If DNA is exposed to the elements or to fire for any length of time, degradation can occur due to bacterial, biochemical, or oxidation processes. Additionally, environmental contaminants can also become mixed with the forensic evidence. In such specimens, a loss of signal is typically observed with larger-sized STR products. A number of studies have shown that successful analysis of degraded DNA specimens from mass disasters or forensic evidence improves with smaller-sized polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products. The authors reviewed the literature for new STR loci not linked to the CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) that can generate amplicons less than 125 bp in size, thus qualifying for testing degraded DNA samples. New PCR primers were designed and tested for the STR loci D1S1677, D2S441, D4S2364, D10S1248, D14S1434, and D22S1045, arranged into two miniSTR triplexes. All loci showed a moderate degree of polymorphism among 474 U.S. population samples tested, and they were reliable and sensitive to at least 100 pg of DNA template under controlled laboratory conditions and pristine DNA samples. The usefulness of these new loci was confirmed by comparing the success of the miniSTR assays for typing degraded bone samples; partial profiles were observed with the majority of the samples with the use of a commercial STR kit. 6 tables, 5 figures, and 39 references