The AP State Forensic Science Laboratory was established in November 1974 by merger of the scientific section of CID of Police Department and Chemical Examiner unit of Medical and Health Department. Initially there were only six sections, namely Ballistics, Biology, Chemistry, Documents, Physics and Toxicology. As the crime rate increased the number of cases handled by FSL also has gone up. With growing ingenuity of modern criminal, more and more complex crimes are referred to FSL by the Law Enforcement agencies. Considering the magnitude and variety of crime, new sections have been created in FSL Headquarters. Alongside, three Regional FSLs were also established in the last five years at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Anantapur. Besides, Scientific Investigation Teams called CLUES to assist and guide the investigating officers at the scenes of offence were established at Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Ranga Reddy Districts.

Today, APFSL has thirteen sections broadly categorized into Biological, Chemical, General and Physical Divisions. APFSL is the first and only Laboratory in India to establish advanced technology-centric sections like DNA, Computer Forensics, Biomedical and Forensic Engineering to cater to the ever growing demands from Police, Judiciary and other Central and State Government Departments and Public Sector undertakings. APFSL has become Model Lab in India and examiner cases referred by CBI, Customs, Airports Authority, Passports Authority, Banks, Insurance Companies and several Central and State Government agencies.

Some of the immediate future plans of APFSL are to establish District FSLs in all 23 Districts, to introduce CLUES Teams in all urban areas and District Headquarters, to strengthen the sections in Headquarters with more advanced equipment and to set up new sections like Behavioral Psychology for Criminal Profiling and Forensic imaging. All this to be achieved by 2002.