Investigation of a patient with possible von Willebrand disease includes a range of phenotypic analyses. Often, this is sufficient to discern disease type, and this will suggest relevant treatment. However, for some patients, phenotypic analysis does not sufficiently explain the patient’s disorder and for this group, genetic analysis can aid diagnosis of disease type. PCR and Sanger sequencing have been mainstays of genetic analysis for several years. More recently, next generation sequencing has become available, with the advantage that several genes can be simultaneously analysed where necessary, e.g. for discrimination of possible type 2N von Willebrand disease or mild haemophilia A. Additionally, several techniques can now identify deletions/duplications of an exon or more that result in von Willebrand disease including multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and micro-array analysis. Algorithms based on next generation sequencing data can also identify missing or duplicated regions. These newer techniques enable causative VWF defects to be identified in more patients than previously, aiding a specific VWD diagnosis. Genetic analysis can also be helpful in the discrimination between type 2B and platelet-type von Willebrand disease and in prenatal diagnosis for families with type 3.