How to Check a Cannabis Lab's Accreditation
How to verify the lab behind a certificate of analysis with the accrediting body.
Short answer: to check a cannabis lab's accreditation, find the accrediting body named on its report or website, search that body's own public directory for the lab, and confirm that the lab's name, location and the kind of testing in the report fall within its accredited scope.
Why accreditation matters
A certificate of analysis is only as dependable as the laboratory behind it. Accreditation means an independent body has assessed the lab against a standard. It is not a guarantee of any single result, but a lab with no verifiable accreditation gives you less reason to trust its report.
How to check, step by step
- Find the claim. Look on the COA or the lab's website for the accrediting body and any accreditation number.
- Go to the body directly. Search for its name and open its official site; do not use a link supplied by the lab.
- Search its public directory by lab name or number.
- Match the details. The lab name and location should agree with the report.
- Check the scope. The accreditation should cover the kind of analysis on the report, such as cannabinoid content.
- Check the status and date. Accreditation can lapse or be suspended.
- Check regulator rules. Some regulators only accept reports from labs they have approved.
Common mistakes
- Accepting a logo as proof of accreditation.
- Checking that the lab is accredited, but not that the scope covers the test in your report.
- Confusing a business licence with accreditation; they are different things from different bodies.
- Not checking the date of the accreditation.
Where it fits
This is one step in reading a cannabis certificate of analysis. The other steps are checking that the batch number matches (see does your COA batch number match?), the date, the method and the result.
Common questions
Is accreditation the same as a licence?
No. A licence comes from the regulator; accreditation comes from an assessing body. A lab may need both.
What if I cannot find the lab in the directory?
Ask the lab for its accreditation details and contact the accrediting body. If neither can confirm, treat the report with caution.
Does accreditation mean the product is safe?
No. It speaks to the lab's competence, not to a product's safety or health effects.
Check with your regulator
Rules on which labs and standards are accepted differ by place. Your regulator's official website says what it requires. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- The accrediting body's official public directory, as named on the lab's report.
- Your regulator's official website, for the labs and standards it accepts.
Last updated .
How we write this: figures come only from named public sources, and where we have no source we write without a number. Published by Insaan LLC as an organisation, with no individual author named; see about this site.
