The paper describes two methods that allow rapid and accurate identification of Lactobacillus helveticus strains based on the nucleotide sequence of the gene coding for the surface layer (S-layer) protein. The first method is based on a polymerase chain reaction amplification using primers targeting a specific fragment of the S-layer gene. The second method involved a portion of the S-layer gene of L. helveticus as a probe in a hybridisation test. The specificity of these protocols was checked for DNA samples isolated from various Lactobacillus strains.