Last updated: November 4, 2024
FamilyTreeDNA allows you to add a family tree to your DNA test. Here’s how (and why) you should add a family tree to your FamilyTreeDNA test.
Editor’s note: Beginning September 9, 2024, trees at FamilyTreeDNA will be view-only and the FTDNA tree builder feature will be retired. You can transfer your FTDNA tree to MyHeritage at any time to continue editing your tree. We’ve updated this article with the current steps to do so.
It’s easy to upload your family tree or pedigree file to FamilyTreeDNA so you can attach it to your DNA test results. Better yet, you can then link DNA matches with known relationships to you to their spot in your family tree. This organizes your genealogy + genetics together in one place and helps you visualize it.
How to add your family tree at FTDNA
Log in to FTDNA. From your dashboard, go to Test/Tools. Under Other Tools, you’ll click Family Tree.
In the Tests/Tools section, select Family Tree.
You’ll be taken to MyHeritage’s site to build your family tree and follow these steps:
- Click “Get started now.”
- Grant approval to FTDNA to give MyHeritage access to your FamilyTreeDNA tree.
- Create a new MyHeritage account, or sign into your account if you already have one.
- Decide if you want to transfer your existing FTDNA tree or create a new one.
If you don’t have a MyHeritage subscription, you’ll be limited to 250 people on your family tree. (Learn more about a MyHeritage subscription and their 14-day free trial.)
Linking your DNA matches to your FTDNA tree
Once you’ve got your MyHeritage tree linked to your FTDNA kit, you can do something very satisfying: link your known DNA matches to their spot on your tree. Here’s how to do this.
In FTDNA, go to the Family Finder Matches page and you will see a link to sign into MyHeritage.
Click on the “Sign in to MyHeritage” link to link your FTDNA matches to your MyHeritage tree.
In your FTDNA settings, you’ll need to link yourself as the home person on your family tree. To do this, go to Account Settings > Genealogy > Family Tree > Link home person. Select yourself from the list that appears and click “Link.”
To link yourself, click “Link home person.” Then in the popup, select yourself and click “Link.”
Next, under the “Link matches on the tree,” you’ll click “Link my matches.” This will bring up a list of people that were previously linked matches. A suggestion will be made for each individual in your tree. You’ll need to confirm each link. Remember to search for names as they are listed in your tree.
Click “Link my matches” to link your FTDNA matches to your MyHeritage family tree
Link new matches
To link new matches at FTDNA to your MyHeritage family tree, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- Go to your FTDNA Family Finder Matches page.
- Locate the person you want to link to your family tree, and click “Link on Family Tree.”
- A popup will appear to search for the person on your MyHeritage tree. You’ll need to search for the person’s name. MyHeritage will return any people that match the name you searched for, and will include the person’s relationship to you, their full name in the tree, and their birth/death years.
- MyHeritage will notify FTDNA of the linked relationship, and if the relationship is through your maternal or paternal side. FTDNA will then display this information on the Matches page.
Click on “Link on Family Tree” to link an FTDNA match to your family tree
You won’t be able to see any indication of FTDNA matches on your tree at MyHeritage.
Learn DNA Skills You Need
The DNA journey for family history is exciting—but it takes skills. We teach those skills. We believe YOU can DO the DNA! And we are here to help, with just the level of education you’re ready for.
- Get started with our inexpensive quick reference guides. Since you read this article, we especially recommend the Family Finder, YDNA and mtDNA guides.
Take me to those Quick Guides!
- If you’re interested in YDNA, get started for free with our YDNA FREE Get Started Course. It will teach you the many ways YDNA might help you answer your questions about your family history. The YDNA FREE Get Started Course is an excerpt from our YDNA for Genealogy Course, which takes you deeper into understanding Y-haplogroups and using them in genealogy research (as well as other topics such as YDNA matching, surname project participation, and when to use Big Y).
Excellent! I did my DNA on Ancestry and uploaded to Family Tree and My Heritage, love the chromosome browsers and cluster tools. Which one of these programs is the best to create a family tree or do it in all of them?
I’m glad you’re making progress! Either Ancestry or MyHeritage would be the best place to build your family tree, depending on where your family is from (Ancestry has deeper strength in U.S. records and trees, and MyHeritage is strong for many parts of Europe). You can build your tree completely for free on Ancestry, and it’s free to build a tree with up to 250 people on MyHeritage. At both places, you’ll need to subscribe to access their full collections of historical records, which is where you’ll find the information you need to extend your tree. One suggestion would be to subscribe to one of the sites for a year, then download a copy of your tree and upload it on the other site, and subscribe there for a year. You can keep a tree on multiple sites for convenience; just choose one of them as the “master” tree you keep fully updated.
Wow loads of wonderful knowledge.
You said it very well..