In the mtDNA database, profiles for both forensic and public mtDNA sequences are uniquely identified by a systematic naming scheme that denotes each profile with a unique identifier and a respective literature citation. Where possible, profiles are further denoted by indexing the population group, the continent, country, or region of specimen origin. The forensic component of the database was contributed mainly by collaborating laboratories and is used to assess the weight of mtDNA associations developed in forensic casework. The public component of the database was drawn from the scientific literature and the GenBank and European Molecular Biology Laboratory genetic databases. The authors note that although the public data was not subjected to the same quality standards as the forensic data, the public data nonetheless provided useful information on worldwide population groups not contained within the forensic dataset. Software was designed to facilitate searching for mtDNA nucleotide sequence developed from an evidentiary sample against one or more sequence datasets. Various search parameters, options for report details, and tools for exploration are included in the software package. Two types of searchers are supported by this software: (1) a comparison of a single profile against the dataset; and (2) a pairwise search that compares every profile to every other profile in the selected dataset. A brief overview of how a search is conducted is offered and contact information is presented. Figures, references