Recent advances in techniques for pathologic evaluation of melanocytic neoplasms, updates in staging, and novel treatment and prognostic assays have brought pathologists to the forefront of the care of the melanoma patient. Specimen procurement, handling, and evaluation are all key to the production of a pathology report that guides the clinician to the proper treatment of the patient. Recent, relevant changes in the pathologic analysis of melanocytic neoplasms, highlighting the AJCC 8th edition guidelines, and pathologic changes related to therapy, are discussed herein. Also included is a discussion of molecular assays used to aid in diagnosis of challenging lesions, predict clinical outcome, and predict response to targeted therapyExcisional biopsies, shave biopsies, deep scallop shave biopsies, and punch biopsies are all employed in practice. All of these techniques have potential pitfalls that may lead to challenges in accurate diagnosis and staging, especially if they result in partial sampling and/or under-representation of the lesion.