customer attributes that should trigger additional scrutiny; clarifying ambiguities through geographically diverse case studies; encouraging automated identity verification; leveraging existing institutional and government approvals to demonstrate legitimacy; and integrating sequence and customer screening across standardized risk tiers.